Serious e-scooter casualties: comparing police and hospital data
An analysis of e-scooter casualties reported by police via the STATS19 system, linked to trauma patient data from the Trauma Audit Research Network (TARN).
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The Department’s road casualty statistics are based on data reported by police via the STATS19 system. E-scooter collisions have been recorded in STATS19 since 2020, using information captured as free text alongside the ‘other vehicle’ category. This forms the basis of the Department’s published e-scooter statistics.
It has long been known that many non-fatal casualties are not reported to police. As e-scooters are not yet formally recorded within STATS19, and remain illegal in Great Britain outside designated trial areas, it has been suggested that the extent of this under-reporting could be greater for e-scooters than other modes.
This report compares STATS19 records with data on trauma patients provided by TARN to attempt to assess, among those hospitalised e-scooter casualties with relatively more serious injuries, what proportion appear in the police data, and how this compares with other vulnerable road user types (pedal cyclists and motorcyclists).
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