AUSTIN, Texas – After one year of dockless scooters on Austin roads, a study found that nearly 200 riders were injured in a three-month period.

• 160 scooter riders injured in 3 months
• Up to 271 potential scooter injuries
• Most of the injuries were in downtown Austin

Austin Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control conducted a study on dockless scooter injuries from September 5, 2018, to November 30, 2018. During that time, there was a total of 160 confirmed cases of scooter-related injuries and up to 271 cases of potential injuries.

"There may be a perception that a lot of scooter riders were involved with collisions with motor vehicles. We did not find that. We found that falls were contributing. They were losing balance or they were hitting a curb or hitting a structure or light police as an example," said Jeff Taylor with Austin Public Health.

Most of the injuries were broken bones with riders using the scooters out on the streets. Of all of the injuries only one rider was wearing a helmet.

The day with the highest number of crashes was on October 13 with 10 people injured across the city. That day is during the second weekend of Austin City Limits.

The highest concentration of injuries was in downtown Austin. The majority of those who were injured are from Austin.

Scooter Injuries Break-Down:

• 271 potential injuries
• 160 confirmed injuries
• 48 percent between 18 and 29 years old
• 55 percent of those injured identified as male
• 33 percent of riders were riding for the first time

"Clearly they are part of our mobility future," said Rober Spillar, director of the Austin Transportation Department. "What we are seeing is a desire to use new mobility as a way to get around Austin. The report really is about understanding what the causes of incidents on scooters are."

The study’s findings will be presented at the annual Epidemiology conference in Atlanta, Georgia.

There were no fatal scooter crashes to report. Dockless scooters first appeared in Austin in April 2018.