Cases rose from 33 in 2019 to 124 in 2025. That’s how fast e-bike injuries and e-scooter injuries climbed among kids at one California children’s hospital, according to new research presented at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) 2026 National Conference in San Diego. Scooters caused most of the injuries, but e-bike injuries were the ones more likely to end in surgery or a hospital stay.
If your kid rides one, or keeps asking for one, this isn’t a reason to panic. It is a good reason to look at which device they ride, what kind of helmet they wear and how much training they’ve had. Here’s what the study found, how it fits with national data on e-bike injuries, and a simple checklist you can go through with your child this weekend.
What the New Study on E-Bike Injuries Found
The research was presented at the AAP 2026 National Conference & Exhibition, which runs October 2-6 in San Diego, and reported by Contemporary Pediatrics. Investigators reviewed medical records from a single quaternary pediatric hospital in California and identified 379 kids and teens hurt on e-bikes or e-scooters between 2019 and 2025.
Here’s the quick snapshot:
- Annual cases: 33 in 2019, 124 in 2025 – nearly four times as many
- Average age: 14.2 years
- Boys vs. girls: 70% of injured patients were male
- Most common cause: an unprovoked fall or loss of control (71% of cases), not a collision
- Device mix: e-scooters accounted for 77% of injuries overall, but the e-bike share grew from 21% in 2019 to 31% in 2025
Arms and hands took the most damage across both e-bike injuries and scooter injuries. Upper-extremity injuries showed up in 53% of patients, leg injuries in 46% and head injuries in 39%.
“These recreational transportation devices are becoming increasingly common among children and teenagers, and the injuries we are seeing are rising just as quickly,” said Dr. Bianca Edison, an attending physician at the Jackie and Gene Autry Orthopedic Center at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, in a press release quoted by Contemporary Pediatrics.
Why E-Bike Injuries Were More Severe Than Scooter Injuries
This is the part that surprised a lot of parents. E-bike injuries were less common than scooter injuries in the study, but they were consistently worse.
| Outcome | E-bike riders | E-scooter riders |
|---|---|---|
| Concussion | 17% | 8.6% |
| Fracture | 48% | 36% |
| Needed surgery | 26% | 9.7% |
| Admitted to the hospital | 27% | 10% |
| Potentially life-threatening (Pediatric Trauma Score) | 8.8% | 2.8% |
Put simply, a child hurt on an e-bike was roughly two to three times as likely to need surgery or a hospital bed as a child hurt on an e-scooter.
The study doesn’t pin down exactly why. But the AAP’s parent site, HealthyChildren.org, points out that e-bikes are faster, heavier and harder to handle than regular bikes. Class 3 models can reach 28 mph or more. More speed and more weight usually mean a harder landing.
Following the law didn’t guarantee a milder injury
The researchers also looked at whether kids were riding legally under the California rules they applied: no e-scooter riding before age 16, and no e-bike riding before 18 without a helmet. By that definition, 53% of injured patients were riding illegally. That was far more common among scooter riders (66%) than e-bike riders (7.2%).
But here’s the twist. After adjusting for age, device type and helmet use, legal compliance was not linked to less severe injuries. In other words, following the rules is necessary, but it isn’t a force field. Device choice, speed and skill matter too.
Edison said prevention will take strategies that account for “the different risks associated with each type of device,” rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.
What this study can’t tell us
A few honest caveats. This is one hospital, so the numbers aren’t national injury rates. It counts kids who came in for care, not every child who rides. And it was presented as a conference abstract, which hasn’t yet gone through the full peer review of a journal paper. Still, it lines up with what national data have been showing for years.
The Bigger Picture: E-Bike Injuries Nationwide
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) tracks micromobility injuries through a national sample of emergency rooms. Its April 2026 report, which covers 2017 through 2024 and includes riders of all ages, found:
- An estimated 698,500 ER visits tied to e-scooters, e-bikes and hoverboards
- Yearly micromobility ER visits rising from about 37,300 in 2017 to 149,100 in 2024
- An estimated 155,200 e-bike ER visits, with 59,200 of them in 2024 alone
- 533 deaths reported across all micromobility products, including 310 involving e-bikes
The CPSC lists crashes with motor vehicles and loss of control as top hazards in e-bike deaths. Battery fires show up too: 19 of the 310 e-bike deaths were linked to lithium-ion battery fires.
