It’s becoming more common to see electric bicycles (e-bikes) and other motorized devices like e-scooters. In the past few years, e-bikes have seen a surge in popularity and in accidents.
Dr. Jennifer Caputo Seidler is a hospitalist and works in the trauma program at Tampa General Hospital. She said e-bike accidents are the largest increase in trauma at the hospital. Seidler said, historically they saw more children in biking accidents. But now that the bikes have gone electric, she sees more adults who use them to commute to work or school.
“I would encourage anybody who’s getting on an e-bike or an e-scooter to wear a helmet. Head injuries are definitely the most common injury we’re seeing, and most of it is because of low helmet usage,” Seidler said. “So helmets, helmets, helmets. I cannot say it enough. You have to protect your brain, you can’t replace it.”
And if you ride without a helmet and crash, the consequences could be dire…