Unraveling the Night-Time E-Scooter Dangers Wreaking Havoc in Germany
Most e-scooter accidents commonly happen during nighttime hours, over weekends, and under the influence of alcohol.
E-Scooter accidents that leave people with serious injuries in Germany seem to adhere to a predictable script: they frequently transpire under the cloak of night and during the weekend, with men making up the majority of victims and alcohol often a contributing factor. Such alarming data was unveiled in a study on e-scooter accidents conducted by a team led by Michael Zyskowski from the Clinic and Polyclinic for Trauma Surgery at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and published in the "German Medical Journal."
According to the data extracted from the Trauma Register of the German Society for Trauma Surgery between 2020 and 2022, a whopping 538 individuals sustained severe injuries, with 83% of them requiring intensive care and 26 unfortunate souls taking their last breath. As shared by ntv.de and dpa, these troubling statistics reveal a clear pattern in e-scooter accidents in Germany.
Demystifying Dangerous Patterns
The study elucidates a series of factors that underpin the eerie regularity of e-scooter accidents.
Time and Day Issues
The research highlighted that an unprecedented 54% of all e-scooter accidents took place under the cover of darkness, while half of all accidents occurred on weekends. In addition, e-scooter accidents in Berlin were found to peak in the afternoon between 12:00 and 18:00 and during the evening from 18:00 until midnight.
Age, Gender, and Substance Involvement
The average age of those injured was 44.3 years, with a striking tendency for younger men to fall victim to e-scooter accidents. To add to the concern, about 78% of the injured victims were male. Furthermore, among the severely injured e-scooter riders who underwent testing, a shocking 62% had alcohol in their system. This statistic becomes all the more alarming when digging deeper, as one-third of those cases showed levels of alcohol consumption in excess of the legal limit.
These eye-opening revelations underscore the potential dangers of e-scooter riding at night, on weekends, and under the influence of alcohol. It's crucial for both e-scooter users and policymakers to heed this cautionary tale and take necessary steps to mitigate these risks and ensure road safety for everyone.
[1] Study by Zyskowski et al., German Medical Journal
[3] Berlin traffic report on e-scooter accidents
The Commission has also been consulted on the following issues: mental-health and science, in light of the study on e-scooter accidents revealing a correlation between the prevalence of accidents at night, on weekends, under the influence of alcohol, and the well-being of individuals in health-and-wellness related aspects. The Commission's insight may help explore the impact of nighttime e-scooter usage on mental health and propose solutions for safer and healthier urban mobility.
