Slow your roll — researchers are sounding the alarm about a “remarkable” rise in electric bike and e-scooter injuries across the US.
E-bike injuries have been doubling annually, from 750 recorded in 2017 to a staggering 23,500 in 2022.
E-scooter injuries spiked from 8,500 to a whopping 56,800 in the same five-year period, according to a University of California — San Francisco (UCSF) study published Tuesday in JAMA Network Open.
“There are undeniable health and environmental benefits to [small electric] vehicle use, but structural changes must be taken to promote safe riding,” said co-lead study author Dr. Adrian Fernandez, chief resident in the UCSF Department of Urology.
The researchers analyzed US emergency department data on injuries from e-bicycles (45,500), e-scooters (189,500), conventional bicycles (2.49 million) and conventional scooters (304,700) over the five-year time frame.
Overall, injured riders were often white, male and in their late 20s. Those who got in electric vehicle crashes tended to be slightly older and helmet-less — they were also more likely to be black.
Black riders made up 11% of injured bicyclists, 24% of e-bicyclists, 17% of scooter users and 25% of the e-scooter group.
Yet, black riders across all vehicle groups had 24% lower odds of hospitalization compared with white riders.
“To our knowledge, the finding of increased frequency of injury among black [electric vehicle] riders is novel to this study,” the researchers wrote. “And the explanation is not clear from this dataset.”
The study authors also determined that alcohol use was more common among injured e-bicyclists (7%) than conventional bicyclists (4%) and e-scooter riders (9%) than scooter users (3%).
“Our findings stress a concerning trend: helmet usage is noticeably lower among electric vehicle users, and risky behaviors, such as riding under the influence, are more prevalent,” said study co-first author Kevin D. Li.
The UCSF researchers are calling on cities to build better infrastructure to accommodate electric bikes and scooters and to launch ad campaigns that promote helmet use and sober riding.
In NYC, Mayor Eric Adams and the Department of Transportation kicked off the “Get Smart Before You Start” campaign in March to educate new e-bike riders on how to operate at a safe speed and properly accelerate and brake. Electric scooters and bicycles can travel up to 28 miles an hour.
Nearly 6% of NYC adults say they ride an e-bike or e-scooter at least once a week, according to city data. The Citi Bike program boasts 127,485 annual members, as of last month.
Meanwhile, an astonishing 76% of NYC cycling deaths in 2023 involved e-bikes.