UK e-scooter crash injuries under-reported, study finds

The majority of e-scooter accidents that result in someone needing hospital treatment are not being recorded in official UK road accident figures, a new study has revealed.

The Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS), which commissioned the study, analysed data from two months in late 2021, looking at 300 injuries recorded by hospitals across the UK, police records and data from e-scooter rental trials to identify matches between the different datasets.

It found that just nine percent of injuries involving e-scooters were found in official figures, and that just over a quarter of the most serious injuries were recorded in road casualty data.

The council urged the Department for Transport (DfT) to issue “clear information” to the public about “the obligations of reporting road traffic collisions to the police, including those involving e-scooters”.

It called on the department to issue guidance to rental trial operators and local authorities to ensure data collection more closely aligns with recording systems used by the police.

“Smaller, zero-emissions vehicles such as e-scooters are popular, be they illegally ridden private vehicles or regulated rental e-scooters,” said PACTS Deputy Executive Director Margaret Winchcomb.

“For all, it is essential that the methods for measuring their hazard to riders and danger to other road users are consistent and robust so that safety is adequately understood.

“The government should make the most of the extension of the rental trials until May 2026 to improve and widen the way injuries from e-scooter collisions are recorded.”

Trials

E-scooters are currently being trialled in several locations across England, including Liverpool, Newcastle and select London boroughs.

Speeds are limited to 15.5mph, with restrictions on where the devices can be used.

While it is illegal to use a privately owned scooter on public roads, they are widely available for sale and enforcement can be patchy.

Transport charity Collaborative Mobility UK estimates that there are 750,000 privately owned e-scooters in use in the UK.

According to DfT data released in November 2023, more than half of injuries from e-scooter accidents are found outside the zones where people are legally allowed to use them.

A DfT spokesperson said: “Safety remains our top priority, which is why we work closely with police to regularly review and strengthen data around e-scooter incidents.”

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