Friday, May 3, 2019

Austin Study Looks At Dockless Scooter Injuries

The Austin Public Health Industry released a new study, outlining accidents and incidents involving the rash of new, dockless scooter companies in Austin, in a bid to help improve the safety of the public using those popular vehicles. According to Austin Public Health, it ran a study on injuries received by riders of dockless scooters in Austin during September and November of 2018, to help advance the knowledge of the public health impact of e-scooters. According to the study, over the 190 injured riders in the study, nearly half of them--48 percent--had injuries such as fractures, lacerations, and abrasions to the heat, with 70 percent sustaining injuries to the upper limbs (hands/wrist/arm/shoulder), and another 55 percent with injuries to the lower limbs (leg/knee/ankle/feet). According to Austin Public Health, it hopes collecting observations from doctors at local hospitals and local emergency medical services, to help identify injuries that are being seen with this "emerging mode" of transportation.