Background

Electric bikes (E-bikes) and motorized scooters (M-scooters) have become extremely popular worldwide and in Israel. This change has been followed by an increase in injury-related hospitalizations among these road users.

Methods

A retrospective cohort study was performed based on 4733 E-bike or M-scooter riders hospitalized in one of the 19 trauma centers participating in the Israeli National Trauma Registry (INTR) between 2010 and 2020.

Results

A persistent increase in the proportion of E-bike/M-scooter riders among hospitalized traffic casualties was observed: from only 0.06% in 2010 to 10.2% in 2020. Although a decrease in the proportion of children riders (<16 years) was observed, their proportion was still high (22% in 2020). Collisions between electric tools (e-tools) and motorized vehicles resulted in 35.6% of the hospitalizations, which were more severe (the proportion of ISS 16+ was 19.2% vs. 11.2%, p < .0001), included severe head injuries (17.2% vs. 11.3%, p < .0001) and a higher mortality rate (1.2% vs. 0.3%, p < .0001) compared to casualties not colliding with a motorized vehicle. The gradual increase in injury severity was observed from 7.8% in 2014 to almost 15% in 2019. Helmet usage among e-tool riders is still inadequate, whereas the lack of helmet use at the time of the accident was higher among children under age 16 (51.0% vs. 39.3%, p < .0001).

Conclusions

The findings of this study indicate a worrying trend of an increase in trauma injuries associated with the use of e-tools. As these modes of transportation become more popular and legislative changes have been introduced which have restricted these tools to utilization on roads where the potential of colliding with a motorized vehicle increases, it is expected that the number of injuries will continue to grow. There is need for interventions aimed at increasing awareness for these vulnerable road users targeted at improving riding behaviors and enforcement of helmet usage.

中文翻译：

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电动自行车和电动滑板车 - 流行和伤害负担。十年国家创伤登记经验

背景

电动自行车 (E-bike) 和机动踏板车 (M-scooter) 在全球和以色列变得非常流行。随之而来的是这些道路使用者因受伤而住院的人数增加。

方法

一项回顾性队列研究基于 2010 年至 2020 年间在参与以色列国家创伤登记处 (INTR) 的 19 个创伤中心之一住院的 4733 名电动自行车或小型摩托车骑手。

结果

观察到住院交通伤亡中电动自行车/小型滑板车骑手的比例持续增加：从 2010 年的 0.06% 到 2020 年的 10.2%。尽管观察到儿童骑手（<16 岁）的比例下降，他们的比例仍然很高（2020年为22%）。电动工具（e-tools）和机动车辆之间的碰撞导致了 35.6% 的住院治疗，这更严重（ISS 16+ 的比例为 19.2% 对 11.2%，p < .0001），包括严重的头部受伤（ 17.2% 对 11.3%，p < .0001）和更高的死亡率（1.2% 对 0.3%，p < .0001）与未与机动车辆相撞的伤亡人数相比。观察到伤害严重程度逐渐增加，从 2014 年的 7.8% 到 2019 年的近 15%。 电子工具骑手的头盔使用量仍然不足，

结论

这项研究的结果表明，与使用电子工具相关的外伤增加的趋势令人担忧。随着这些交通方式变得越来越流行，并且引入了立法变化，将这些工具限制在与机动车辆相撞的可能性增加的道路上，预计受伤人数将继续增加。需要采取旨在提高这些弱势道路使用者意识的​​干预措施，旨在改善骑行行为和强制使用头盔。