Injuries to the head were most common in patients treated in the emergency department, across cycle types
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 7, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Youth who ride electric- or gas-powered bikes have a higher risk for trauma or death when involved in collisions compared with those riding pedal bicycles, according to a study presented at the annual American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference & Exhibition, held from Oct. 2 to 6 in San Diego.
Seth Weir, D.O., from Prisma Health in Columbia, South Carolina, used National Electronic Injury Surveillance System data (2005 to 2024) to identify emergency department cases involving patients ages 17 years and younger with injuries related to e-bikes, bikes, and gas-powered cycles. Injuries were compared across bike types.
Weir identified 134,426 bicycle-related injuries, 305 for e-bikes, and 1,721 for gas-powered cycles. Most injuries occurred in boys and White patients, across categories. The most common type of injury for bikes and gas-powered cycles was contusion/abrasion (24 and 27 percent, respectively), while for e-bikes, fractures were most common (27 percent). The head was the most frequent anatomic location to sustain injury across groups (e-bikes, 20 percent; gas-powered cycles, 16.6 percent; bicycles, 15.8 percent). The mean age for patients varied across groups (e-bike, 12.43 years; bicycles, 9.67 years; gas-powered, 13.13 years). Most patients were treated and released (bikes: 92 percent; e-bikes, 90 percent; gas-powered, 87 percent). Admissions were seen for 10 percent of gas-powered cycle injuries, 6.6 percent of e-bike injuries, and 5.0 percent of bicycle injuries. There were fatalities across all subgroups (e-bikes, one [0.32 percent]; gas-powered, two [0.12 percent); bicycles, 37 [0.03 percent]).
“In the pediatric trauma setting, electronic bicycles are becoming increasingly common,” Weir said in a statement. “The goal of this research was to better inform parents when buying electric assist powered bicycles and adequately portray the risk of injury in each type.”
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