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🇫🇷 France /Health & Science

In Lyon, head traumas linked to electric scooters explode among children and teens

From Le Figaro · () French

Translated from French, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • A study in Lyon, France, reveals a significant increase in severe head injuries among children and adolescents due to electric scooter accidents.
  • The number of patients requiring neurosurgical consultation after such accidents rose from 1 to 25 between 2021 and 2025.
  • The study highlights risky behavior and poor adherence to safety rules as major contributing factors.

A concerning surge in severe head injuries among young people in Lyon, France, has been linked to electric scooter accidents, according to a study published in the journal Neurosurgery.

Researchers at the Femme Mère Enfant Hospital (HFME) in Bron observed a dramatic rise in patients needing neurosurgical evaluation following electric scooter incidents. Between 2021 and 2025, the number of such cases jumped from just one to 25. The severity of these injuries is reportedly comparable to those sustained in accidents involving motorized two-wheelers.

The severity of these injuries is comparable to that observed in accidents involving motorized two-wheelers.

— Pauline Lethellier, pediatrician, and Professor Étienne Javouhey, head of the pediatric emergency and resuscitation department at HFMEDescribing the seriousness of head injuries sustained in electric scooter accidents.

Consultations for these accidents encompass a range of injuries, including head trauma and abdominal damage affecting organs like the liver or spleen, as well as fractures. Since April 2026, the hospital's emergency department has recorded approximately twenty such accident cases per month, with about a quarter requiring immediate admission to pediatric intensive care.

Risky behaviors with little respect for the rules, which place users of scooters on the road with cars, in accident situations similar to motorized two-wheelers.

— Pierre PetitetExplaining the contributing factors to the rise in electric scooter accidents.

The majority of those affected are adolescents aged 14 or 15, though younger children are also treated. The study's lead author, Pierre Petitet, an internal medicine resident in neurosurgery, attributes these accidents to "risky behaviors with little respect for the rules," which place scooter users in situations similar to motorcyclists when sharing roads with cars.

Furthermore, the study indicated that 68.2% of accidents occurred without the involvement of another vehicle, suggesting that loss of control and isolated falls are common. The authors emphasize that wearing a helmet remains the most effective preventive measure, yet acknowledge that about two-thirds of children do not change this behavior even after experiencing trauma.

However, experience confirmed by the observational study shows that even after trauma, about two-thirds of children do not change.

— Study authorsHighlighting the persistent lack of helmet use despite the risks.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Le Figaro in French. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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