Skating with the devil.

With sales in Mexico and worldwide skyrocketing, some wonder if scooters are a harmless fad or a dangerous toy

On any given weekend in Mexico City parks, law abiding citizens minding their own business are in danger of being plowed down by daredevil kids on scooters. Never mind criminals, it's the nine-year olds whizzing by on the latest fad you have to watch out for!

The patin del diablo (devil's skate), as scooters are known here, has stormed Mexico. Already a rage in the United States and Europe since last year, scooters arrived in Mexico just in time to be the present of choice for Christmas and Jan. 6, Dia de Reyes (Epiphany).

Some readers may remember a simpler version popular in the 1950s. Today's souped up scooters are a high-tech version of those foot-propelled prototypes. Usually made of lightweight aluminum, these modern contraptions sport small, low-friction wheels similar to those on roller blades.

Sales of this latest fad in Mexico were tremendous during the Christmas season. As an example, just one Mexico City Sear's toy department sold between 500 and 600 during the Christmas season, says Eduardo LopezAlfaro, a sales manager for the giant chain. And it's not only kids who are partaking in the fun.

"We've had a few adults come in to buy them," says Lopez. "One guy said he uses it to go to work!"

But all is not pink and rosy in scooter-land. Not only do these scooters look sleeker than the mid-20th century models, they also go much faster. And, as we all know, most kids like to go fast and as recklessly as possible. So, the combination of the "devil's skate" and being a kid has led to, well, some devilish scrapes. Falls and collisions with other skaters have become a common occurrence in parks and streets all over the country and world, provoking controversy over alleged safety risks.

The National Center for Injury Prevention and Control based in Atlanta, Georgia estimates that between January and October of last year, a whopping 27,600 people sought emergency medical attention in the United States due to scooter-related injuries. Some 85% of those were children under 15 years of age; 23% were 8 years old or under.

Two people in the United States have already died while using scooters. But just to show that not only children are at risk, one of those deaths was an adult: a father showing his daughter how to ride the scooter.

Luckily for the local stores that enjoyed huge sales of the toy in December, much of this harrowing news didn't come out in Mexico until mid-January--only in time, perhaps, for parents to regret their Christmas expenditures.

Not all agree that the scooters are hazardous, however. Jose Carlos de la Torre, laboratory director of Mexico's consumer protection agency Profeco, says that they are not inherently dangerous.

"The risk is in how they are used. We recommend parental supervision," he says, adding that the agency doesn't recommend them for children under 10.

One 11-year-old expert, Alejandro Ruiz Morales, who was whizzing around on his scooter in Colonia Condesa's Parque Mexico, thought they could be dangerous.

"I fell once," he said displaying a scar on his knee. "But it all depends on if you use it properly," he added, sounding very grown-up indeed.

As of publication, two states in Mexico have imposed restrictions on scooter use. Chihuahua has forbidden their use in the streets. And in Hidalgo, after a nine-year-old boy suffered a concussion from falling off his scooter, the department of Public Safety and Transport says it will punish those who don't use protective gear.

Wendy Patterson is a Mexico City-based freelance writer.