E-Bike and Scooter Deaths Are up 27-Fold. 7 Ways to Stay Off the List

A few years ago, an e-scooter crash left my wife with a steel plate in her wrist. She was lucky. A lot of people riding these things aren’t.

I ride a bicycle about five days a week, and I see e-bikes and e-scooters everywhere now. They zip past me in bike lanes, on sidewalks and along the shoulders of busy roads. Some riders are careful. Plenty aren’t.

Just the other day an e-scooter came at me while I was on my bike, going the wrong way in a narrow bike lane. The rider was going at least 20 miles per hour. I ride at about 15, so a head-on collision would have slammed us together at a combined 35 miles per hour.

This is madness.

The numbers are worse than what I’ve seen personally. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, deaths tied to e-bikes, e-scooters and hoverboards went from five in 2017 to 135 in 2024. That’s 27 times as many.

And that 2024 count is probably low. The CPSC says death certificates can take up to two years to reach the agency, so the recent numbers are likely incomplete.

Injuries are exploding, too. In 2024 alone, emergency rooms treated an estimated 79,300 people hurt on e-scooters and 59,200 hurt on e-bikes. That’s about 380 people a day.

Here’s the part that should make every reader over 65 sit up: Younger riders account for most of the injuries, but riders 65 and older make up a far bigger share of the deaths than of the injuries. More on that below.

I’m not telling you to sell your e-bike. These machines save gas money and get people outdoors. But if you’re going to ride one, here’s how to keep from becoming a statistic. Or making someone else one.

1. Wear a real helmet, every ride

This is the cheapest life insurance you’ll ever buy. A 2018 analysis of helmet research, highlighted by the federally funded Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center, found that bike helmets cut the risk of a head injury by 48% and a serious head injury by 60%.

Yet most injured riders the CPSC followed up with weren’t wearing one. Only 18% of the e-scooter riders and 40% of the e-bike riders hurt in 2024 had a helmet on.

Buy one that fits, and buckle the strap every time. Not just for long rides. Every ride.

2. Ride like every driver is oblivious

I ride a bicycle most days, and I also occasionally ride a Harley. On both, I’m always watching what other drivers are doing. Spoiler alert: What most of them are doing is paying more attention to their phones than to what’s around them.

If you’re not safely ensconced in a car, your head had better be on a swivel.

That’s not paranoia. Crashes with cars, trucks and other vehicles were the leading cause of death on both e-bikes and e-scooters in the CPSC data. They accounted for 170 of the 310 e-bike deaths and 140 of the 206 e-scooter deaths from 2017 through 2024.

And drivers are distracted. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration counted 3,208 people killed in crashes involving distracted drivers in 2024 alone.

So assume nobody sees you. Use a headlight and a taillight. Watch for cars turning across your path at intersections. Don’t trust a driver until you’ve made eye contact.

And don’t be the distracted one. Among e-scooter riders injured in 2024, 11% said a phone or loud music may have played a part in their crash.

I’ve written about how music can make the road deadlier in “5 Reasons New-Album Day Might Be the Deadliest Day to Drive.”

3. Don’t ride it as fast as it’ll go

Some of these machines can hit 28 mph, according to the University of California, San Francisco. Just because yours can doesn’t mean you should.

For comparison, federal law defines a low-speed e-bike as one that tops out under 20 mph on motor power alone. In the CPSC’s 2024 follow-up, 15% of injured e-bike riders said they were going 20 mph or faster when they crashed.

Hills deserve extra respect. One in five e-bike injuries in that study happened on the way downhill. Brake early, and slow way down anywhere near people on foot.

4. Keep both hands on the bars, and learn the machine first

After crashes with cars, losing control was the next biggest known cause of e-bike deaths in the CPSC data — 61 of them, including riders hitting curbs, posts, railings and other things that don’t move. Loss of control was also blamed for 20 e-scooter deaths.

In some of the CPSC’s investigations, scooter riders lost control after hitting a pothole or a curb. (That’s what happened to my wife: a pothole.)

Now add this: 38% of injured e-bike riders and 32% of injured e-scooter riders were carrying something in their hands when they got hurt. A bag of groceries on the handlebars is an accident waiting to happen. Use a basket or a backpack.

If you’re new to riding, spend an hour in an empty parking lot before you take it into traffic. Learn how it brakes, how fast it accelerates and how it handles a bump.

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5. If you’re over 65, respect the weight and the speed

Of the 92 deaths involving people 65 and older on these machines from 2017 through 2024, 75 involved e-bikes. That’s 82%.

E-bikes also send a much bigger share of older riders to the ER. People 65 and older accounted for 10% of e-bike injuries, compared with 2% of e-scooter injuries.

The CPSC doesn’t say why. But if you haven’t ridden a bike in years, an e-bike isn’t the place to start over at full speed. Start on the lowest assist setting and work up.

Protect your wrists and arms, too. Broken bones are the most common injury the ER sees from these crashes, and arms and legs are hurt most often. My wife’s wrist is proof. Yet just 2% of injured e-scooter riders were wearing knee, elbow or wrist pads.

6. Never ride after drinking

This one shouldn’t need saying, but it does. The UCSF researchers found that e-bike and e-scooter riders were more likely than people on regular bikes and scooters to be riding drunk or high, and to be riding without a helmet.

Rental scooters make it tempting to hop on after a few drinks. Don’t. Call a cab or a ride-share instead.

7. Find out whether you’re covered before you hit someone

Riders don’t just hurt themselves. The CPSC counted 19 pedestrians killed after being hit by e-bike or e-scooter riders from 2017 through 2024. And nearly a third of e-scooter injuries in 2024 happened on sidewalks.

So suppose you’re on a scooter and you hit somebody on the sidewalk. Will your homeowners insurance cover the damage? Probably not.

According to the Insurance Information Institute, a standard homeowners policy typically excludes liability from using a motor vehicle, which is usually defined as anything self-propelled. Renters insurance won’t cover vehicle-related liability either.

At least one court has sided with the insurer. In April 2026, a New York judge ruled that a homeowners insurer owed no coverage to a man who collided with a cyclist on a Brooklyn bike path while riding his e-scooter.

It didn’t matter that New York’s traffic law doesn’t classify e-scooters as motor vehicles. The policy’s definition won.

Don’t count on your car insurance to bail you out, either. The institute says a standard auto policy won’t cover your liability on anything with only two or three wheels, e-scooters included.

Call your insurance agent and ask one question: “If I hurt someone while riding my e-bike or scooter away from home, am I covered?” If the answer is no, ask whether they offer an add-on that covers it.

Also ask about an umbrella policy. The Insurance Information Institute says umbrella policies, unlike auto policies, usually don’t rule out vehicles with two or three wheels, so one may cover some scooter liability.

I explain how umbrella coverage works in “Should You Split Your Car and Umbrella Insurance? Here’s What a CPA Says.”

If your current insurer won’t help, it may be worth seeing what others offer. You can compare homeowners insurance here.

One more thing: The battery

Crashes aren’t the only danger. The CPSC tied 45 deaths to lithium-ion battery fires in these products, including 19 on e-bikes and 15 on e-scooters. Of the 106 e-bike fires the agency investigated, 62 started while the battery was charging.

Charge it where you can keep an eye on it and never charge it overnight while you sleep. And only use the charger that came with it. And if one does catch fire in your home, what your home policy covers may surprise you.

My wife walked away with a steel plate. The 135 people who died in 2024 didn’t walk away at all. Wear the helmet, slow down and keep your head on a swivel.