Sir, – Dr Raymond Carson wrote about the dangers of e-scooters, mostly in relation to injuries in adults (“E-scooter crashes: As a doctor, it breaks my heart to see such life-changing injuries”, Opinion, August 24th).
As clinicians involved in the care of children with traumatic brain injuries in CHI at Temple Street, we are writing to highlight our concerns regarding the dangers e-scooters pose to children.
Legislation was passed governing the use of e-scooters in Ireland in May 2024. Since then, e-scooter accidents have been the single biggest cause of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) resulting in admission to CHI at Temple Street under the neurosurgery and rehabilitation services – more than car crashes, bicycle accidents, falls and sporting injuries. E-scooters are the cause of TBI in more than 25 per cent of children admitted under the neurosurgery team in Temple Street in the last year.
Many of the injuries have been life-changing. Approximately half of the children have been admitted to the intensive care unit as a result; approximately the same proportion have had to undergo emergency neurosurgery. Some have acquired disabilities that will last a lifetime.
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We are also aware of a significant rise in children attending the emergency department and being admitted with fractures, lacerations and other injuries due to e-scooter falls.
Children with TBI due to e-scooter falls typically stay in hospital in Temple Street for about the same length of time as children with TBI due to road traffic accidents involving cars, and five times longer than children with TBI due to falls from bicycles. Length of hospital admission, in this context, often reflects severity of injury.
The speed at which e-scooters can travel can cause injuries much more severe than would be expected from a fall from a bicycle or conventional scooter.
Crucially, the use of e-scooters is supposed to be restricted to people over the age of 16. None of the children we have cared for were permitted by law to be operating an e-scooter. Our experiences suggest these laws are either not being enforced, or are not enforceable. They are certainly not keeping children safe from what is a significant emerging public health concern. Children in Ireland are demonstrably less safe from e-scooters now than they were in May 2024 when this legislation was published.
Regardless of legislation, e-scooters are inherently highly risky to operate for their drivers and for other road users. We call on parents not to allow their children to use e-scooters, and on public authorities to enforce existing laws. If these laws cannot be enforced, the State has an obligation to explore alternative means of keeping children safe, including considering an ban on e-scooters. – Yours, etc,
Dr IRWIN GILL,
Consultant paediatrician,
Prof DARACH CRIMMINS,
Consultant paediatric neurosurgeon,
CHI at Temple Street,
Dublin.
