SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) - In recent years, the popularity of electric bikes and scooters has exploded. But according to recent research out of UCSF, the number of injuries tied to them has also surged.
The national study found some injuries and hospitalizations from the popular micromobility vehicles have doubled, said Dr. Benjamin Breyer, senior author of the research and member of the UCSF Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics.
"The premise of the study was comparing conventional bikes to e-bikes, conventional scooters to e-scooters, and looking at the injury profiles over the six-year period. And the main finding is a big escalation in the number of e-bike and e-scooter injuries where the conventional vehicle injuries are pretty flat," Dr. Breyer told KCBS Radio's Patti Reising on this week's episode of "As Prescribed."
The study, published in JAMA Network Open, found that e-bicycle injuries doubled every year from 2017 to 2022, while e-scooter injuries rose by 45 percent each year. As more people are exposed to micromobility vehicles, injuries are going to rise -- that's a given. But researchers uncovered some surprising data while analyzing just who is getting hurt.
"Interestingly, we found those that were riding the e-bikes and scooters, they were a little bit older," said Dr. Breyer. "And we know that when older riders get injured, they're more likely to have more significant injuries."
Older riders are also more likely to ride without wearing a helmet. That's extremely risky, considering the vehicles can travel up to 28 miles per hour.
"E-scooters, one third of the time that someone presented to the emergency room, they had a head trauma. And the fact that when you see folks riding, not everyone's wearing a helmet, I think there should really be a rallying cry for more helmet use amongst riders," said Dr. Breyer. "A head injury in any age person can really be a devastating long-term problem. And anything we can do to reduce those is important."
E-scooter and bike riders are also more likely to sustain internal injuries than conventional riders, according to the study.
"Some of these e-bikes are kind of almost like motorcycles," Dr. Breyer explained. "When you compared conventional versus e, we found that actually the riders experienced more internal organ injuries as opposed to extremity injuries. And what that speaks to is probably riding at higher speeds."
Breyer said he hopes the research serves to promote a culture of safety amongst riders and encourage better infrastructure in urban areas to accommodate the small vehicles.
Listen to this week's "As Prescribed" to learn more. You can also listen to last week's episode to learn how a new program developed at UCSF is helping students with attention challenges, here.
DOWNLOAD the Audacy App
SIGN UP and follow KCBS Radio
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
"As Prescribed" is sponsored by UCSF.