Doctors treating injured children say there is a dangerous misconception amid the growing popularity of e-scooters. Medics in Greater Manchester say they are seeing "several" e-scooter incidents every week, with youngsters left with devastating brain injuries. New research reveals the scale of the problem hitting hospitals.
"We obviously see a lot of minor injuries, which are ankle injuries and upper limb injuries," Caroline Rushmer, children's major trauma coordinator at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, told the Manchester Evening News. "But we're also seeing really significant injuries. In some cases, life-altering injuries as a result of using e-scooters."
Serious injuries and brain damage
Rushmer recalled the case of one boy who crashed after hitting a pothole hidden beneath fallen leaves. Another child, aged just seven, suffered a serious leg break after twisting the throttle on a friend's e-scooter without realising what it did. She has also treated children, often aged 12 to 14, with severe brain injuries, which she says have "altered their cognitive trajectory for life".
The findings come after the consequences of e-scooter incidents were laid bare in the tragic case of 14-year-old Jacob Calland, who was riding on the back of an e-scooter driven by a 15-year-old friend when it collided with a car in Wythenshawe last year. Jacob suffered a catastrophic brain injury and died eight days later in hospital. His death has since become the focus of a campaign by his mum Carly to raise awareness of the dangers of e-scooters.
New research reveals scale of the problem
New research by doctors at three of England's major children's trauma centres has revealed a dramatic rise in the number of youngsters ending up in hospital after e-scooter crashes. Researchers at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust and Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust identified 477 children treated for e-scooter-related injuries between 2019 and 2024.
The research, published in the Emergency Medicine Journal, found the number of cases rose from fewer than 10 in 2019 to almost 150 in 2024 - and the average age of the injured children was just 12. Almost one in four suffered a head injury, while 18.5 per cent sustained facial injuries. One in ten head injuries was serious enough to require imaging, hospital admission and, in some cases, surgery. And fewer than two per cent were reported to have been wearing a helmet.
High speeds and legal confusion
"We've looked at three different city hospitals and we're all seeing similar results," Caroline explained, highlighting a range of injuries from e-scooters, from broken bones to devastating brain injuries. "It means that this is potentially translatable nationally."
Despite the potential severity of the crashes noted in the research, fewer than two per cent of children were reported to have been wearing a helmet. "If you think of push bikes, most kids are not going to be able to pedal above around 15 miles an hour… unless they're going downhill," said Caroline. "Whereas these e-scooters, at the push of a button, at the pull of a throttle, are whizzing off down the road at 25 to 30 miles an hour or more."
The doctor added that some e-scooters being used by children can have top speeds of 35 or 40mph. Caroline says the problem is not simply that children are making reckless decisions, but that many parents do not fully understand what an e-scooter is or where it can legally be ridden.
"They are often marketed as a toy," she said. "And they're clearly not a toy. They're a motorised vehicle in the same way that a moped or a motorbike is."
In the UK, privately owned e-scooters are currently illegal to ride on public roads, pavements, cycle lanes, parks and other public spaces. Government rental schemes operate under separate rules, with rental scooters available only to people aged 16 and over. A privately owned e-scooter can only legally be ridden on private land with the landowner's permission, but Caroline said that message is not always clear to parents buying them.
"We were finding that there was a lot of parental lack of awareness or lack of understanding about not only the legality of them, but the speeds that some of these vehicles can do," she said. She warns children riding them may simply not have the experience to understand what happens when something goes wrong.
"When we're learning to drive, we learn about hazard perception. We learn about speed awareness," she said. "If you put an 11, 12, or 13-year-old on one of these, they haven't had that education."
Vulnerable children and calls for action
The study also found that three-quarters of injured children lived in areas of the greatest social and economic deprivation. "It's some of our most vulnerable children and young people that we're seeing significantly injured," Caroline said. While the study did not look into the reasons behind this, researchers say this highlights the importance of clearer messaging and education about e-scooters to help reduce injuries and improve safety. They are also calling for clearer information from retailers, stronger enforcement and a review of the current legislation.
"This research is really important as it helps raise awareness of the dangers of e-scooters," said Caroline. "We've seen families in our hospital deal with the grief and trauma that these accidents can bring. These are not toys, they're dangerous and their high-speed makes them unsuitable for children and young people. So, we hope with this research shining a light on the impact we're seeing in our children's emergency departments it will raise awareness of their dangers and help parents and young people take a moment to think before they get one."
Recent crashes and a mother's campaign
The findings come after a number of serious e-scooter crashes across Greater Manchester. In July, a 13-year-old boy was taken to hospital with serious injuries after an e-scooter collided with a car at the King Street roundabout in Oldham. In June, an e-scooter rider suffered life-changing injuries after crashing into a Ford Fiesta on Mount Road in Gorton. And last year, 14-year-old Jacob Calland died following a devastating crash in Wythenshawe.
He was on the back of an e-scooter being driven by a 15-year-old when it collided with a car on Southmoor Road on March 19, 2025. The scooter had been travelling at high speed and had gone through a red light. Jacob suffered a catastrophic brain injury and later died in hospital. He was a patient at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital before he tragically lost his life. The 'thrill-seeking' 15-year-old responsible walked free having being made the subject of an 18-month youth referral order.
Jacob's mum Carly has since campaigned to raise awareness of the dangers of e-scooters. In a moving victim impact statement in Manchester Crown Court in June, Carly, who wept and held a teddy bear containing her son's ashes she spoke, said her heart had been "smashed into a thousand pieces" by his death.
"I will never forget when doctors told me there was nothing more that could be done," his mum Carly said. "My entire world stopped. I could not stop his pain or make anything better. Nurses helped me to take a lock of his hair and I fell asleep holding him. When it was time to turn the machine off, I told him I loved him. A part of me is lost forever. His little brother cannot understand why he is not coming home. Sometimes I forget that he is gone. The house is so quiet without him, his toothbrush is still in the bathroom. When reality hits I cannot breathe or function. I knew e-scooters were dangerous and not suitable for children and I remember warning Jacob about them. I never thought he would lose his life riding on the back of one."
The scooter was later found to have three speed settings of nine, fifteen and 28 miles per hour, the latter called 'Turbo mode', which the scooter was set to at the time of the collision, the court heard.
"Behind every one of these statistics is a child and a family who face a potentially distressing and unexpected trip to hospital," said Dr Lisa Sabir, emergency medicine doctor and researcher at Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust, who was involved in the recent study. "We know that families want to keep their children safe, and don't want to come to our Emergency Department with these injuries, but sadly we are seeing more. We need to make it easier for children, young people and their families to understand where e-scooters can and cannot be used, and the risks involved. Clearer, consistent information, alongside appropriate legislation, road safety measures and greater use of helmets, could help families make informed decisions and, ultimately, prevent children from being injured."
