E-bike and scooter crashes are driving more brain injuries and spine trauma among riders and pedestrians in cities, research shows.
Led by NYU Langone Health researchers, the study found these injuries now account for nearly 7 per cent of trauma patients admitted to a New York City hospital.
The research analysed 914 patients treated over five years at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue for injuries linked to both pedal-powered and electric micro-mobility devices.
One-third suffered traumatic brain injury, more than two-thirds required hospital admission, and about 30 per cent needed intensive care.
The share of trauma cases seen in the emergency department involving these devices rose from under 10 per cent in 2018 to more than 50 per cent by 2023.
The most common cause of injury was a collision with a car or truck, accounting for about half of cases.
Fewer than one-third of riders wore helmets, which was linked to significantly higher rates of brain and facial injuries.
About one in five patients tested positive for alcohol, which was tied to both worse brain injuries and lower helmet use.
Importantly, the 69 pedestrians analysed in the study, when struck by electric vehicles, suffered brain injuries at nearly double the rate of riders. Injuries peaked between 6pm and 8pm, suggesting heavy dinnertime e-bike delivery traffic may play a role.
Hannah Weiss, a resident in the department of neurosurgery at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, said: “Our study shows that micromobility injuries are producing serious brain and spinal trauma that demands neurosurgical care at a scale we haven’t seen before.
“In a busy urban setting, we are seeing more and more of these injuries firsthand. The data point to actionable solutions, helmet use, safer bike lane design, and enforcement, that could prevent many of these injuries and better protect both riders and pedestrians, who in our study often sustained even more severe brain injuries than the riders themselves.”
The researchers reviewed records of every patient treated by the trauma team at Bellevue between January 2018 and August 2023 for injuries involving bikes or scooters.
The patients included riders of both electric and pedal-powered bikes and scooters, as well as pedestrians struck by these devices.
The team collected information on helmet use, alcohol levels, injury type, brain scans, surgeries performed and length of hospital stay.
Paul P. Huang, associate professor in the department of neurosurgery at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and chief of neurosurgery at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, said: “Our findings make clear that urban infrastructure must continue to improve to keep pace with the rapid rise of electric bikes and scooters.
“Future studies should track these injuries across multiple cities and measure whether protected bike lanes, helmet programmes, and speed enforcement actually reduce the number of brain and spine surgeries we perform.”
