U.S. scooter injuries rising rapidly

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ATLANTA, Georgia (Reuters) -- Lightweight foot-propelled scooters like those on many Christmas gift lists have put 27,600 people in hospital emergency rooms and caused two deaths so far this year, federal health officials said Thursday.

Accidents involving scooters have risen rapidly, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said. Eighty percent of this year's injuries have occurred during the past few months.

"The estimated number of injuries seen in emergency departments in September 2000 was nearly 18 times higher than in May 2000," said Dafna Kanny of the CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.

Of the 27,600 scooter-related injuries handled in emergency rooms this year, 85 percent involved children under age 15 and 23 percent were to children younger than 8, the CDC said. "Two-thirds of those injuries occurred to males," Kanny said.

The most common injuries were fractures or dislocations, lacerations, contusions and strains or sprains, researchers said. Forty-two percent of injuries were to the arm or hand, 27 percent were to the head or face and 24 percent were to the leg or foot.

The two known deaths from scooters included an adult who fell and hit his head while showing his daughter how to ride and a six-year-old who rode into traffic and was struck by a car, the CDC said.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission expects up to five million scooters to be sold this year, compared with virtually none last year.

The CDC and the CPSC recommend that anyone riding a scooter wear a helmet, knee and elbow pads and ride only in daylight on smooth, paved surfaces with no traffic. Adults should closely supervise young children on scooters, the agencies said.

Based on studies involving bicycles and in-line and roller skates, the CPSC said helmets may prevent 85 percent of head injuries and pads can prevent 82 percent of elbow injuries and 32 percent of knee injuries.

Last week, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said 90,000 scooters were being voluntarily recalled by Kent International Inc., of Parsippany, New Jersey, because their steering bars could unexpectedly pop out if the clamp holding them comes loose.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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