Electric bike crashes and injuries are increasing at a rapid pace across California and many of those getting hurt are children 14 years old or younger, according to a new study by researchers at UC San Diego.
E-bike riders were involved in at least 4,035 collisions in California from 2018 to 2024. While the number of collisions involving traditional bicycles has remained relatively stable during the seven-year period, collisions involving e-bikes have increased dramatically.
No e-bike crashes involving injuries were noted in the study in 2018 and 2019, but by 2024, 1,566 were recorded in California.
“E-bike injuries are rapidly increasing in California and are associated with a higher severity of injuries compared with traditional bicycles,” according to the report, which was published Friday by the journal Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open.
The researchers from UC San Diego collected numbers by analyzing data from the California Highway Patrol’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System. The data include traffic incidents and reports submitted by law enforcement agencies across the state.
E-bikes have quickly grown in popularity, and are becoming more common on city streets, parks, trails and bike paths.
Their proliferation has raised challenges for police, lawmakers and parents.
E-bikes can go faster than traditional bikes and are often ridden by children and teenagers who may not have the experience to handle the speed.
Medical officials have previously noted more e-bike related injuries coming into emergency rooms, and the injuries are often far more serious than those involving traditional bikes.
Law enforcement officials say parents sometimes buy electric motorcycles for their children assuming they are like e-bikes, but e-motorcycles can reach far higher speeds than regular e-bikes and require a driver’s license.
California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta earlier this year called on online retailers to accurately identify e-bikes and e-motorcycles, a move that days later prompted Amazon to stop California sales of certain electric two-wheelers that reach speeds higher than state laws allow.
In another finding, the study said injured e-bike riders tend to be younger than those hurt on traditional bikes. The highest number of e-bike injuries in the state, according to the study, are among riders 14 or younger.
The study found that 15.8% of riders injured on e-bikes were in that 14-or-younger age group. Among riders injured on traditional bicycles, 10.2% were 14 or younger.
The study also found that, when compared to riders of traditional bicycles, e-bike riders tended to suffer more serious injuries, and were more often at fault or responsible for one or more road violations at the time of the crash, such as traveling at unsafe speeds or making an improper turn.
The rapid popularity of e-bikes has also made it difficult for law enforcement agencies, regulatory groups and medical officials to quantify what injuries were being caused by e-bikes.
Law enforcement agencies reached by The Times said some local agencies have not collected specific data on e-bike crashes or citations because the problem is so new to many areas and numbers are often difficult to parse, with e-bikes injuries often intermingled with traditional bike injuries.
“Historically, categorizing these emerging modes of transportation has presented tracking challenges,” a spokesperson for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration told The Times in May.
This year, the surge in e-bike injuries and accidents prompted police agencies to launch public information campaigns and enforcement efforts targeting e-bikes and e-motorcycles.
In California, e-bikes are split into three categories, separated by speed and capabilities. All of them must have pedals to classify as an e-bike. Class 1 bikes can reach speeds up to 20 mph, and can be ridden by anyone. Class 2 bikes can also be ridden by people of any age, but are equipped with a throttle and reach a maximum speed of 20 mph. Class 3 bikes can reach a maximum speed of 28 mph, and riders must be at least 16 years old and wear a helmet.
Bikes without pedal assist, or those that can reach speeds higher than 28 mph are considered electric motorcycles and require a driver’s license and DMV registration.
A series of high-profile crashes and deaths involving e-bikes has prompted police and prosecutors to make arrests, seize bikes and file charges against riders and their parents.
In Orange County, prosecutors filed charges against the mother of a 14-year-old riding an electric motorcycle who allegedly crashed into an 81-year-old man, killing him. In Yorba Linda, the father of a 12-year-old was charged after the child was injured while riding a modified e-motorcycle.
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