Bad news! This is dramatic! At least accident related injuries did not rise that much!
These electric vehicles are very fast! How much have e.g. ride-sharing platforms contributed?
"... The researchers analyzed injuries and hospitalizations from electric bicycles, electric scooters, conventional bicycles and conventional scooters. The study, which appears July 23 in JAMA Network Open, is believed to be the first investigation into recent injury patterns in the U.S.
E-bicycle injuries doubled every year from 2017 to 2022, while e-scooter injuries rose by 45%. Injured e-riders tended to be slightly older and wore helmets less often than conventional riders. And e-scooter riders were more likely to sustain internal injuries than conventional scooter riders, while upper extremity injuries were more common among non-EV riders. ...
Micromobility, the use of small vehicles for one or two passengers, has surged 50-fold over the last decade, especially in dense areas with the introduction of electric-powered motors and ride-sharing platforms. The low-cost, low-emission scooters and bicycles can travel up to 28 miles an hour, are convenient, affordable, reduce congestion and allow riders to cover more distance with less effort. ...
They found that e-bicycle injuries dramatically increased from 751 in 2017 to 23,493 in 2022, and e-scooter injuries rose from 8,566 to 56,847 over that timeframe. Altogether, there were nearly 2.5 million bicycle injuries, more than 304,000 scooter injuries, 45,586 e-bicycle injuries, and some 189,517 e-scooter injuries in the U.S. ..."
E-bicycle injuries doubled every year from 2017 to 2022, while e-scooter injuries rose by 45%. Injured e-riders tended to be slightly older and wore helmets less often than conventional riders. And e-scooter riders were more likely to sustain internal injuries than conventional scooter riders, while upper extremity injuries were more common among non-EV riders. ...
Micromobility, the use of small vehicles for one or two passengers, has surged 50-fold over the last decade, especially in dense areas with the introduction of electric-powered motors and ride-sharing platforms. The low-cost, low-emission scooters and bicycles can travel up to 28 miles an hour, are convenient, affordable, reduce congestion and allow riders to cover more distance with less effort. ...
They found that e-bicycle injuries dramatically increased from 751 in 2017 to 23,493 in 2022, and e-scooter injuries rose from 8,566 to 56,847 over that timeframe. Altogether, there were nearly 2.5 million bicycle injuries, more than 304,000 scooter injuries, 45,586 e-bicycle injuries, and some 189,517 e-scooter injuries in the U.S. ..."
From the abstract:
"Importance
Micromobility, the use of small vehicles (primarily scooters and bicycles), has become a standard transportation method in the US. Despite broad adoption of electric micromobility vehicles, there is a paucity of data regarding the injury profiles of these vehicles, particularly in the US.
Objective
To characterize micromobility injury trends in the US, identify demographic characteristic differences in users of electric and conventional vehicles, and identify factors associated with hospitalization.
Design, Setting, and Participants
This cross-sectional study queried the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, a comprehensive database that collates injury data associated with consumer products from emergency departments across the US to provide national estimates, from calendar year 2017 to 2022. Data on micromobility vehicle injuries (bicycles, scooters, electric bicycles [e-bicycles], and electric scooters [e-scooters]) were obtained.
Main Outcomes and Measures
Trends in injury and hospitalization counts, injury characteristics, and factors associated with hospitalization.
Results
From 2017 to 2022, the US recorded 2 499 843 bicycle (95% CI, 1 948 539-3 051 147), 304 783 scooter (95% CI, 232 466-377 099), 45 586 e-bicycle (95% CI, 17 684-73 488), and 189 517 e-scooter (95% CI, 126 101-252 932) injuries. The median age of the riders was 28 (IQR, 12-51) years; 72% were male ...
Annual e-bicycle and e-scooter injuries increased from 751 (95% CI, 0-1586) to 23 493 (95% CI, 11 043-35 944) and injuries increased from 8566 (95% CI, 5522-11 611) to 56 847 (95% CI, 39 673-74 022).
Compared with conventional vehicles, electric vehicle accidents involved older individuals (median age, 31 vs 27 years; P < .001) and a higher proportion of Black riders (25% vs 12%; P < .001). Helmet use was less in electric vehicle incidents compared with conventional vehicles (43% vs 52%; P = .02), and injuries were more common in urban settings (83% vs 71%; P = .008). ...
Conclusions and Relevance
In this cross-sectional study of micromobility vehicles, an increased number of injuries and hospitalizations was observed with electric vehicles compared with conventional vehicles from 2017 to 2022. These findings suggest the need for change in educational policies, infrastructure, and law to recenter on safety with the use of micromobility vehicles."
Figure 2. Estimated National Injuries and Hospitalizations per Year by Vehicle Type (These charts compare conventional and electric bicycles/scooters)
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