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E-scooter injuries in US jump 222% in 4 years

By General Posts

According to a University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) study, electric scooter-related injuries in the US jumped 222 per cent between 2014 and 2018, with over 39,000 people injuring themselves.

San Francisco: E-scooters may have become popular as more people are becoming aware of its benefits and convenience, but there has been a major surge in incidents of injuries related to scooters, particularly among young adults in the US.

According to a University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) study, electric scooter-related injuries in the US jumped 222 per cent between 2014 and 2018, with over 39,000 people injuring themselves.

The number of hospital admissions soared by 365 per cent to a total of nearly 3,300, according to the UCSF study.

“E-scooters are a fast and convenient form of transportation and help to lessen traffic congestion, especially in dense, high-traffic areas,” Benjamin N. Breyer, MD, a UCSF Health urologist and corresponding author, said in a statement.

The rise in the spate of such incidents was also due to the lack of helmets; almost a third of injuries involved some kind of head trauma.

Nearly a third of the patients suffered head trauma — more than twice the rate of head injuries to bicyclists.

About a third of the e-scooter injuries were to women, and people between the ages of 18 and 34 were the most often injured for the first time in 2018.

“But we’re very concerned about the significant increase in injuries and hospital admissions that we documented, particularly during the last year, and especially with young people, where the proportion of hospital admissions increased 354 per cent,” Breyer added.

The UCSF team had previously looked at bicycle injuries using the same data set and found scooter riders had a higher proportion of head injuries, which was also identified in this study.

Motorised scooters have become more ubiquitous in the last few years, particularly within the US’ biggest cities and suburbs, health officials and medical experts across the country grew increasingly alarmed by the number of fractures, dislocations and head injuries appearing in trauma centres.

Regulatory oversight is largely absent about where people can ride scooters and whether helmets are mandatory: Previous research showed that only a fraction of injured e-scooter riders (ranging from 2 per cent to about 5 per cent) wore helmets when they were hurt.

Commute to work for just a £1 a week

By General Posts

Commute to work for just a £1 a week: Car firm SEAT unveils zero-emission electric motorcycle that it claims will save the average biker hundreds of pounds a year in running costs

  • Motorcycle has range of 71 miles for each charge and cost 60-70p per charge
  • Power is from a 11kW motor, which is equivalent to a 125cc petrol engine
  • It is not known if the e-scooter by Spanish company Seat will go on sale in UK 

by Milly Vincent from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/

An electric motorcycle that can do a 100-mile weekly commute for approximately £1 has been unveiled by Spanish car firm Seat.

The e-Scooter concept is a response to a growing demand from urban commuters for zero emission mobility solutions.

With the equivalent to a 125cc petrol engine, its 11kW motor gives it a 0-31mph time of 3.8 seconds and a top speed of 62mph.

Incredibly the motorcycle has a range of 71 miles between charges and will typically cost just 60-70p to fully charge.

The average fossil-fulled motorcycle can go around double that on a tank of petrol, which would likely cost around £20, meaning the electric bike offers quite a saving.

And with the average British motorcyclist riding approximately 5,000 miles per year, the e-Scooter would cost them around £1 per week in electricity if the production model is eventually sold in the UK.

SEAT’s new motorcycle is the Spanish firm’s latest response to urban motoring and follows this month’s launch of the Mii Electric, its first ever zero emission car.

The e-Scooter was unveiled in Barcelona in a partnership with Silence, and will enter full production next year.

The firm is yet to confirm if the electric bike will be sold in the UK, which is one of Europe’s largest market for motorcycles, with more than 1.1 million bikes registered.

Lucas Casasnovas, head of urban mobility at SEAT, said: ‘We aim to become an ally for cities and the SEAT e-Scooter concept is the answer to public demand for a more agile mobility.

‘Our collaboration with Silence is an example of how cooperation between partners enables us to be more efficient.’

The e-Scooter concept has been developed for all motorcyclists but is geared more towards ‘motosharing’.

It is fitted with two USB input sockets and a place to hold a mobile phone.

A phone app can monitor where the bike is located and track its battery usage and the battery is easily removed from the bike and charged inside.

Joan Melenchon, a designer at SEAT, said: ‘We mostly wanted it to be a vehicle that is straightforward, iconic and practical.

‘We steered away from making a visually minimalist package, concentrating instead on its pared down utility.’

SEAT is spearheading the Volkswagen Group’s ‘micromobility’ strategy and has also built a 100 per cent electric quadricycle called Minimo.