LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Mason Huff, a 16-year-old, suffered a traumatic injury while riding an e-scooter after being hit by a swerving driver. Huff, who was not wearing a helmet, ended up at Sunrise Trauma Center. “They come up from my left, and they just hit me. And I lost consciousness,” Huff said.
The teen emphasized the importance of helmets, stating, “If I did not get a C-T scan…I could have died, so helmets are very, very important.” Fortunately, Huff returned home in time for Thanksgiving.
John Pope, vice president of trauma services at Sunrise Trauma Center, noted a rise in e-bike and e-scooter-related injuries, with 209 patients treated this year. “We have only been able to confirm helmet use in about 15 to 20 percent of those,” Pope said, highlighting that roughly 168 to 178 patients were not wearing helmets. In Clark County and Las Vegas, it is illegal for riders under 18 to ride without a helmet, though Nevada has no statewide requirement.
Pope stressed the importance of wearing the right type of helmet, saying, “If you think about the head injuries, the helmets are there to protect. I mean, it works the same way with motorcycles and bicycles.” Michael Giangregorio, co-owner of Radical eBikes, echoed this sentiment, advising, “Wear a helmet, dude. Helmet. Helmet. Helmet.”
Giangregorio advocates for full-head helmets with face masks, noting, “You are also, generally, going faster than you normally would on a regular bicycle on any of these units. So, therefore, you would want a little bit more protection for your full head.”
To learn more about how e-bikes are sold in Las Vegas, click here.
