Over the course of three years, 410 people with head and face injuries sustained while riding an electric scooter have been admitted to the Oral, Facial and Maxillofacial Surgery Center of Stradiņa Hospital, according to the center’s collected data*. The most frequent diagnoses in these cases were open head wounds and fractures of various facial bones, the treatment of which can last up to three weeks and cost up to 5,000 euros from the state budget, according to the head of the center, Anna Ivanova.
From 2021 to 2023, a total of 410 people were treated at Stradiņa hospital with various head and face injuries after electric scooter accidents, of which open head wounds were found in 220 cases, lower jaw fracture in 71 cases, cheekbone and upper jaw fracture in 58 cases, and in 46 cases the nasal bones of the victims were broken, according to the data collected by Edgars Freimanis, assistant physician of the Trauma Center of the NMC Facial and Jaw Surgery of Stradiņa hospital.
“Our observations allow us to conclude that the typical victim of e-scooter accidents is a young man under the influence of alcohol, moreover, accidents more often occur at night. The largest number of victims is in the age group between 20 and 23 years, but there are also quite a few patients aged between 23 and 38 years, but the oldest patient was 66 years old. One of the most frequent causes of accidents is driving under the influence of alcohol – a third of the victims have admitted that they have driven under the influence, but in reality this number could be even higher, as there is no data related to alcohol consumption in 40% of patients,” explains E. Freimanis. He emphasizes that almost all the victims were driving without protective equipment, and during these three years, only one patient was recorded who was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.
The treatment of one victim costs the state up to 5,000 euros
Anna Ivanova, head of the Oral, Facial and Maxillofacial Surgery Center, states that the victims of electric scooter accidents most often suffer complex injuries – in the mildest cases they are only abrasions and bruises, but the most severe are head injuries, the treatment of which not only takes a long time, but also causes high costs, both both for the state budget and for the patient himself.
“For fractures of facial bones, osteosynthesis is performed, or the joining of bones with metal mini or microplates, which most often remain in the human body for life. The cost of osteosynthesis surgery materials is 3,000 to 5,000 euros, which is covered from the state budget. However, facial injuries most often include dental injuries, the treatment of which the patient has to cover from his own pocket. The treatment of such injuries in the hospital can last up to three weeks, but most often after that the patients continue to be treated in outpatient and dental clinics for up to a year,” says A. Ivanova.
Transporting a child on an electric scooter can end tragically
Cases involving children in e-scooter accidents are particularly worrying. Although most often children end up in the Children’s Clinical University Hospital after accidents, 30 children under the age of 18 have been treated in the Oral, Facial and Maxillofacial Surgery Center of Stradiņa Hospital over the course of three years, with injuries ranging from facial abrasions to jawbone fractures.
dr. Ivanova emphasizes that the most potentially dangerous thing is to take the child as a passenger standing on the electric scooter between the steering wheel and the driver: “If an emergency situation occurs while driving like this, the scooter driver falls forward and with all his weight presses the child to the steering wheel, which is often the child’s at face height. That’s how a child can get really horrendous injuries.”
When you see such cases, when a child is being transported on a scooter as a passenger, the State Police urges you to report it by calling 110. If riders travel with a “Bolt” rental scooter, they can report to the “Bolt” company, which in such cases can identify the user and limit its access to the app.
With the aim of reducing the number of violations and injuries caused by e-scooter drivers, the State Police together with Stradiņa Hospital and “Bolt” are implementing the informational campaign “The fastest way to get to the hospital”. With campaign materials in the media, social networks and in the urban environment, the State Police and its partners inform about accident and injury statistics, typical accidents and injuries, as well as share real stories of the victims’ experiences, thus clearly demonstrating that aggressive driving while intoxicated and breaking the rules is the fastest way, how to get to the hospital. The campaign is financed from the funds of the Latvian Vehicle Insurers Office.
