E-Scooter ve Bisiklet Kazalarında Yaralanma Şiddeti ve Modelleri: Türkiye Acil Servisinden İki Yıllık Bir Deneyim

Abstract

Amaç: Mikromobilite, kısa mesafeli kentsel seyahatler için kullanılan elektrikli scooterlar ve bisikletler gibi düşük hızlı, hafif araçları içermektedir. E-scooterların artan popülaritesi, kaza kaynaklı acil servis başvurularında ve güvenlik endişelerinde artışla birlikte gelmektedir. Bu çalışma, üçüncü basamak bir acil servise (AS) başvuran e-scooter ve bisiklet kazaları arasında yaralanma şiddeti, anatomik yaralanma modelleri ve hastaneye ilişkin maliyetleri karşılaştırmayı amaçlamıştır.

Gereç ve Yöntemler: Bu retrospektif gözlemsel çalışma, Ocak 2023 ile Ocak 2025 tarihleri arasında 373 travma kaynaklı AS başvurusunu kapsamakta olup bunların 87’si e-scooter (%23,3) ve 286’sı (%76,7) bisiklet kazasıdır. Demografik özellikler, kaza zamanı, yaralanma türleri, Yaralanma Şiddet Skorları (ISS) ve maliyet verileri değerlendirilmiştir. Grup karşılaştırmaları Ki-kare testi, bağımsız örneklem t-testi veya Mann–Whitney U testi kullanılarak uygun test seçilerek yapılmıştır.

Bulgular: Vakaların %81,5’i hafif travma, %18,5’i ise ağır travma olarak sınıflandırılmıştır. Ağır travmalar bisiklet kazalarına (%17,8) kıyasla e-scooter kazalarında (%20,7) biraz daha yaygındı, ancak fark istatistiksel olarak anlamlı değildi. Üst ekstremite kırıkları her iki grupta da en sık görülen büyük yaralanmaydı. Kaburga ve alt ekstremite kırıkları e-scooter kullanıcılarında daha sık görülürken, klavikula kırıkları bisiklet kullanıcılarında daha sık görüldü. Hasta başına ortalama hastane maliyeti 44,19 ABD dolarıydı.

Sonuç: Bu kentsel Türk acil servis kohortunda mikromobilite ile ilişkili yaralanmaların çoğu hafif olup düşük ISS değerleri ve mütevazı hasta başı maliyetlerle seyretti; ancak bisiklet kullanıcıları daha sık yüz, klavikula ve iç organ travması geçirdi. Bisiklet kullanıcılarında yüz, köprücük kemiği ve iç organ yaralanmaları daha sık görülmüştür. Genel yaralanma şiddeti benzer olsa da, araç türüne özgü yaralanma modelleri çok merkezli daha kapsamlı bir araştırmayı gerektirmektedir.

Keywords

• E-scooter
• bisiklet
• yaralanma şiddet skoru
• mikromobilite
• acil servis

Ethical Statement

Çalışma, Sağlık Bilimleri Üniversitesi Gaziosmanpaşa Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi Etik Kurulu tarafından onaylanmıştır (onay tarihi: 26 Şubat 2025; karar no.: 2025/32). Bu çalışma retrospektif bir çalışma olduğu için, etik kurulu tarafından bireysel bilgilendirilmiş onam şartından feragat edilmiştir.

Thanks

Dil revizyonu yazarlar tarafından textcheck aracılığıyla değerlendirildi.

Injury Severity and Patterns in E-Scooter and Bicycle Accidents: A Two-year Experience from Our Emergency Department

Abstract

Aim: Micromobility includes low-speed, lightweight vehicles such as electric scooters and bicycles used for short-distance urban travel. The growing popularity of e-scooters has been accompanied by increasing accident-related emergency admissions and safety concerns. This study aimed to compare injury severity, anatomical injury patterns, and hospital-related costs between patients presenting to a tertiary emergency department (ED) following e-scooter versus bicycle accidents.

