Injuries involving electric bicycles “have increased dramatically across California,” a new study from the University of California San Diego has found.
While there were two reported e-bike collisions in 2018, that figure rose to more than 1,500 in 2024, according to a University of California San Diego study published July 17 in Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open.
Using data from the Transportation Injury Mapping System, researchers also found that e-bike riders were more likely to suffer moderate-to-severe injuries than riders of traditional bicycles.
Among the study’s “most concerning findings” was “the disproportionately high number of injured children involved in e-bike crashes,” according to John Austin, one of the study’s authors, who is a general surgery resident and research fellow at UC San Diego School of Medicine.
“E-bikes provide valuable transportation and recreational benefits, but their higher speeds can generate crash forces more comparable to motorcycles than traditional bicycles, leading to potentially severe injuries,” Austin said in a university news release.
Here’s what else to know about the study and what its findings could mean for California.
E-bikes gain prominence, especially among children
Worldwide, the sale of e-bikes has grown exponentially, “with a US $62 billion market in 2024, and global sales projected to reach US $113 billion by 2030,” researchers said.
While 325,000 e-bikes were sold nationally in 2018, that figure jumped to 1.7 million in 2024, the study found. Researchers said reports of e-bike-related injuries, including those involving children, have also risen.
“E-bikes are faster and heavier than traditional bicycles, and are often used by younger riders,” researchers said.
E-bike regulations vary greatly by region and have no national standards, the study said.
Despite the growth of e-bike sales, data on death and injury rates remain sparse, researchers said.
“Injury trends are largely unknown, although there are several anecdotal reports in the media,” the study said.
E-bike injuries increase significantly in California, study finds
To better understand injury trends, researchers analyzed data from the California Highway Patrol’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System, examining collisions involving e-bikes and traditional bicycles from 2018 through 2024.
The study examined more than 62,000 bicycle-related collisions statewide, including 4,035 e-bike crashes and 58,332 traditional bicycle crashes.
Researchers found that e-bike injuries increased significantly from 2018 to 2024, rising from two reported incidents in 2018 to 1,566 in 2024. Meanwhile, traditional bicycle collisions remained stagnant or declined during the same period, falling from 10,628 in 2018 to 7,611 in 2024.
Based on incidents from 2018 to 2024, researchers found that e-bike riders were younger than traditional bicyclists, with a median age of 33 compared with 36.
Additionally, e-bike riders were more likely to be 14 or younger, with that age group accounting for the largest share of e-bike injuries, the study found. The number of children injured in e-bike collisions is rising annually.
The study also found that moderate-to-severe injuries were more common among e-bike riders than traditional bicyclists, according to the university.
“While overall mortality rates were similar during the study period, researchers observed a significant increase in e-bike-related deaths in 2024,” the university said.
Overall, researchers said e-bike collisions were more likely to involve speed- and turning-related violations, while traditional bicycle collisions showed slightly higher rates of signal and miscellaneous violations.
Another notable finding was that “e-bike collisions were more likely to occur in more affluent communities than traditional bicycle collisions,” according to the university.
E-bikes: ‘A distinct and growing public health challenge’
Researchers believe their findings suggest that e-bike injuries are “a distinct and growing public health challenge, one that may require safety measures tailored specifically to e-bike riders rather than traditional cyclists,” the university said.
“E-bikes are here to stay, and they provide substantial benefits to mobility and recreation,” said Jay Doucet, voluntary clinical professor of surgery at the UC San Diego School of Medicine and professor of surgery at Florida State University at Lee Health. “However, our study found a dramatic increase in e-bike injuries across California, including a disproportionate number involving children and low rates of helmet use among injured riders.”
Doucet went on to say parents need to understand what they are purchasing when giving their children e-bikes and that “communities and policymakers need to recognize that safety infrastructure, education and policy have not kept pace with adoption.”
Researchers also believe that the study’s results support efforts to improve rider education, encourage consistent helmet use and expand infrastructure designed to protect cyclists.
“They also point to the potential value of policies that address issues such as age requirements, e-bike classification standards, and safe riding practices,” the university said.
Future research, the university said, will focus “on linking traffic collision data with hospital and trauma records to better understand the specific injuries riders sustain and which prevention strategies are most effective.” The researchers also hope to examine how emerging safety regulations and infrastructure improvements affect injury rates over time.
“As e-bike use continues to grow, it will be important to identify which interventions have the greatest impact on preventing serious injuries,” Austin said in the release. “Our goal is not to discourage e-bike use, but to ensure that riders of all ages can use them as safely as possible.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: E-bikes ‘a distinct and growing public health challenge’ study finds
Reporting by Daniella Segura, USA TODAY NETWORK / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Daniella Segura, USA TODAY NETWORK | USA TODAY Network
