As the surge in electric bike popularity continues, and injuries and accidents climb among users, a state lawmaker is proposing a bill that would study ways to improve safety and rethink rules about the fast-moving transportation.
State Sen. Dave Min, D-Irvine, recently announced his legislation, saying that beyond age restrictions and helmet requirements, there has not been a major change in statewide safety standards as e-bikes have become commonplace, leaving local municipalities with limited options to protect the safety of their residents.
“As a proud owner and rider of an electric scooter myself, I am cognizant of how convenient e-bikes are, and also how important they will be for reducing carbon emissions,” he said. “But the rise of popularity in e-bikes also creates new challenges, which require us to rethink the rules in place to keep our roads safe.”
E-bikes are powered by electricity and can reach up to 20 mph, as opposed to the rider of a traditional bike that is providing all the power with their peddling. And at times, they are powered by teens with little or no knowledge of the rules of the road.
Providence Mission Hospital data tracks a sharp rise in injuries in recent years, and Dr. Tetsuya Takeuchi, its trauma medical director, said those injuries go beyond the broken bones common among traditional bike accidents, with more people sustaining head and internal organ injuries because of higher-speed impacts.
It was in 2020 when the hospital started seeing a “statistically significant” rise in e-bike accidents, prompting administrators to start keeping stats on injuries.
According to Mission Hospital statistics, there were six pediatric e-bike injuries reported in 2020. Because e-bikes use had just caught on, adult statistics were not yet gathered.
In 2021, there were 113 injured e-bike riders that required medical attention at the hospital. There were also two deaths that year, both adults, one wearing a helmet and another…
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