85 out of 100 Electric Scooter Accident Victims Not Wearing Helmets... 60% Suffer Facial Injuries

Professor Choi Junho's Research Team at Jeonnam National University Hospital Analyzed 2018-2021

23% of Accidents Occurred Under the Influence of Alcohol... "Active Measures Needed to Promote Helmet Use"

Professor Choi Junho, Jeonnam National University Hospital.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Amid a surge in traffic accidents caused by electric kickboards, it was found that 85% of users who visited hospitals due to accidents were not wearing helmets, and 60% suffered facial injuries.

In particular, 23% of the users involved in accidents were found to have been riding electric kickboards under the influence of alcohol.

On the 12th, according to Chonnam National University Hospital (Director Ahn Young-geun), Professor Choi Junho’s plastic surgery research team published a paper titled “Electric Scooter-Related Trauma in Korea” in the international journal JKMS (Journal of Korean Medical Science).

Professor Choi’s team analyzed helmet usage and injury locations among 108 patients who visited the emergency medical center at Chonnam National University Hospital due to electric kickboard accidents from April 2018 to October 2021.

As a result, the number of patients visiting due to electric kickboard accidents was only 5 in 2018 but gradually increased to ▲18 in 2019 ▲30 in 2020 ▲55 in 2021.

This survey aligns with the annual average increase rates of electric kickboard accidents reported by the Road Traffic Authority’s Traffic Accident Analysis System, which recorded ▲225 cases in 2018 ▲447 cases in 2019 ▲897 cases in 2020.

Notably, 85% (92 people) were not wearing helmets at the time of the accident, and among 15 patients with severe trauma, 14 were not wearing helmets. Of these, 5 people (4.6%) suffered serious fatal injuries such as death, coma, or total paralysis.

Regarding injury locations, among the 108 patients, 60.2% (65 people) sustained facial injuries, followed by head injuries at 21.3% (23 people), upper body 14.8% (16 people), lower body 9.3% (10 people), chest 6.5% (7 people), and abdomen 2.8% (3 people).

Among the 65 patients with facial trauma, 89% (58 people) were not wearing helmets, with 84.5% (49 people) suffering lacerations, 53.4% (31 people) abrasions, and 27.6% (16 people) fractures.

In particular, 21.3% (23 people) of accident patients were driving under the influence of alcohol, and among them, 22 were not wearing helmets. Additionally, male patients accounted for 82.4% (89 people) of those who visited the emergency room due to electric kickboard accidents, overwhelmingly higher than females at 17.6% (19 people).

Professor Choi said, “This study is meaningful as it is the first domestic research on electric kickboard-related accidents based on helmet usage. Wearing a helmet alone can significantly reduce severe injuries. However, despite the mandatory helmet-wearing regulation, the low wearing rate calls for active exploration of various measures such as introducing a helmet rental system to improve this.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.