Fewer e-scooter injuries treated at Helsinki emergency departments
Keywords:Between January and August 2026, HUS's emergency departments in Helsinki treated 31% fewer e-scooter related injuries than in the previous year. The number of patients who were intoxicated at the time of injury was also lower. Despite the decline, e-scooter injuries are still highly common.
In January–August 2026, the emergency departments in Malmi and Meilahti treated a total of 172 patients with e-scooter related injuries. During the same period the year before, the number was 248 patients. The numbers include patients over the age of 16 who were driving privately owned or rental e-scooters, as well as injured victims otherwise involved in e-scooter accidents.
The numbers cover injuries that required urgent treatment. The numbers do not include patients with minor injuries treated at health center emergency services.
Injuries declined more than e-scooter use
The reduction in e-scooter accidents can be partly explained by the diminished use of rental e-scooters. According to data from the City of Helsinki, rental e-scooters were used for 3.3 million trips in January–August 2026, compared with 3.8 million in 2025.
“The number of trips in Helsinki decreased by about 13 percent, but the number of patients injured in e-scooter accidents and treated at Malmi and Meilahti emergency departments dropped by about 31 percent. This means that the number of injuries decreased proportionally more than the use of e-scooters,” says Laura Seitakari, licentiate in medicine at HUS Emergency Medicine and Services.
Number of intoxicated patients declined
In January–August 2026, 19 of the injured patients were intoxicated whereas in 2025, the number was 42. The share of intoxicated patients among all cases fell from 17 to 11 percent.
“A blood alcohol concentration limit of 0.5 per mille for e-scooter drivers came into force in June 2025. However, comparing the annual intoxication data involves some uncertainties, and the effect of the recent act cannot be verified with these numbers. The trend is still very positive,” says Henri Vasara, doctor of medical science at HUS Emergency Medicine and Services.
Limitations established in 2021 improved safety
Since the collection of statistics began in 2021, the largest drop in accidents was seen between the years 2021 and 2022. The decline can be explained by speed and usage limits that came into effect in Helsinki in September 2021.
“After the restrictions, both the number of injuries as well as the risk of injuries in comparison to the number of trips declined significantly. We estimate that the speed and usage limits have clearly made e-scooter use safer,” says Seitakari.