Doctors Warn of Rising Brain and Facial Injuries Tied to E‑Bikes

Across the Detroit metro area, emergency rooms have been getting a steady stream of patients whose injuries could have been avoided – if only they'd been wearing a helmet or riding a slower bike. The surge, doctors say, is linked to the boom in electric bicycles, or e‑bikes, that can zip along at 28 miles per hour.

“These Class 3 bikes are probably more like motor vehicles,” said Dr. Robert Sherwin, an ER physician at Detroit Medical Center. He’s seen everything from scraped knees to fractured skulls. “People think a bike is a bike, but the human body doesn’t change just because there’s a motor attached.”

Local bike shop owner John Hughes adds a familiar complaint: the road is already crowded with cars, and drivers aren’t looking out for cyclists. “Everyone’s on their phone, texting and driving. The real problem is sharing the road,” he told Fox 2 Detroit.

For many riders, though, e‑bikes feel like a salvation. Cam Cason, who uses his bike to commute to work and school, says it’s “way better than a car” – especially when you factor in gas prices.

While the debate rages in Detroit, states elsewhere are tightening the reins. New Jersey, for instance, passed a law this year that forces riders 15 and older to register their e‑bike and carry either a driver’s license or a specific e‑bike license. The measure followed a teenager’s fatal crash and is meant to push helmet use and responsible riding.

In New York City, NYU Langone Health released an advisory earlier this spring after a study in the journal Neurosurgery showed that nearly 7 % of trauma admissions were linked to pedal‑powered or electric bikes and scooters. Of the 914 patients treated, a third suffered a traumatic brain injury, more than two‑thirds needed hospital admission, and roughly 30 % required intensive‑care care.

The numbers are sobering. From 2018 to 2023, injuries involving micromobility devices leapt from under 10 % of cases to over 50 %. Collisions with cars or trucks remain the leading cause, accounting for about half of all incidents.

Helmet usage is distressingly low – fewer than one‑third of riders wore one, and those who didn’t were far more likely to sustain severe head or facial trauma. Alcohol was a factor in 20 % of cases, further amplifying the danger.

Pedestrians aren’t immune either. An analysis of 69 pedestrian collisions found they were almost twice as likely to suffer brain injuries compared with the riders themselves.

“In a busy urban setting, we’re seeing more of these injuries firsthand,” said Dr. Hannah Weiss, a neurosurgery resident at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, the study’s corresponding author. “The data point to actionable solutions – helmet use, safer bike‑lane design and enforcement – that could prevent many of these injuries and better protect our community.”

Until those solutions become universal, the advice from doctors remains simple: if you’re riding an e‑bike that can reach highway speeds, treat it like a motor vehicle – wear a helmet, stay alert, and respect the traffic around you.