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Child e-scooter injuries are rising, with researchers warning of serious head injuries

Child e-scooter injuries are rising, with researchers warning of serious head injuries

A UK study of 477 children injured in e-scooter incidents found fewer than 2% were documented wearing a helmet

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MadeForMums

Published: August 12, 2026 at 6:07 AM

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E-scooters might be a familiar sight on UK streets, but new research has raised concerns about the injuries children can suffer while riding them.

A new study across three major children's trauma centres recorded 477 under-16s attending emergency departments with e-scooter-related injuries, with cases increasing over the period studied.

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The research, published in the Emergency Medicine Journal, looked at cases at Alder Hey Children's Hospital, Sheffield Children's Hospital and Royal Manchester Children's Hospital. The children's median age was just 12, and nearly two-thirds, 64.4%, were boys.

Perhaps most strikingly for parents, only 1.8% of patients were documented as wearing a helmet, although the researchers note that helmet use was not recorded in a substantial number of cases.

What did the e-scooter study find?

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Researchers examined e-scooter injuries among children under 16 between January 2019 and December 2024. Data from Royal Manchester Children's Hospital was limited to 2023 and 2024 because its electronic records system changed.

Most of the children, 94.8%, were riders rather than other people injured in an incident, and at least 80% of cases involved privately owned e-scooters.

Falls were by far the most common cause of injury, accounting for 75.3% of cases. However, 11.3% involved a collision with a motor vehicle, while 5.2% involved a pedestrian being hit by an e-scooter.

The most frequently injured parts of the body were:

Lower limbs, 40.6%
Upper limbs, 36.2%
Head, 24.1%
Face, 18.4%

While most injuries were classed as less severe on the Abbreviated Injury Scale used by the researchers, head injuries stood out. Of the head injuries recorded, 10.4% were given a severity score of 3 or 4, indicating more serious trauma.

More than 1 in 10 children were admitted to hospital

The findings also give an indication of what an e-scooter accident can mean once a child reaches A&E.

Almost two-thirds, 64.4%, of patients underwent some form of medical imaging, including X-rays or CT scans. Overall, 13.4% were admitted to hospital and 6.9% needed surgery.

Of the most seriously injured children, 48% had been involved in a collision with either a motor vehicle or a stationary object.

The researchers concluded: "E-scooter related injuries have risen considerably over the last 6 years and are likely to continue to do so. This mechanism of injury predominantly results in limb, head and facial injuries, with head injuries being the most severe."

What are the UK rules on children riding e-scooters?

This is where things can get confusing for families, because privately owned and official rental e-scooters are treated differently.

Privately owned e-scooters cannot legally be ridden on UK public roads, pavements or other public land. They can only be used on private land with the landowner's permission.

Government-backed rental e-scooters operate under different rules in trial areas in England. Riders must meet the scheme's age and driving licence requirements, and rental e-scooters are insured by the operator.

The children in this research had a median age of 12, which the authors point out is four years younger than the minimum age at which someone can legally rent an e-scooter in the UK.

Why researchers are particularly concerned about helmets

Helmet use isn't currently mandatory for e-scooter riders in the UK, but the Government recommends wearing one when using a legal rental e-scooter.

In this study, just nine of the 477 children, 1.8%, were documented as wearing a helmet. However, because helmet information was missing for many patients, the authors say the true figure could be higher.

That gap matters because head injuries were among the most serious injuries recorded.

The researchers said: "Despite this, a large proportion of riders were not wearing a helmet. Admission and surgical intervention rates were substantial and as e-scooter use increases the burden on healthcare services will also increase."

The study also found a striking link with deprivation

Nearly three-quarters, 74.2%, of injured children lived in areas falling within the two most deprived deciles in England's Index of Multiple Deprivation.

The authors stress that there could be several explanations, including differences in exposure to rental schemes, road infrastructure, access to safety equipment and patterns of healthcare use. As an observational study, the research cannot establish that deprivation itself caused a greater risk of e-scooter injury.

There are other limitations parents should know about, too. The research was retrospective and covered three major trauma centres rather than hospitals across the whole UK. The authors say this could mean the findings don't represent every child using an e-scooter, while incomplete records may also have resulted in some cases being missed.

Even with those caveats, the researchers say the findings highlight the need for greater public awareness, clearer safety information and further research into e-scooter injuries in children.

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