Heads Up: Don't Forget Your Helmet When Riding an E-Scooter

Do you use an electric scooter as a method of transportation? When compared to cars, trucks and other conventional automobiles, electric scooters offer several noteworthy benefits. They are more maneuverable, produce less noise, safe for the environment and cheaper to operate. But if you're going to rise an electric scooter -- whether you're traveling one mile or 100 miles -- you should wear a helmet.

Why You Need to a Wear a Helmet When Riding an Electric Scooter

According to a new joint study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Texas's Public Health and Transportation, roughly half of all scooter-related injuries are head injuries. For the study, researchers tracked over 182,000 hours of electric scooter use from Sep 5., 2018 through Nov. 30, 2018. After crunching the numbers, researchers discovered that the average rate of injury when riding an electric scooter was about 20 injuries per 100,000 trips.

When discussing the findings, researchers noted that in nearly all instances of head injury, the rider wasn't wearing a helmet. “These injuries may have been preventable," wrote researchers. “Studies have shown that bicycle riders reduce the risk of head and brain injuries by wearing a helmet. Helmet use might also reduce the risk of head and brain injuries in the event of an e-scooter crash.”

The bottom line is that you need to wear a helmet if you're planning to ride an electric scooter. Some people assume that helmets aren't necessary for electric scooters because of the lower top speeds and slower acceleration of electric scooters compared to that of motorcycles. While electric scooters are, in fact, slower than motorcycles, they can still result in serious or even life-threatening head injury. A simple and effective way to protect against head injury when riding an electric scooter, however, is to wear a helmet.

Along with wearing a helmet, there are other ways to lower your risk of injury when riding an electric scooter. For example, make sure all the lights and turning signals function properly before hitting the road. Only 39% of scooter-related injuries occur during the daylight hours of 6 A.M. to 6 P.M., with most injuries occurring when there's little or no sunlight. If a light or turning signal on your electric scooter doesn't work, it could result in a collision with another automobile or scooter.