The Hospital for Sick Children says it is seeing a marked increase in the number of e-scooter and e-bicycle injuries in kids, calling it an “emerging and concerning trend.”
The hospital says it treated 16 e-scooter injuries in June and July of this year compared to just five over the same period a year ago.
Since 2020, the hospital says there has been a “significant increase” in the number of serious injuries from battery-powered devices with e-scooters accounting for 85 per cent of injuries from 2021 to 2024. In 56 per cent of those injuries, the child or youth was not wearing a helmet, according to the SickKids Trauma Registry.
“E-scooters and other similar devices can be attractive to children who may view them as toys or youth who use them for transportation,” says Dr. Suzanne Beno, Medical Co-Director of the Trauma Program and Emergency Physician at SickKids. “High speed, a lack of helmet use, young age and interaction with motor vehicles all place children and youth at risk of serious injury if there is a fall or collision.”
The hospital says children under the age of 16 should not operate e-devices as they may not have the knowledge, strength, or ability to manage these devices safely, putting them at risk of serious injury in the event of a fall or collision.
For those operating e-devices, the hospital says they should always wear a proper-fitting helmet, follow the manufacturer’s warnings on age, height and weight restrictions, never modify them to increase speed or bypass safety features, and never operate them with multiple riders.