E-bikes and e-scooters are soaring in popularity, and with them, horrific injuries are surging too.
But this deadly threat isn’t just affecting adults. In fact, injuries among kids are climbing much faster than grown folks.
New research reveals that not only are there more injuries, but they’re more serious.
Dr. Jose Prince, senior vice president of children’s surgery and pediatric surgeon in chief at Northwell Health, breaks down the new research, weighs in on what’s behind this alarming trend and what we can do to stop it.
Skyrocketing injuries among kids
Between January 2023 and March 2026, 13,000 young people were treated for bike, scooter and skateboard injuries at six large children’s hospitals around the US.
During that time, e-scooter injuries rose 15% while e-bike injuries rose a shocking 33% — every three months, researchers at Stanford found. Those increases were much higher than those seen on non-motorized versions of bikes and scooters.
“Kids are twice as likely to have a severe injury on an e-bike or e-scooter compared to a non-motorized bike or scooter,” Prince told The Post.
The kids getting injured are also extremely young. Almost one in four e-bike injuries — and almost half of e-scooter injuries — were in kids under the age of 12.
More horrific injuries among kids
And the injuries are much more serious. Approximately one in six e-bike injuries and one in eight e-scooter injuries required hospitalization.
A separate study found that e-bike injuries that sent kids to the ER rose 1,810% over a similar three year period (January 2023 to August 2026).
Brain injuries were about twice as common for kids on e-bikes and e-scooters compared to non-motorized versions, the new study found. One in ten kids hurt on an e-bike (and nearly one in 10 on an e-scooter) suffered brain injuries.
Head injuries present more danger to kids in particular — the skull is thinner and offers less protection, and their brains are still developing and more easily damaged.
“My son passed away three months ago due to complications from the TBI [traumatic brain injury] he got while riding,” commented one mom on a pediatric surgeon’s PSA about e-bikes. “I do not wish this pain on any parent. Please make your children wear motorcycle-grade helmets if they are riding electric scooters or bikes. Please.”
Why is this happening — and what can we do?
Authors of this new study believe one of the biggest factors in these skyrocketing injuries is speed. Over a million e-bikes are sold in the US, reaching speeds of up to 28 miles per hour — beyond that, they’re considered mopeds or motorcycles in many states.
A non-motorized bike, meanwhile, usually only reaches speeds of 14 mph in a city with frequent stops.
In New York, e-bikes are more popular than ever. Motorized micromobility vehicles — i.e. e-bikes and e-scooters — accounted for three quarters of vehicles in bike lanes last year.
The city bans these e-bikes from going over 25 mph, or have a motor over 750 watts. (Scooters over 100 pounds that can go over 20 mph are also illegal to sell or ride.)
Though Electric Citibikes (which account for 20%) are capped at 15 mph, a majority of the e-bikes are privately owned.
Study authors also flagged another major danger: the lack of helmets. In New York, 16- and 17-year-olds are required to wear them (those under 16 legally can’t ride them on public streets). But Prince said everyone should be protecting their head.
“We should all use a helmet when riding an e-bike or e-scooter at those speeds, even if we are over 18,” he said.
“As a parent, I would think about a motorcycle helmet for the Class 3 e-bike that can go up to 28 mph,” he added.
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