E-scooter accidents now the leading cause of traumatic brain injuries in children, doctors warn

The Royal College of Physicians of Ireland said in its paper that the leading cause of traumatic brain injuries in children admitted to the paediatric neurosurgical centre at CHI Temple Street is e-scooter accidents. File picture: Adobe Stock

E-scooter accidents are now the leading cause of traumatic brain injuries in children in Ireland, and parents should not buy them as presents this Christmas, doctors have warned.

Since they became legal on the roads for those aged 16 and over, e-scooter-related presentations at Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) emergency departments have doubled and continue to increase.

The faculty of paediatrics at the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland on Monday set out their stall with a new paper on e-scooter falls and brain injuries in children, paired with a call to action for the Government.

“We are seeing an unprecedented rise in brain injuries caused by e-scooters,” paper author and faculty fellow Dr Irwin Gill said.

If we don’t act now, this trend will continue with devastating results for children and their families across Ireland.

The Royal College of Physicians of Ireland said in its paper that the leading cause of traumatic brain injuries in children admitted to the paediatric neurosurgical centre at CHI Temple Street is e-scooter accidents.

This is despite it being illegal for children under 16 to use e-scooters on public roads.

It said that almost half of children admitted with a traumatic brain injury required neurological interventions and admission to intensive care.

Furthermore, 40% of neurological and ICU admissions had new issues with movement and 80% had new difficulties with cognition noted during their inpatient admissions.

The average time spent in hospital was 18.7 days, which is similar to the length of stay from being struck by a moving car and five times the length of stay for falling from a bike.

The college said many injuries were sustained at high speeds above the 20km/h speed limit.

The children who were most severely injured were not wearing helmets, and most families said that they were unaware of the legal age of 16 for e-scooter use on roads.

It called on State bodies to engage in a meaningful public awareness campaign to ensure families are aware of the laws around e-scooter use.

It also urged relevant authorities to explore methods of how to better and more vigorously enforce existing laws around their use.

Lastly, the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland called on the Government to look into further options to keep children safe from e-scooters including reviewing existing legislation.

The faculty of paediatrics dean Dr Judith Meenan said: “We’re urging parents not to buy e-scooters for their children this Christmas.

Children under 16 are not permitted to operate or be carried as a passenger on e-scooters.

“Our hope is that this paper will raise awareness of the rules around e-scooter use and the dangers for children and young people who use them.”

Last month in the Dáil, minister Sean Canney said he had concerns over a “growing number of incidents, accidents and near misses”.

“As the minister of State responsible for road safety, I will be reviewing this,” he said.