e-scooter injuries on rise for young kids in toronto
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the key demographic for e-scooter injuries has been identified, according to a physician at the hospital for sick children in toronto.
“the classic e-scooter injury is a boy, aged 10-12,” dr. daniel rosenfield, a pediatric emergency physician at sickkids, told the toronto sun. “we are seeing more deaths reported, and what we really want parents to understand is that these (e-scooters) are not toys.”
rosenfield is also an associate professor with the department of paediatrics at the university of toronto.
poor judgement by adults
getting beyond the legality of operating e-scooters in toronto, it is alarming that some of the injuries the doctor is seeing in the emergency department originate beyond the “classic e-scooter injury” tag, with poor judgement by adults creating injury spikes where they should not be.
“unfortunately, we have seen spikes in little kids who are aged 3 to 5, and those are ones where they are passengers with their parents,” rosenfield said. “that is basically a parent riding a scooter with their small child in front of them on the scooter.
“yeah, when you say it out loud, it sounds as dangerous as it is,” he said.
naturally, this example of irresponsible behaviour isn’t just limited to adults, as kids tend to be mirrors, reflecting the dangerous behaviour they see around them.
“other times, it is a sibling, when the 12-year-old will put their six-year-old with them as a game or fun, whatever (it may be),” rosenfield said. “these devices were not designed for passengers at the best of times, let alone when they are being navigated by a 12-year-old pre-teen.”
sickkids has seen e-scooter injuries increase exponentially in recent years.
rosenfield says sickkids treated 23 e-scooter accidents in 2023, 46 the following year and 107 last year (this year’s final numbers are not yet available.) the injuries run the gamut from the simple to the complex and life-altering.
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“we see everything from little scrapes and small cuts that need a couple of stitches, but the thing that really concerns us, and what we are seeing more of, is the major trauma,” rosenfield said. “and when i say major trauma, i mean we are seeing major head injuries. these children, the majority of the time, are not wearing helmets.
“we are seeing high-speed crashes resulting in major injuries that require our intensive care unitv … brain surgery, we have seen surgeries for abdominal trauma, major compound fractures or other procedures and things of that nature. and those are the injuries we want to try and avoid because they are life-altering. and it can result in prolonged rehabilitation periods in a rehab hospital, long icu stays and more.”
illegal in the city
the city defines an e-scooter as “an electric kick scooter (e-scooter) is a two-wheeled, battery-powered vehicle with handlebars and a platform to stand on.”
not to be confused with its brethern, e-bikes are legal to operate in toronto.
despite the noticeable increase in popularity, e-scooters are illegal to operate on public streets, sidewalks, bicycle lanes, cycle tracks, trails and paths and parks in toronto. the ontario government launched an e-scooter pilot program back in january 2020, but the city declined to participate, and that is why they are illegal, as opposed to other municipalities that have opted into the program.
despite the ban, the city’s health department has found a doubling effect.
between 2022 and 2024, toronto public health found emergency department visits doubled, rising from 423 to 804, and urgent emergency visits more than doubled from 322 to 667. about 68% of people treated for e‑scooter fall injuries in an emergency department setting were male.
rosenfield isn’t hiding his head in the sand. he knows the popularity of these vehicles and understands that the number of injuries will surely only increase.
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“we are seeing more deaths reported and what we really want parents to understand is that these are not toys, and they should not be buying them for their children,” he said. “there is a reason they are illegal to be used under the age of 16 in the province of ontario, and that is because children are simply unable to navigate these devices safely.”
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