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Jump to Key Points SAN DIEGO — A new study is shedding more light on the danger of e-bikes, which have skyrocketed in popularity over the past 5 years.
At Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, from 2019 to 2025, e-bikes accounted for higher rates of concussions, fractures, surgeries, and inpatient admissions than e-scooters, reported orthopedic surgeon Bianca Edison, MD, MS, and colleagues at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) 2026 National Conference.
Compared with e-scooter users, “our e-bike cohort was almost three times as likely to require surgery and nearly three times as likely to require an inpatient stay in the hospital,” Edison said in an interview.
e-Scooters and e-Bikes on the Rise
e-Bikes typically use battery power to boost speed beyond that produced by pedaling alone, and e-scooters rely entirely on battery power.
- e-Bike injuries ↑ vs e-scooters: more concussions, fractures, surgeries, admissions.
- 379 pediatric cases; mean age 14.2 years; injuries ↑ from 33 (2019) to 124 (2025).
- Unprovoked falls/loss of control most common mechanism (71%).
- Common injury sites: upper extremity 53%, lower extremity 46%, head 39%.
- e-Bikes: surgery 26% vs 9.7%; inpatient admission 27% vs 10%; potentially life-threatening 8.8% vs 2.8%.
A 2024 study found overall injuries from e-bikes and e-scooters tripled from 2019 to 2022, and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission linked them to hundreds of fatalities and more than half a million emergency department visits from 2017 to 2024.
A newly released C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health survey of 1234 parents with at least one child aged 11-18 years found that most parents (55%) had e-bikes in their community and 65% of parents believed that they’re more dangerous for teens than traditional bikes.
In Los Angeles, e-Bike and e-Scooter Injuries Are Way Up
The new study tracked 379 patients (70% men; mean age, 14.2 years). Total numbers of e-bike (23%) and e-scooter injuries (77%) increased from 33 in 2019 to 124 in 2025.
Unprovoked falls or loss of control were the most common mechanisms of injury (71%), and upper extremity (53%), lower extremity (46%), and head (39%) were the most common sites of injury.
e-Bike riders had the most severe injuries vs e-scooter riders: concussion, 17.0% vs 8.6%; fracture, 48% vs 36%; need for surgery, 26.0% vs 9.7%; inpatient admission, 27% vs 10%; and injury considered potentially life-threatening, 8.8% vs 2.8%.
“Helmets do not prevent concussions, which is a large portion of those head injuries,” Edison said.
Messages to Parents About e-Bikes
More than half (53%) of patients were identified as riding illegally, including 66% vs 7.2% of e-scooter riders vs e-bike riders, but illegal riding wasn’t linked to worse injuries. California law forbids e-scooter use by anyone without a driver’s license or learner’s permit and requires helmet use for anyone younger than 18 years. The law also forbids e-bike use by those younger than 18 years without a helmet, and it bans kids younger than 16 years from using the fastest e-bikes.
Edison recommends that pediatricians talk to parents about e-bike and e-scooter safety. “Have you had a discussion with your child about the best ways to go about being safe? Are they trying to race their friends, or are they using this as a mode to get from A to B?”
She said that parents should understand the type of bikes their kids are using. She also said that it’s important to know about legal restrictions.
Lawmakers Respond to e-Bike Danger
In an interview, pediatric surgeon Romeo C. Ignacio, Jr, MD, MS, of Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego and UC San Diego School of Medicine, who didn’t take part in the study, said injuries from e-bikes are more severe than those from traditional bikes.
“We’re not seeing that many deaths, but we’re seeing a lot more hospitalizations, a lot more operations than we’ve ever seen before,” he said. In contrast, e-scooter injuries have dipped in San Diego because their use has fallen amid restrictive local laws, he said.
Lawmakers continue to react to the threat of injuries from e-bikes. New Jersey now forbids all e-bike use by riders younger than 15 years. In late September, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill that sets a 10-mph limit for e-bikes on sidewalks. It also requires front and rear lights and speedometers to be installed on certain e-bikes by 2029.
No funding was reported. Edison reported having no disclosures. Ignacio reported receiving funding from Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego.
