Scooter Craze Brings Hazards
by Malcolm J. Brenner
ALBUQUERQUE -- Following the adage, "Everything old is new again," scooters are back. When I was growing up in the 1950's, these two-wheeled, foot-powered transportation devices were ancient history, the stuff of "Our Gang" comedies from twenty years earlier. Every kid I knew wanted a bicycle. Nobody wanted a scooter.
But, like yo-yos, skateboards and those ugly/cute troll dolls, scooters have made a comeback. Sales zoomed from almost zero in 1999 to over two million last year. The latest models, built for today's technoyouth, are made of aluminum, feature high-tech polyurethane wheels and fold for convenient carrying or storage.
Riding a scooter requires less skill than a skateboard and less balance than a bicycle. You just grab the handlebars, put one foot on the footboard, the other on the ground and -- scoot! What could be more natural?
But following the scooter craze like a lost dog is a new health-hazard: scooter-related injuries! Don't laugh. Two people have died riding scooters, one a father trying to show his daughter how to do it, the other a 6-year-old boy who rode into traffic. And two models of scooters have been recalled for product defects.
The organization that keeps track of these things -- the Consumer Product Safety Commission -- charted a 1,800 percent rise in scooter-related injuries from May to September of last year. "Once it got warm and people started going outside, the injury rate just went nuts," said Dr. Benjamin Hoffman, an injury prevention specialist at University Hospital's Pediatric Clinic.
The CPSC's graph, which you can view on their website with the recall information at http://www.cpsc.gov/pr/prscoot.html, resembles Mount Everest. However, your son or daughter doesn't have to become a statistic. Hoffman says there are many things parents cans do to promote safer scooting.
First is parental supervision, especially for younger children. "My five-year-old daughter has one, and the first time I got on it I had a hard time controlling it," Hoffman said. "Without parental supervision, a scooter is a disaster waiting to happen."
Second, scooter riders should wear some type of protective headgear. The minimum requirement is a bicycle helmet, which reduces the rate of serious head injuries by 85 percent. Although they're more expensive, a multi-impact helmet would be preferable for the older, more daring scooterist.
Third are Velcro wrist guards, which can prevent the hand, arm and wrist fractures that are the most common scooter injuries. They reduce mobility, however, so make sure your child can still steer safely while wearing the wrist guards.
Fourth would be the elbow and knee pads that skateboarders wear.
While Hoffman doesn't think scooters are any more dangerous than bikes or skateboards, their sheer newness has taken everyone by surprise. "There are, by definition, no experienced riders," he said. It remains to be seen whether scooters will acquire the "outlaw" image of skateboards or become as commonplace as bicycles. Meanwhile, keeping an eye on your scooting kids and making sure they have the proper safety equipment can avoid an unnecessary trip to the emergency room.
Malcolm J. Brenner is Public Affairs Representative for the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center.
Didn't find what you were looking for? Click Here to visit the ARCHIVES or
editor@nmjournal.com
Copyright ©2000, 2001 WordPros Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No part of this site may be duplicated in any form without the express written consent of WordPros Publications, Inc. This includes all text, formatting, graphics, photographs, scripts and coding, etc. All brand names, logos, and product names used on these web pages are trademarks or tradenames of their respective holders. Terms of Use.
