The majority of crashes involving electric cyclists are crashes without a collision with another road user (single-vehicle).
The majority of crashes involving electric cyclists are crashes without a collision with another road user (single-vehicle). Especially one's own behavior is decisive. This is the conclusion of a study by SafetyNL into accidents involving (electric) cyclists, light mopeds and moped riders in the period 2020-2021. The random sample of victims of these accidents is representative of victims throughout the Netherlands.
Preventing accidents through own behaviour
Cycling contributes to a healthy life. People should continue to do this, but not take unnecessary risks. E-bike accidents can be prevented by paying close attention and steering properly. In addition, it is important to adapt cycling behavior and speed to the traffic environment and road conditions. Wearing a bicycle helmet is also recommended: it reduces the risk of brain injury by a third.
Especially single-vehicle accidents involving electric bicycles
36 percent of the bicycle casualties who were treated at the emergency department rode an electric bicycle. Of the crashes involving the electric bicycle, 69 percent were single (without collision with another road user), in 24 percent of the cases the crash was multiple. If an electric cyclist collided with another road user, it was mainly with another cyclist (4 percent) or with a car (4 percent). A quarter of all victims on an e-bike had a brain injury.
Causes of accidents involving electric cyclists
The main cause of accidents among electric cyclists is their own behavior (43 percent), regardless of age. For example, it concerns not paying attention or making a steering error. The road condition was mentioned significantly more often as a (partial) cause of the accident by the victims of an accident with an electric bicycle than by the victims on a regular bicycle (34 percent versus 23 percent). Speeding is a lesser cause of crashes (2 percent for regular bicycles, 3 percent for electric bicycles).
When we look at speed during crashes involving an electric bicycle, we see that victims younger than 55 years more often cycled at a fast pace (16-25 km/h) and race pace (>25 km/h). People over 55 on an e-bike or regular bicycle, on the other hand, more often had an accident while standing still or cycling at a normal pace (5-15 km/h) or at a slow pace (<5 km/h). Unilateral crashes were mainly due to loss of balance (49 percent). Injuries caused by getting on and off the bike occurred in 23 percent of the single-vehicle crashes. Electric cyclists were no more likely to be injured by mounting or dismounting than regular cyclists, according to Djorike Palma, road safety consultant, SafetyNL.
