19/07/2026
'Real epidemic' in children being injured by e-scooters, says doctor'
More than 120 children within the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust have been treated for injuries sustained by electric scooters and e-bikes in the past 24 months with less than 10% wearing helmets.
A review of paediatric cases at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children found 77 children under 16 were treated for e-bike and e-scooter injuries between June 2024 and January 2026, with 35% sustaining head injuries.
Within the Republic of Ireland, Children's Health Ireland (CHI) confirmed e-scooters are now the leading cause of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) among children admitted under neurosurgery and rehab services at ​Temple Street Children’s University Hospital, with a 50% increase in admissions in the past twelve months. Of the 30 children admitted with TBI related to e-scooter incidents between May 2024 and June 2026, all had evidence of bleeding within their skull or brain, 97% sustained skull fractures, and 97% not wearing helmets.
In England and Wales, a nation-wide cohort study of major trauma among e-scooter and bicycle users found that out of 293 e-scooter trauma incidents compared with 2,538 bicycle incidents, e-scooter users were more likely to be admitted to a major trauma centre or a critical care unit. E-scooter users were also more likely to sustain serious head / limb trauma.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland stated that "there is no specific offence" for using an e-scooter on public roads in Northern Ireland. However, officers can enforce other rules such as having no road tax or insurance, which the user is unlikely to have for an off-road vehicle.
Under current Northern Ireland law, owning, buying or selling an e-scooter is not illegal, but they can only be used on private land and only if the landowner gives permission. They can only legally be ridden on roads, cycle paths and parks in the UK if they are rented as part of a government-backed scheme, however no such schemes are currently in place in Northern Ireland.
Research from European trauma centres confirms that e-scooter riders are significantly more likely than cyclists to not be wearing a helmet, and to suffer major skull, facial cranium and cervical spine injuries.
Gerard Anderson, Chief Executive of Brain Injury Matters and Chair of the Northern Ireland Acquired Brain Injury Forum:
“The absence of helmet use combined with the challenge of appropriate legislation to match public use is leaving children exposed to preventable life-altering injuries. More needs to be done across the Department of Health NI, Department of Justice NI and Northern Ireland Executive on improving awareness and legislation amongst e-scooter users."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8enr5647kwo #:~:text=Ninety%2Dthree%20children%20attended%20hospitals,to%2012%2C%22%20Davison%20added.