Material and Methods: This retrospective observational study included 373 trauma-related ED admissions between January 2023 and January 2025, comprising 87 e-scooter (23.3%) and 286 bicycle (76.7%) accidents. Demographic characteristics, accident timing, injury types, Injury Severity Scores (ISS), and cost data were assessed. Group comparisons were performed using the Chi-square test, the independent samples t-test, or the Mann–Whitney U test, as appropriate.

Results: Minor trauma accounted for 81.5% of cases and major trauma for 18.5%. Major trauma was slightly more common following e-scooter accidents (20.7%) than bicycle accidents (17.8%), though the difference was not statistically significant. Upper extremity fractures were the most frequent major injury in both groups. Rib and lower extremity fractures occurred more often in e-scooter users, whereas clavicular fractures occurred more frequently among bicycle users. The mean hospital cost per patient was $44.19. Hospitalization and ICU admission rates were comparable between groups.

Conclusion: In this urban Turkish ED cohort, most micromobility-related injuries were minor, with low ISS values and modest per-patient costs. Bicycle users more frequently sustained facial, clavicle, and visceral injuries. Despite similar overall injury severity, vehicle-specific injury patterns warrant further multicenter investigation.

Keywords

• E-scooter
• bicycle
• injury severity score
• micromobility
• emergency department

Ethical Statement

The study was approved by the University of Health Sciences, Gaziosmanpaşa Training and Research Hospital Ethics Committee (approval date: 26 February 2025; decision no.: 2025/32). As this was a retrospective study, the requirement for individual informed consent was waived by the ethics committee.

Thanks

Language revision was evaluated by the authors through textcheck.

References

1. World Health Organization (WHO). Road traffic injuries [Internet]. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2023 [cited 2025 Jun 09]. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/road-traffic-injuries
2. Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK). Karayolu trafik kaza istatistikleri 2023 [Internet]. Ankara: TÜİK; 2024 [cited 2025 Nov 30]. Available from: https://data.tuik.gov.tr/Bulten/Index?p=Karayolu-Trafik-Kaza-Istatistikleri-2023-53479
3. DiGioia J, Watkins KE, Xu Y, Rodgers M, Guensler R. Safety impacts of bicycle infrastructure: a critical review. J Safety Res. 2017;61:105-19. doi:10.1016/j.jsr.2017.02.015.
4. Mayhew LJ, Bergin C. Impact of e-scooter injuries on emergency department imaging. J Med Imaging Radiat Oncol. 2019;63(4):461-6. doi:10.1111/1754-9485.12889.
5. Bekhit MNZ, Le Fevre J, Bergin CJ. Regional healthcare costs and burden of injury associated with electric scooters. Injury. 2020;51(2):271-7. doi:10.1016/j.injury.2019.10.026.
6. T.C. Ulaştırma ve Altyapı, Çevre ve Şehircilik ile İçişleri Bakanlıkları. Elektrikli skuter yönetmeliği. Sayı 31454 [Internet]. Ankara: T.C. Resmi Gazete [Official Gazette of the Republic of Türkiye]. 2021 Apr 14 [cited 2025 Jun 09]. Available from: https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2021/04/20210414-3.htm
7. Singh P, Jami M, Geller J, Granger C, Geaney L, Aiyer A. The impact of e-scooter injuries: a systematic review of 34 studies. Bone Jt Open. 2022;3(9):674-83. doi:10.1302/2633-1462.39.BJO-2022-0096.R1.
8. Tscherne H, Oestern H. [A new classification of soft-tissue damage in open and closed fractures]. Unfallheilkunde. 1982;85(3):111-5.

