On an electric scooter and under the influence of alcohol. The number of cases is alarming

Last year, there were 499 traffic accidents involving scooters. The vast majority, namely 403 cases, were caused by a scooter rider, four people died. The police only released statistics on scooters last year, so comparisons with previous years are not possible. For example, the statistics of the Prague emergency medical service nevertheless show that this is a dramatically increasing trend.

“In 2015, we went to 30 cases of falls and injuries on scooters. Last year there were already over 300 cases,” said Jana Poštová from the Prague rescue service. “The use of helmets and protective equipment is almost zero among scooter riders, the use of alcohol is very common,” Poštová added.

Poštová pointed out that only the more serious cases reach the emergency services, so the mentioned numbers are probably only the tip of the iceberg. “Out of 300 cases, ten ended up in the intensive care unit. The most common causes were the influence of alcohol, falls, head injuries and abrasions. Fractures and life-threatening injuries can also occur,” said Poštová. Even at low speed, for example, a collision with other vehicles can result in serious injury.

A drunk on a motor scooter wrecked in Kladno

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A helmet is mandatory on scooters for persons under 18 years of age. Therefore, children on these means of transport are a big topic. The case of a ten-year-old boy from the beginning of April was mentioned, who had to be airlifted from the Central Bohemian region to the Prague trauma center after falling on a scooter; he was not wearing a helmet and suffered fractures and a serious head injury.

National figures showed that in 42 percent of accidents caused by a rider on an electric scooter, the driver was found to be under the influence of alcohol. “It’s an even bigger issue than bicycles, it’s an alarming number,” said Michal Hodboď from the Directorate of the Traffic Police Service of the Police Presidium. The police officers will therefore focus on the places where riders on scooters move most often.

For cyclists, the figure was 28.3 percent, which is the proportion of road accidents caused by a cyclist where the rider was under the influence of alcohol. Not wearing a helmet is another trend. Seventy percent of those killed on e-bikes, bicycles, scooters and e-scooters were not wearing helmets.

Last year there were 4,170 traffic accidents related to cyclists – this is a lower number than in previous years, but this is distorted by the fact that the police excluded scooter accidents from the statistics for the first time last year. 39 cases ended in death, 260 people were seriously injured.