Hospital Seeing More Personal Mobility Device Accidents and Serious Injuries Despite Active Mobility Act

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Trauma Surgery
• Transportation Safety

Background:

• Personal mobility devices (PMDs), including e-scooters, have surged in popularity in Singapore, offering convenient transportation alternatives.
• The rise in PMD usage has coincided with growing public safety concerns and the implementation of the Active Mobility Act (AMA) in January 2017.
• Hospitals have observed a year-on-year increase of 20%-30% in PMD-related accidents.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the incidence and severity of personal mobility device (PMD)-related accidents before and after the implementation of the Active Mobility Act (AMA).
• To analyze trends in PMD accident demographics, device types, injury patterns, and outcomes.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective study was conducted on patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) of Khoo Teck Puat Hospital for PMD-related accidents.
• Data were collected from November 2014 to October 2017, encompassing demographic information, device type, impact, outcome, and Injury Severity Score (ISS).
• Accidents were analyzed across three study years corresponding to pre- and post-AMA implementation periods.

Main Results:

• A total of 697 PMD-related accidents were recorded, with a notable increase in incidence from 157 in year 1 to 307 in year 3.
• E-scooter accidents saw a significant rise, constituting 58.3% of injuries in year 3, while e-bicycle and other PMD accidents decreased.
• Although most injuries were mild (ISS <9), the number of severe injuries (ISS ≥9) increased from 4 to 18, with a rise in hospital admissions from 12 to 44.

Conclusions:

• Despite the Active Mobility Act (AMA) implementation, there has been an increase in the incidence and severity of personal mobility device (PMD)-related accidents in Singapore.
• Further safety interventions and regulations are necessary to ensure the safe use of PMDs on public pathways and roads.
• While survival rates remained at 100%, the rise in severe injuries and admissions highlights ongoing safety challenges.