Pediatricians say the e-bike injuries they’re seeing in kids can look like motorcycle crash injuries, including traumatic brain injuries, facial injuries, broken bones and chest or belly injuries, according to HealthyChildren.org.
E-Bike Classes and Age: What the AAP Recommends
Not all e-bikes are the same, and the class matters a lot for preventing e-bike injuries in kids. According to the AAP’s HealthyChildren.org guide, written by Dr. Phyllis Agran of the AAP Council on Injury, Violence and Poison Prevention:
- Class 1: the motor only helps while the rider pedals, up to 20 mph
- Class 2: has a throttle, so the motor can run without pedaling, up to 20 mph
- Class 3: may or may not have a throttle, and can reach 28 mph or more
And here’s the age guidance the AAP passes along:
- Under 12: no e-bikes. The CPSC recommends kids ages 9 through 12 not operate anything that goes faster than 10 mph.
- Ages 12-15: if you decide your child is ready, choose a Class 1 bike only.
- Age 16: start with a Class 1 or Class 2.
The AAP also warns that removing or unlocking an e-bike’s speed limiter is hazardous and may be against the law. State and local rules vary a lot, too. In California, for example, riders must be at least 16 to operate a Class 3 e-bike, and anyone under 18 must wear a helmet on any bike, so check your own state’s vehicle code before you buy.
A No-Guilt Parent Checklist for Safer Rides
Lots of families bought an e-bike or scooter because it gives kids independence and gets them to school or practice without a car ride. That’s a real benefit. These steps help keep it that way.
- Match the bike to the kid. Use the AAP age-and-class guide above. If your child already rides something faster, it’s okay to reassess, add training or swap to a Class 1.
- Upgrade the helmet. The AAP says kids on any class of e-bike should wear a high-quality helmet made for higher speeds than a regular bike helmet, and it should fit snugly and be buckled every time. The AAP’s rule of thumb: no helmet, no ride.
- One rider only. The AAP discourages kids from carrying passengers on the back. Extra weight makes braking and steering harder.
- Practice before the street. Being able to ride a regular bike doesn’t mean a child is ready for an e-bike. Start in an empty lot, practice braking from speed, and ask your school district or city about e-bike safety courses.
- Know the road rules. Ride on the right with traffic, stop at every intersection, and no phones or earbuds while riding. Remind kids that pedestrians may not hear them coming.
- Be seen. As fall days get shorter, add front and rear lights and bright or reflective clothing for any ride near dusk.
- Treat the battery with respect. Buy bikes whose electrical system is certified to a recognized safety standard such as UL 2849. Use only the recommended charger, stay nearby while it charges and never charge overnight while everyone’s asleep.
- Put it in writing. The AAP offers a downloadable e-bike readiness checklist and a family riding agreement, similar to a teen driving contract.
How to talk to your teen about it
Teens tune out lectures. They tend to listen to respect. Try framing it as “you’re getting more freedom, so here’s how we keep it” instead of a list of don’ts. Ask them which streets feel sketchy, and let them help set the rules. The same approach works well for other big safety talks, like the ones in our guide to safe gun storage from another new AAP study.
The Bottom Line on E-Bike Injuries
E-bikes and e-scooters aren’t going away, and for many teens they’re a genuinely useful way to get around. The new AAP conference research simply makes two things clear: injuries are climbing fast, and e-bike crashes tend to hit harder.
Your action plan for this week: check what class your child’s e-bike is, swap in a higher-speed-rated helmet if needed, test the lights before the clocks change, and sit down together with the AAP’s family riding agreement. If your child has had a crash, especially one with a head bump, talk to your pediatrician.
Want more practical, pediatrician-backed guidance? Check out our parent guides on kids’ heat safety and the 2.8 million-kid screen time review, and stay with USA One News for the latest from the AAP conference.
This article is for general information and isn’t a substitute for advice from your child’s pediatrician.
