Over the past nine weeks, 126 injured e-scooter riders have sought treatment at hospitals in Lviv. More than half of those injured are children, the Lviv City Council has reported.
Among all those injured were 64 children and 62 adults. Some people came to medical facilities on their own, while another 52 e-scooter riders were brought in by emergency medical teams. Of these 52 patients, 40, or 77%, were children.
Hospitalisation was required for 37 injured e-scooter riders. Of these, 34 were children, accounting for 92% of all those admitted. In addition, over the same period, seven people sought medical help after being hit by e-scooters; one child from this group had to be admitted to hospital.
Doctors stress that a significant proportion of such injuries could have been prevented if safety rules had been followed, helmets and other protective gear used, and adults had monitored children's rides.
Amid the rising number of incidents, Lviv has tightened the rules for using e-scooters and other micromobility devices. The new requirements set a minimum user age of 16, make wearing a protective helmet compulsory, limit speed to 15 km/h in potentially hazardous areas, and regulate parking. To implement most of these changes, the Rules for the Improvement of Lviv's Municipal Territorial Community have been amended.
Compliance with the new regulations will be monitored by the patrol police together with the Municipal Guard. They will carry out inspections and awareness-raising campaigns, and in the event of violations, those responsible will be held to account.
The city authorities have also appealed to central government bodies, proposing that the use of e-scooters be regulated nationwide as soon as possible. City Hall emphasises that additional safety measures are needed because of the growing number of injuries related to e-scooter trips, especially among minors.