Around 5 years ago, Goldfinger Injury Lawyers noticed a surge in E-bike accident calls to our law firm. E-bikes had gained popularity. More e-bikes were being sold by run of the mill bike shops and big box stores alike. More people were open and excited to use them. Any why not? They were affordable methods of convenient and environmentally friendly transportation. E-Bikes and their cousins E-Scooters went fast and didn’t use any gas. They were, and remain a great way to get around.
What we noticed a few common themes with E-Bike and E-Scooter accidents at our law firm:
- The injuries to the rider(s) tended to be serious. This made sense given that the accidents took place at higher speeds than accidents involving nor motorized bikes. But, also like regular bikes, the riders did not have the safeguards you would see on a car (airbags, bumpers, seatbelts). The only protective gear for a cyclist (motorized on non motorized) was the helmet the person was wearing, along with any other clothing. Doctors have observed that injuries sustained in e-bike accidents tend to resemble injuries sustained in motorcycle accidents. This is significant because motorcyclists are required to have licenses and to have registered their vehicles. E-bikes are not required to be registered, and operators are not required to have driver’s licenses.
- The police tended NOT to side with the cyclist. In fact, the police officers went out of their way to ticket the cyclist for the smallest infraction which you wouldn’t otherwise see. It was like the police officers had it in against the e-bike riders.
- Insurance coverage tended to be an issue because we were in the early days of seeing e-bikes and e-scooters on the roads
- It was the “wild west” in terms of these vehicles operating. They were, for all intents and purposes unlicensed and uninsured motorcycles which were able to share the roads with cars, and travel at relatively high speeds. The operators didn’t need any sort of licensing or training. The e-bikes were legally sold as going at top speeds of 32km/hr, but were easily modified so that they could travel at much higher speeds. The e-bikes were not regulated, so there was no way of knowing if the e-bikes were modified or not. And, it was not like police officers were looking out for e-bike riders who were speeding or who were modifying their e-bikes. How would a police officer be able to tell if someone was modifying their e-bike to travel faster than legally allowed, if not by using a radar or by knowing what to look for on an e-bike? When was the last time you saw a police officer give a someone riding his/her bike, e-bike or e-scooter a ticket for speeding or some other driving infraction?
- Currently, E-bikes are required to weigh no greater than 120kg which is 265 pounds! That’s enormously heavy considering that the average road bike weighs just 18 pounds and the average mountain bike weighs around 25-35 pounds! Imagine being a pedestrian and getting hit by a e-bike weighing over 250 pounds while walking. And the e-bike operator was not required to have any sort of license, or have any sort of insurance.
- In Ontario, you must be 16 years of age to ride an e-bike with a max weight of 120kg (265 pounds). The E-bike must also be in good working order, and have two independent braking systems capable of slowing down the bike from speeds of up to 30km/hr. The rider also must wear a helmet. But in Alberta, kids 12 years old and up can legally drive an e-bike with no weight restriction to a top speed of 32km/hr. There should be some tougher rules on the age of e-bike riders, along with the max weight and speed of the e-bikes they are seeking to ride.
- Fun fact: Did you know that in Ontario, if you remove the pedals from your e-bike, then it is technically considered a motor vehicle? Once the e-bike is deemed to be a motor vehicle, then it needs to be insured and the operator needs to license to operate it. The e-bike would also need to be registered. I’m not sure what type of driver’s license you would need (car vs. motorcycle or other vehicle license). Either way, it kinda defeats the purpose of having an e-bike in the first place under the current scheme.
- Different provinces and different municipalities have different rules when it comes to e-bikes; particularly around where they can be used. I would not expect someone to do a cross Canada e-bike ride. But, there should be some uniformity around the rules with respect to the design, weight and speeds of the e-bikes themselves. There should also be some uniformity around the requirements to own/operate an e-bike; and where they can, and cannot be operated. Some municipal paths allow for e-bikes. Others do not.
- The Federal Government recently released a report on E-Bike safety. In the report, the government highlighted 5 e-bike fatality cases in Ottawa. in three of the five cases, the operators had their driver’s license suspended, and they were using the e-bike as an alternative method to transportation over a car because they were no longer allowed to drive a car. More interesting was that in four out of the five cases; the operators all had some form of intoxicate in their system (drug or alcohol). Even more interested was that in ALL of the five fatality cases, ALL of the e-bikes had been modified to go faster than what was legally allowed. It’s impossible with a naked eye to determine if an e-bike has been modified in such a way as to go faster than what’s legally allowed. I suppose that the same thing applies to cars, unless you look under the hood of the vehicle in question. Modifications to e-bikes are much easier than modifications to cars. In some cases, an e-bike can be modified simply by adjusting the motor settings (a knob or a switch/lever) or by removing the governor or speed limiter. This is an easy fix which doesn’t require the expert work of a mechanic. It also doesn’t cost the owner anything.
