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Title: E-Bike Injuries Are a Massive Burden, Say Surgeons

Link: https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/09/13/0...

Surgeons in London report a surge in severe e-bike-related injuries, putting
major strain on NHS trauma units. The BBC mentions a couple e-bike accidents
overheard at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel. "A 32-year-old, fit
and well student... a couple of days ago he fell off an e-bike sustaining a
closed left tibial plateau fracture." Another case involved a little girl
named Frida: "Six-year-old girl, she was hit by an electric bike, she has a
closed tib/fib fracture." From the report: Surgeon Jaison Patel is seeing
more and more cases like this. "It's a massive burden on our department and
I'm sure it's the same across the whole of London," he tells us. "If we can
reduce the number of patients coming in with these sorts of injuries it would
be great for the patients obviously, but also takes massive pressure off us
in the NHS." Jaison deals with lower limb injuries. Just along the corridor
his colleague Nick Aresti does the upper limbs. Nick explains that he is a
cyclist himself, and it's something he encourages people to do for the
benefit of their health. But, he has real concerns about e-bikes, and says:
"What we've noticed with e-bikes is that the speed in which people are coming
off is much higher and as a result, the injuries are much worse." He shows us
X-rays of someone who has broken their collarbone. He explains that with e-
bikes, the injuries they're seeing are much more severe, and as such, people
are "struggling to get back to normality." Nick and Jaison both agree it's
something they're seeing increasingly more of as time goes by, and they think
the industry needs better regulation. "We should do something about it, I
don't think we can let this carry on," Jaison says. Over recent days of
course, thousands of Londoners have taken to e-bikes to help beat the
strikes. For many it has been an essential way to get about. Currently,
anyone aged 14 or over can legally ride an e-bike. The power output of an e-
bike's motor should be capped at 250 watts, and the motor should not be
capable of propelling the bike any faster than 15.5mph (25kph), according to
government rules. London's Walking and Cycling Commissioner Will Norman says
the rules need changing and says better regulation of the rentable electric
bikes could be on the way. "We need to ensure that the vehicles are safe,
that there's parking, they're not scattered all over the place, and that the
batteries are safe," he says. "I'm really delighted that the government has
now indicated in its English Devolution Bill that London and other cities
across the UK will be getting more powers so again we can start regulating
that, to ensure that they're safe for people to use and operate while they
get around". The bill is currently going through parliament, and as yet there
is no date for when it will be passed. Duncan Dollimore, head of campaigns at
Cycling UK, who are members of the Electric Bike Alliance, argues against the
regulation of e-bike usage. "The cost of inactivity-related health issues to
the NHS each year is 7.4 billion pounds, and people cycling saves them 1
billion pounds. We have seen a slight rise in the number of incidents
involving hired e-bikes in London, but the health benefits of people cycling
outweigh the risks by around 20 to one."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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