Over half of e-scooter accidents take place after 8:00 PM, often when users have consumed alcohol, a new study by Saint-Pierre hospital in Brussels suggests.
As part of a project that will run into 2020, the Saint-Pierre hospital has been keeping record since April 2019 of the circumstances of e-scooter accidents that it has dealt with.
According to statistics gathered for the project, 55% of e-scooter accidents take place after 8:00 PM.
In addition, 35% of people who came to Saint-Pierre's hospital after an e-scooter accident had consumed alcohol, reports Bruzz.
"The vast majority of e-scooter accidents happen in the evening to people who have been drinking," said the hospital's chief emergency officer, Dr. Pierre Youatou Towo.
"People consciously leave the car or bicycle when they go for a drink, but then opt for a means of transport that is a lot more dangerous," the emergency officer explained.
Users should have to take an alcohol test before they begin their journey, Towo commented.
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The statistics also show that 36% of users who came to the hospital after an accident suffered from head injuries.
"The numbers show how important a helmet is on an electric scooter," said Towo. “Very few e-scooter drivers wear one, less than 2% of our patients. A mandatory helmet would not be a bad idea," Towo added.
Belgium's traffic safety institute, VIAS, argue that users of e-scooters should always wear a helmet, reports New Mobility.
However, since September, the number of e-scooter accidents dealt with at the hospital has decreased from 40 to 30 per month.
Evie McCullough
The Brussels Times
