Kids' E-Bike Injuries Are Rising Fast. A Father's Safety Checklist

If your child has an e-bike on the holiday wish list, read this first. A study published in JAMA on 2 November, led by Stanford Medicine researchers, found that injuries from e-bikes and e-scooters among children and teenagers are rising much faster than injuries from ordinary bikes and scooters, and are more often serious.

What the study found

The team used PEDSnet, a database at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia that pools medical records from six large US paediatric hospitals. Between January 2023 and March 2026 it identified 13,307 patients under 18 injured on bikes, scooters or skateboards, according to Stanford's release.

• E-bike injuries grew 33% per quarter and e-scooter injuries 15% per quarter, "substantially higher" than for non-motorised bikes and scooters, said lead author Dr Alan Schroeder.
• Severe injuries: 8% of e-bike patients versus 4% on regular bikes; 5% on e-scooters versus 2% on regular scooters.
• Brain injuries were about twice as common: 10% of e-bike and 9% of e-scooter patients.
• 17% of e-bike injuries led to a hospital stay, the highest share of any group.
• About a quarter of e-bike injuries and almost half of e-scooter injuries involved children under 12.

What the doctors recommend

"I honestly think that kids under 12 should not be riding any form of motorized vehicle," Schroeder said in the release, calling the trend "a serious public health emergency". Paediatric trauma surgeon Dr Stephanie Chao noted that many parents don't realise e-bike riders may need helmets with fuller face and head protection. Speaking to TIME, Chao urged families to sit down together and talk about safety and responsibility before a child rides.

Riding a pedal bike well is not the same as being ready for a motor.

Your family checklist

• Check the local rules: San Diego and Marin counties in California require riders of faster e-bikes to be at least 16, Stanford notes; laws vary widely by place.
• Know what you are buying: the fastest class of e-bikes tops out at 28 mph, and in California road-going e-motos count as motorcycles needing a licence, plate and insurance, TIME reports.
• Pick a helmet built for the speed, with face protection, as the researchers suggest.
• Avoid models that are easy to modify for more speed; Schroeder wants safety guards "you cannot undo".
• Agree on routes and road rules: riders must follow the same traffic laws as other vehicles.

Experience on a regular bike or scooter is unlikely to transfer to an electric one, the doctors told TIME. Start slowly, ride together first, and after any fall with a knock to the head, have your child checked by a doctor.