Last week brought the worst possible outcome to the North Estonia Medical Center in Tallinn, when the life of an 11-year-old boy who had fallen from an electric scooter could not be saved.

"Last week there was the very tragic death of a young boy who arrived with severe neurotrauma, and while the neurosurgeon was operating on him, another child arrived in the emergency department with a scooter injury, an open femur fracture," said Peep Talving, head of the surgery clinic at the North Estonia Medical Center.

The hospital also treats hundreds of less serious injuries every year. Last year, it recorded around 400 incidents.

"Forty-two percent are head injuries. Upper limbs – arm and hand fractures – account for about 40 percent. Fractures occur in about every fourth case. Severe brain injuries account for about two to three percent," Talving said.

This summer, doctors at Tallinn Children's Hospital have treated a child with injuries caused by a scooter accident every day. Many did not wear a helmet.

"For us, the most serious patients are those with head trauma, because the mechanism of falling from a scooter is simply such that a person falls face first. The same applies to children. The head is the first thing to be injured. Wearing a helmet does not somehow save us from accidents, but there would certainly be fewer life-threatening severe head and brain injuries," said Kristo Peetris, head nurse of the emergency department at Tallinn Children's Hospital.

The more serious injuries are caused by privately owned scooters, which can reach higher speeds than rental scooters. Young people also share videos online showing how to modify the vehicles to go faster than the speed limit.

"Of course we are aware of it, and we also see it during traffic enforcement. Very often there is no need to modify the light vehicle, because the light vehicle or other vehicle that has been purchased is already one that is actually prohibited in traffic," said Sirle Loigo, head of traffic enforcement at the North Prefecture.

Police statistics do not show an overall increase in scooter-related incidents. In total, nearly 600 traffic violations by light personal mobility vehicle riders have been recorded this year.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!