August 13, 2025
RED FM News Desk
Medical professionals are cautioning Canadians to ride more carefully after new data shows a sharp increase in e-scooter-related injuries nationwide.
Figures from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) reveal hospitalizations linked to e-scooter accidents jumped 22 per cent between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024. Over that period, 992 riders required medical attention, including 234 in Alberta alone.
Urgent care physician Dr. Raj Bhardwaj says the most severe crashes often involve risky behaviour.
“We’ve been seeing people who are intoxicated with either alcohol or drugs, double-riding, overestimating their skill or underestimating the speed they’re going,” he said. “And then we see big collisions—with cars, pedestrians, curbs, light poles. That’s where the big trauma comes in.”
In Calgary, Bhardwaj says the most common injuries are fractures, especially broken wrists and ankles. But he has also treated far more serious cases.
“We’ve seen broken jaws, total facial smashes requiring extensive dental work, spine injuries, sometimes neck injuries,” he said. “We’ve also seen liver lacerations and spleen lacerations.”
Bhardwaj notes the CIHI data likely underestimates the problem, as not all injured riders seek hospital care.
E-scooter user Jan Lopez says she isn’t surprised by the increase and believes riders need to be more mindful of safety.
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