WASHINGTON (BRAIN) — A National Transportation Safety Board study found at least 119 e-bike and e-scooter fatalities occurred between 2017 and 2021, and inadequate data collection from authorities makes identifying accidents involving micromobility devices difficult.
The study, Micromobility: Data Challenges Associated with Assessing the Prevalence and Risk of Electric Scooter and Electric Bicycle Fatalities and Injuries, was released Tuesday.
The NTSB recommends e-bike and e-scooter device codes be added to police crash and injury surveillance data, which can enhance collecting e-bike and e-scooter trip data to assess injury and fatality risk. The NTSB and the Consumer Product Safety Commission operate databases that have inadequate coding related to e-bikes and e-scooters, the study found.
"Because the crash data are not standardized, they do not provide a robust representation of electric scooter and electric bicycle safety," according to the study.
The NTSB said it conducted a scientific literature review; held discussions with experts; performed an independent analysis of e-bike and e-scooter crashes, fatalities, and injuries in the U.S.; assessed e-scooter and e-bike injury coding; and reviewed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which contains new requirements about collecting data on vulnerable road users.
The NTSB recommends that the CPSC, which regulates Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes, include "an explicit product code for electric bicycles in the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System," which is used to monitor consumer product related injuries.
On Monday, the CPSC informed more than 2,000 e-bike and other micromobility manufacturers and importers by letter to comply with relevant safety standards, including UL 2849 that calls for third-party certification of the electrical system.
