In recent years, the usage of e-scooters and e-bikes has risen among both young students and adults. E-scooters and e-bikes are seen being used as transportation to and from school, around the neighborhood, as well as for hanging out with friends, but many e-bike and e-scooter users are seen riding around without helmets or proper safety.
According to a study by University of California San Francisco, e-bicycle injuries increased from 751 in 2017 to 23,493 in 2022, and e-scooter injuries rose from 8,566 to 56,847 over that same timeframe. The amount of injuries have also skyrocketed, which inevitably results in rise in concerns regarding the safety of the usage of e-bikes and e-scooters.
Stevenson Driver’s Ed teacher Chad Dauphin acknowledges the different risks associated with the use of e-bikes and e-scooters. According to Dauphin, these modes of transportation require high levels of responsibility due to their advanced technology.
“The true danger of it is the ages that parents are allowing their kids to operate these scooters and e-bikes,” Dauphin says. “There’s no prior training, classes, or rules of the road that they understand or follow.”
In order to obtain a driver’s license, individuals are required to go to driving school, obtain a permit, and are tested on the rules of the road and their driving ability in order to help ensure safety on the roads. However, E-bikes are accessible for all ages, despite the speeds they can reach, with the minimum age to ride either an e-bike or e-scooter, according to Forbes magazine, being between the ages of 12 and 16, with some states not having a minimum.
A study done by Harvard University shows that e-bike sales have increased from 250,000 per year to over a million between the years 2018 and 2022, while e-bike ownerships do not require any previous knowledge or experience. Many students, such as Lauren Shi ’27 have noticed the potential of injuries that result from a simple careless mistake. She explains that there are significant risks that come with riding these machines.
“E-bike and e-scooter users could crash into a car if they’re not paying close attention to their surroundings” Shi said. “It is important for riders to be on high alert and be aware of their surroundings.”
Both Dauphin and Shi acknowledge that e-bikes and e-scooter users are exposed to potential dangers by their own carelessness, which they believe creates big risks for both the e-bike and e-scooter users as well as other drivers on the road. Dauphin further asserts that these e-bikes can travel up to 35 miles per hour, and so are adding new hazards that a majority of drivers are not accustomed to.
“The real danger is when you see bikes coming,” Dauphin said. “If it’s a bicycle, you know how fast bicycles normally travel, but nowadays when you see a vehicle shaped like a bike, you are unsure what to expect at that distance.”
Though safety concerns have increased, users like Aptakisic Junior High School student, Zuhaib Mohammad ‘32 believe that e-bikes and scooters have grown more popular due to their efficiency and appeal to multiple age demographics. However, similar to Shi, they also agree that the costs of riding one may outweigh the benefits.
“I like that you can get to places fast,” Mohammad said. “One time me and my friend crashed into each other, and both got hurt. There are always risks that come with it.”
Schaumburg Illinois has added an e-bike and e-scooter Ordinance, in hopes to help regulate the growing number of recent injuries like Mohammad’s. According to the villlageofshaumburg.com, riders of e-bikes and e-scooters must be at least 16 years old, and new guidance for e-bike/e-scooter speeds have been placed saying e-scooters and e-bikes that run at a top speed of 20 miles per hour (mph) are allowed on sidewalks and on streets. But e-bikes exceeding 20 mph must stay on the streets. In addition, Schaumburg is requiring a headlight and taillight for nighttime safety.
Implementations like Schaumburg’s Ordinance are getting more popular throughout neighboring towns. While Schaumburg is one of the few cities to invoke restrictions so far, they are not the only ones. Hoffman Estates has also posted regulations for the increasing popularity of e-bikes and e-scooters. Dauphin agrees with their decision, but asserts that true safety can only begin with the riders of e-bikes and e-scooters themselves.
“If the kids and adults riding e-bikes and e-scooters wear helmets, take precautions, and mind the rules of the road, I think they can be just as safe as a bike,” Dauphin said. “But they have to mind the rules of the road.”
Dauphin suggests that many of these accidents can be prevented if riders along with drivers are aware of one another. According to a recent article by the Chicago Tribune, on Sept.15 Samual Alfaro Acevedo was riding an e-bike and collided with a pick-up truck, losing his life in this fatal accident. The Tribune mentioned that he had been riding at a fast speed with a lack of safety protection.
Like Dauphin explained, to stay safe on roads, riders and drivers must acknowledge and take precautions within themselves to ensure safety in communities. Dauphin asserts that most of the time, blame can be split amongst the kids riding these machines. They have to be aware of the risks and hold themselves accountable for staying safe as well.
“Other drivers can go through the search, identify, predict, decide, and execute system of driving, so you can kind of predict things that might happen,” Dauphin said. “But when you put a kid on a scooter, they have no experience of that. You can’t expect them to be able to predict how traffic’s gonna work or predict what somebody might do if they’ve never been in that situation before. I just hope kids understand the danger of it.”