[One and a half years of e-scooters in Hamburg]. / Eineinhalb Jahre E-Scooter ­ Zwischenbilanz in Hamburg: Teil 1: alkoholbedingte Auffälligkeiten im Straßenverkehr.

Background: Since electric scooters were introduced as an urban means of transportation in Hamburg in June 2019, a high number of violations of the current laws regarding alcohol consumption by e­scooter riders have been recorded. Objective: The aim of this study is to obtain an overview of traffic offences committed by e­scooter drivers under the influence of alcohol, to classify their relevance in relation to other road user groups, and to draw a first interim balance with respect to their frequency after 1.5 years. Material and methods: The data of all e­scooter drivers (n = 342) examined concerning their blood alcohol values analyzed at the Institute of Legal Medicine of the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf between 15.06.2019 and 31.12.2020 were retrospectively evaluated with respect to their demographic information and the medical examination results. These were brought into context with the total number of offences against the road traffic regulations with subsequent blood alcohol measurement. Results: 9.6% of the total number of offences against the road traffic regulations in connection with subsequent determination of the blood alcohol concentration were committed by e­scooter drivers. 87.7% of those examined were male. The blood alcohol concentration was above the limit of 1.10 ‰ for absolute driving incapacity when using a passenger car in 76.9% of those examined. An accumulation of cases was particularly noticeable at night and at weekends.Due to imprecise records, a certain number of unreported e­scooter incidents can be assumed among the unspecified motor vehicles. Conclusion: As e­scooter drivers make up a considerable proportion of drunken road users and the accidents mostly occur at night and at weekends, increased education and, if necessary, a driving ban at these times would seem to make sense.

[One and a half years of e-scooters in Hamburg]. / Eineinhalb Jahre E-Scooter ­ Zwischenbilanz in Hamburg: Teil 2: Unfallcharakteristika.

Background: Since the spread of the so-called electric scooters (e-scooters) through rental services in Hamburg as of June 2019, accidents due to the use of this means of transportation have been regularly registered. The most frequent injury patterns among e­scooter riders involved accidents concerning the upper extremities and the head. There was a relevant accumulation of drunk drivers among the injured persons. Objective: The aim of the study is to compare injury patterns in drunk versus non-drunk e­scooter riders who had an accident. Material and methods: Data from the Department of Trauma Surgery at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf were retrospectively analyzed for accidents involving e­scooters and the resulting injury patterns. For this purpose, the gender, age, injury pattern of the persons, the course of the accident, and information on previous alcohol consumption were recorded descriptively for the period from June 2019 to December 2021. Results: Drivers were on average 32 (interval: 15-88 years) years old and those under the influence of alcohol were predominantly male (69.9%). Accidents occurred mainly in summer and at night. Common injury patterns were injuries to the face, head, and extremities. Conclusion: It should be noted that injuries to the face and head occurred more frequently under the influence of alcohol than in the cohort without alcohol. Education about the health and legal consequences of riding an e­scooter under the influence of alcohol should be provided to all users. In addition, wearing a helmet or banning driving at night are possible measures to reduce accidents associated with drunk riding.