E-bicycles v e-scooters: 'Surprise' crash risk results in new study

E-BICYCLE riders are eight times more likely to crash in cities than the riders of electric scooters, according to new research.

- By STEPHEN BEECH

E-scooters have often been identified as more dangerous than electric bikes, but safety experts say that picture changes when they are compared on equal terms.

The new study, carried out partly in Cambridge, shows that the crash risk is eight times higher for e-bikes than for e-scooters, calculated based on the trip distance with rental vehicles in cities.

The Swedish research team said their “surprise” findings suggest that previous studies have “grossly underestimated” the safety of e-scooters in relation to e-bicycles.

E-scooters have become an increasingly common means of transport in cities.

A number of previous studies have identified e-scooters as far more dangerous than e-bikes and ordinary bicycles. But according to the new study from Sweden's Chalmers University of Technology, it is not as simple as that.

Professor Marco Dozza said: "Previous studies have often compared apples with oranges. They have lumped together e-bicycles with ordinary bicycles, and haven't taken into account where, how and when much these vehicles are used - or whether they are rented or privately owned.