9. Gennarelli TA, Wodzin E. AIS 2005: a contemporary injury scale. Injury. 2006;37(12):1083-91. doi:10.1016/j.injury.2006.07.009.
10. Petridou ET, Antonopoulos CN. Injury epidemiology. In: Quah SR, Cockerham WC, editors. International encyclopedia of public health [Internet]. 2nd ed. Amsterdam: Elsevier; 2017 [cited 2026 Apr 15]. p. 258-74. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-803678-5.00233-2.
11. States JD. The abbreviated and the comprehensive research injury scales. 13th Stapp Car Crash Conference; 1969 December 02; Boston, Massachusetts, United States: SAE International; 1969. doi:10.4271/690810.
12. Abacı E, Köse A, Özturan İU, Buyurgan ÇS, Yarkaç A, Babuş SB, et al. Association between riders’ characteristics and injury patterns in motorcycle or electric-bike accidents. Anatol J Emerg Med. 2023;6(3):111-6. doi:10.54996/anatolianjem.1269174.
13. Fyhri A, Johansson O, Bjørnskau T. Gender differences in accident risk with e-bikes: survey data from Norway. Accid Anal Prev. 2019;132:105248. doi:10.1016/j.aap.2019.07.024.
14. deGrauw X, Mooney SJ, Zhou W, Kim M, Wang J, Qiu Q, et al. Electric scooter related injury in Seattle: a technical report for the Washington traffic safety commission [Internet]. Washington: University of Washington, 2024. 21 p. WTSC Report Number 2024-Sub-grants-4983. Available from: https://wtsc.wa.gov/wp-content/uploads/dlm_uploads/2026/08/E-Scooter-Report_Dec2024.pdf
15. Mehranfar V, Jones C. Exploring implications and current practices in e-scooter safety: a systematic review. Transp Res Part F Traffic Psychol Behav. 2024;107:321-82. doi:10.1016/j.trf.2024.09.004.
16. Störmann P, Klug A, Nau C, Verboket RD, Leiblein M, Müller D, et al. Characteristics and injury patterns in electric-scooter related accidents: a prospective two-center report from Germany. J Clin Med. 2020;9(5):1569. doi:10.3390/jcm9051569.
17. Ishmael CR, Hsiue PP, Zoller SD, Wang P, Hori KR, Gatto JD, et al. An early look at operative orthopaedic injuries associated with electric scooter accidents: bringing high-energy trauma to a wider audience. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2020;102(5):e18. doi:10.2106/JBJS.19.00390.
18. Osti N, Aboud A, Gumbs S, Engdahl R, Carryl S, Donaldson B, et al. E-scooter and e-bike injury pattern profile in an inner-city trauma center in upper Manhattan. Injury. 2023;54(5):1392-5. doi:10.1016/j.injury.2023.02.054.
19. Hennocq Q, Schouman T, Khonsari RH, Sigaux N, Descroix V, Bertolus C, et al. Evaluation of electric scooter head and neck injuries in Paris, 2017–2019. JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(11):e2026698. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.26698.
20. Acton CH, Nixon JW, Clark RC. Bicycle riding and oral/maxillofacial trauma in young children. Med J Aust. 1996;165(5):249-51. doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.1996.tb124957.x.
21. Kim SJ, Lee DW. Epidemiology of fractures following electric scooter injury. Indian J Orthop. 2023;57(6):818-26. doi:10.1007/s43465-023-00862-1.
22. Choi JH, Oh SS, Kim KS, Hwang JH, Lee SY. Electric scooter-related trauma in Korea. J Korean Med Sci. 2022;37(22):e181. doi:10.3346/jkms.2022.37.e181.
23. Ranson R, Das A, Littlefield C, Raffa T, Belk JW, Zhao A, et al. Orthopedic injuries caused by electric scooters: a systematic review. HSS J. 2025;21(1):81-5. doi:10.1177/15563316231216954.
24. Janikian GS, Caird JK, Hagel B, Reay G. A scoping review of e-scooter safety: delightful urban slalom or injury epidemic? Transp Res Part F Traffic Psychol Behav. 2024;101:33-58. doi:10.1016/j.trf.2023.12.015.
25. Vasara H, Toppari L, Harjola VP, Virtanen K, Castrén M, Kobylin A. Characteristics and costs of electric scooter injuries in Helsinki: a retrospective cohort study. Scand J Trauma Resusc Emerg Med. 2022;30(1):57. doi:10.1186/s13049-022-01042-0.
26. Ahluwalia R, Grainger C, Coffey D, Malhotra PS, Sommerville C, Tan PS, et al. The e-scooter pandemic at a UK major trauma centre: a cost-based cohort analysis of injury presentation and treatment. Surgeon. 2023;21(4):256-62. doi:10.1016/j.surge.2022.07.001.