As people search for outdoor activities to fill their summer days, Dr. Amit Momaya, a sports medicine orthopedic surgeon at UAB, advises those checking out e-bikes and e-scooters to drive carefully.

“Over the last two years or so, we’ve seen a large uptick in injuries from these e-scooters and e-bikes,” Momaya said.

While teenagers who are out of school for the summer do frequently use the devices, Momaya said it is actually older generations who are more at risk for injury.

“On average I think it’s usually kind of middle-aged people who get back on these things who probably rode their bike or scooter way back when they were young and then think it’s fun to get on these things,” he said. “The problem is these things can go a lot faster than people realize and they’re used to just kind of stopping themselves by putting their foot down.

“And they’re used to neighborhood traffic versus like urban areas where there’s cars and traffic you’ve got to avoid. And so, we’ve seen a lot of injuries over the last two years from these.”