How to stay safe while riding an e-bike

With electric bikes topping the wish lists of many children and adults this holiday season, the potential for more e-bike riders on the road has physicians sounding the alarm about their dangers.

Powered by a motor and battery, e-bikes can go much faster and farther than traditional bicycles, heightening the potential for serious injury or death.

“We have seen e-bike crashes and related injuries increase nearly 100% annually in recent years — that’s why e-bike safety is so important,” said Dr. Sigrid Burruss, a UCI Health trauma and critical care surgeon.

“It’s important that parents and adults recognize the dangers because these bikes are heavier and faster. The injuries we are seeing are similar to those of motorcycle riders, including traumatic brain injuries.”

More than 20,000 people are injured on e-bikes annually, 15% of them seriously enough to be hospitalized, according to the American College of Surgeons. Their injuries tend to be more serious and only a third of the injured report wearing helmets.

On Sept. 23, a 16-year-old Newport Beach boy was fatally injured while riding an e-bike without a helmet. Four days later, two Cal State Fullerton women soccer players riding e-scooters without helmets were hit by a truck and critically injured, one of whom died six weeks later.

The high-profile deaths have prompted civic leaders throughout Orange County to consider whether to impose safety constraints on riders of e-bikes and e-scooters.

Safe riding age

There isn’t a single federal law setting the age at which someone may operate an e-bike, according to Kaiser Health News. However, the Consumer Products Safety Commission recommends that children under the age of 12 not be allowed to operate e-bikes that exceed speeds of 10 mph.

Burruss concurs and advises that a responsible adult always be present when the bikes are in use by children and adolescents.

When to wear a helmet

In California, all riders under age 18 must wear a helmet for any type of bicycle.

A helmet is required for everyone regardless of age when riding a Class 3 e-bike, which cannot be operated by anyone under age 16.

E-bikes are broken into three classes:

• Class 1: maximum speed of 20 mph without a throttle
• Class 2: maximum speed of 20 mph with a throttle
• Class 3: maximum speed of 28 mph without a throttle

Helmets have been shown to reduce the risk of head injury by 67% for motorcycle riders, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Which is why Burruss, as a trauma surgeon, recommends wearing a helmet on bikes and scooters of all kinds, even if it isn’t the law.

Safety first

She offers these additional tips for riding an e-bike safely and staying out of emergency rooms:

• Never alter an e-bike to make it travel at a faster speed. It may then be considered a motorized vehicle and different laws apply.
• Avoid distractions and don’t ride under the influence. “Using a cell phone when riding, talking with passengers, riding faster than allowed by law, or while under the use of alcohol or drugs may increase the risk of a crash and resulting injuries,” she said.
• Slow down. The most common e-bike injuries range from fractures to abrasions and concussions. Traveling at higher speeds increases the risk of arm and leg compound fractures, along with head and neck injuries. Internal injuries in the chest and stomach regions are also possible.

“Seek immediate medical attention at a nearby emergency department if you are involved in a crash,” she added.

Proper maintenance and obeying traffic laws is also critical:

• Check the brakes regularly and store the battery safely.
• Ride with the flow of traffic.
• Use hand signals, obey stop signs and lights.

Ultimately, parents and guardians are legally and financially responsible for their children’s actions when riding an e-bike. This includes injuries and damages to the rider or others while operating one.

“That’s why taking safety precautions is so important,” Burruss said.