E-bike-related emergency room visits soar 760% in three years — and 1,810% for kids: study

 Emergency room visits tied to e-bike injuries skyrocketed an eye-watering 1,810% for children and a whopping 760% overall, a troubling new analysis found.

The visits soared between January 2023 and August 2026, according to Truveta, a health data company with medical records from more than 140 million patients.

“Our hypothesis is that e-bikes are likely becoming more commonly used, traditional bicycles may not be,” said Dr. Karen Gilbert Farrar, who worked on the analysis.

“We see that there are increasing numbers of e-bikes in cities or increasing numbers of users of the rental e-bikes, and then anecdotally, there’s also more ability to purchase personal e-bike devices.”

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Emergency room visits tied to e-bike injuries are surging — especially among kids, a new analysis found.Koldo_Studio – stock.adobe.com
Researchers did not have data on how many people ride e-bikes or how often they use them.

Truveta’s data showed 4,769 e-bike-related emergency room visits from January 2023 through August 2026. Traditional bicycles accounted for far more visits — 63,811 — but their rate of emergency room visits only increased 7.9%.

Head and neck injuries were the most common type of injury for both groups, appearing in about one-third of visits. 

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Truveta’s data showed 4,769 e-bike-related emergency room visits from January 2023 through August 2026. Traditional bicycles accounted for far more visits — 63,811 — but their rate of emergency room visits only increased 7.9%.TambolyPhotodesign – stock.adobe.com

Traumatic brain injuries, including concussions, were diagnosed at similar rates — in 5.8% of e-bike cases and 5.6% of traditional bicycle cases. 

Among children, injuries on e-bikes had worse outcomes with 7.8% of e-bike visits for kids resulting in a traumatic brain injury, compared with 6% of traditional bicycle visits. 

Farrar said differences in helmet use, riding locations or behavior could play a role.

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Farrar said differences in helmet use, riding locations or behavior could play a role in why e-bike emergency room visits are increasing so much faster than regular visits.Stefano Giovannini
“We were talking with one of the doctors and he was saying that he works in a college town, and he was emphasizing you should only have one person on,” Farrar said. “So are kids more likely to have multiple passengers kind of hanging off their e-bike?”

Fractures were also more common in e-bike cases than emergency room visits involving traditional bicycles, which Farrar said might be attributed to the faster speed and heavier weights of e-bikes.

https://nypost.com/2026/10/18/us-news/e-bike-related-emergency-room-visits-soar-760-in-three-years-and-1810-for-kids-study/