Archive · 8 Aug 2026
UK Study Finds E-Scooters Riskier Than Motorbikes for Riders
Electric scooters can be more dangerous to ride than motorcycles, according to a new study.
Doctors looked at crash records from hospitals in 18 cities in England and Wales over two years.
They found that e-scooter riders hurt their heads, blood vessels, and insides more often than motorbike riders.
The scooters have small wheels that can get stuck in potholes, sending riders flying over the handlebars and landing on their heads.
Almost nobody wore a helmet — fewer than 6 out of 100 riders did.
Women and girls got hurt more often, partly because handlebars are built at a height suited to men, which leads to more chest injuries.
Children made up 16 out of every 100 e-scooter injuries.
Riding an e-scooter on most UK roads, pavements, and cycle lanes is against the law, and police have taken thousands away.
Doctors now want safety training, compulsory helmets, and better-designed scooters so fewer people get hurt.
A UK study found e-scooter riders are far more likely to suffer serious head injuries, blood vessel damage, and internal organ harm than motorbike riders.
The analysis was led by David Bodansky, a surgeon at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, using national major trauma registry data from 18 cities in England and Wales between 2020 and 2022.
E-scooter riders were over three times more likely to sustain a brain injury or blood vessel damage than motorbike riders, and one and a half times more likely to injure internal organs.
Fewer than 6% of e-scooter riders wore helmets during crashes; women were involved in about a third more collisions than men and were over twice as likely to report serious injuries.
Experts are calling for mandatory safety training, compulsory helmets, and redesigned scooters, noting e-scooters remain illegal on most UK public roads and police have seized thousands.
- Who
- E-scooter riders in England and Wales, studied by David Bodansky, a hand, trauma and orthopaedic surgeon at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.
- What
- A study found e-scooters are riskier than motorbikes, with higher rates of brain injuries, blood vessel damage, and internal organ injuries.
- When
- Crash data collected between 2020 and 2022.
- Where
- 18 cities in England and Wales, using the national major trauma registry.
- Why
- Small wheels catch in potholes, very low helmet use, and handlebar designs unsuited to women's height increase injury risk.
- Lead researcher
- David Bodansky, surgeon at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital
- Data source
- National major trauma registry across 18 cities in England and Wales
- Study period
- 2020-2022
- Brain injury risk vs motorbike riders
- Over 3 times more likely
- Internal organ injury risk
- 1.5 times more likely than motorbike riders
- Helmet use at time of crash
- Fewer than 6% of riders
- Children share of injuries
- 16% of all e-scooter injuries
- Women vs men
- About a third more collisions; over twice as likely to report serious injuries