NORTHEAST OHIO — E-bikes are sending more people to emergency rooms across Northeast Ohio, and local hospitals say children are among the most seriously injured.
Doctors at MetroHealth and Cleveland Clinic are treating road rash, broken bones, and severe head trauma. They say the injuries are worse than those from traditional bicycle accidents because e-bikes are heavier and can travel at higher speeds.
MetroHealth has treated 43 e-bike injuries so far this summer, up from 29 during the same period last year. Anthony Zalewski, Injury Prevention and Outreach Coordinator for the Division of Trauma at MetroHealth, said many users receive facial fractures and other injuries that need surgery and long hospital stays.
"A lot of that has to do with the speed, the fact that you're going faster," he said. "So, your weight produces more force when it hits the ground."
Cleveland Clinic is also reporting a major spike in injuries, with some of the most severe cases involving children as young as 9 years old.
"It's a very heavy machinery which goes at a very high speeds," Dr. Purva Grover, Chair of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, said. "The injuries we are seeing is not typically older adults. We see a lot more younger kids, younger than one would expect."
Doctors say many children do not know the rules of the road and are wearing the wrong safety gear. A standard bicycle helmet is only designed to protect riders at speeds up to 20 miles per hour, but most e-bikes can travel faster than that. Experts say riders need a Department of Transportation certified helmet.
Doctors are urging parents to check the speed capabilities of e-bikes before letting children ride. They also recommend talking to kids about traffic patterns and road hazards like uneven pavement.
