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Home My WebLink About2026-03-10; City Council Legislative Subcommittee; 02; Mineta Transportation Institute Update on 2025 Electric Bicycle Safety StudyMeeting Date: March 10, 2026 To: Legislative Subcommittee From: Jason Haber, Intergovernmental Affairs Director Staff Contact: Jason Haber, Intergovernmental Affairs Director jason.haber@carlsbadca.gov, 442-339-2958 Subject: Mineta Transportation Institute Update on 2025 Electric Bicycle Safety Study District: All Recommended Action Receive an update from the Mineta Transportation Institute regarding its December 2025 study, Exploring Electric Bicycle Safety Performance Data and Policy Options for California, conducted as directed by California Senate Bill 381 (2023), and provide feedback. Discussion The Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) is a university transportation center located within the Lucas College and Graduate School of Business at San José State University. MTI’s mission is to increase mobility for all by improving the safety, efficiency, accessibility, and convenience of our nation's transportation system through research, education, workforce development and technology transfer. As noted on the MTI website (https://transweb.sjsu.edu/): MTI’s 2025 study, Exploring Electric Bicycle Safety Performance Data and Policy Options for California, was conducted as directed by Senate Bill 381 (Min, 2023), which called for research to help policymakers develop effective laws and policy to support the twin goals of expanding electric bicycle use and protecting the safety of electric bicycle riders and other road users. The three major strands of findings presented in this report are (1) a review of how California and other states (and countries) regulate electric bicycle use, (2) a review of the electric bicycle safety literature, including original analysis of primary data on crashes, injuries, and deaths, and (3) strategies that the state could adopt to promote the safe use of electric bicycles. The strategies discussed include revising the way the California Vehicle Code defines and regulates electric bicycles, opportunities for improving electric bicycle safety data quality and analysis, building safe infrastructure for electric bicycling, and public education on electric bicycle rules of the road and safe riding practices. LEGISLATIVE SUBCOMMITTEE March 10, 2026 Item #2 Page 1 of 4 The full report can be viewed and downloaded at: https://transweb.sjsu.edu/sites/default/files/2423-Agrawal-Electric-Bicycle-Safety-Data- Policy.pdf. Study coauthor Asha Weinstein Agrawal, PhD, will provide an overview of the study’s findings and recommendations. Next Steps None. Exhibit 1. Exploring Electric Bicycle Safety Performance Data and Policy Options for California (Mineta Transportation Institute - Research Brief) March 10, 2026 Item #2 Page 2 of 4 Exploring Electric Bicycle Safety Performance Data and Policy Options for California Asha Weinstein Agrawal, PhD, and Kevin Fang, PhD The recent emergence of electric bicycles has generated both excitement over their potential as affordable, climate-friendly transportation and concerns about their safety for riders and bystanders.This study, conducted as directed by California Senate Bill 381 (2023), assembled data and expert insights to help policymakers develop effective laws and policy that will support the twin goals of expanding electric bicycle use and protecting public safety. What is an “electric bicycle”? Under California law, as in most states, electric bicycles must have 2 or 3 wheels, operable pedals, and an electric motor that produces no more than 750 watts of power. Further, California segments legal bicycles into three classes on the basis of the top motor-assisted speed (20 or 28 mph) and method of activating motor assistance (by pedaling and/or via a hand throttle). Complicating any discussion of electric bicycle safety, many devices that people perceive to be “electric bicycles” are actually not legal electric bicycles because they have motor power in excess of 750 watts and/or assist speeds above the 20 or 28 mph limit. Adding to the confusion, some devices sold and shipped as meeting power and speed limits for electric bicycles are easily modified to higher power outputs and speeds. Rules for riding electric bicycles The California Vehicle Code states that “an electric bicycle is a bicycle,” thereby granting electric bicycles most of the rights and responsibilities of conventional bicycles. There are just a few extra restrictions on electric bicycles, such as age minimums and adult helmet requirements for some types of electric bicycles. What we do—and don’t—know about safety A major stumbling block to understanding electric bicycle safety risk is the fact that some proportion of crashes, injuries, and fatalities attributed to “electric bicycles” involve higher- power devices that are not legal electric bicycles. Counts of electric two-wheelers parked at a dozen northern California middle and high schools suggest that, at least for young riders in those communities, as few as 12% of the devices may be legal electric bicycles. Keeping this major data quality limitation in mind, some patterns about electric bicycles emerged from our original analysis of crash, injury, and fatality data, plus a review of over 200 published electric bicycle safety studies: •The number of incidents attributed to electric bicycles has risen sharply in recent years. That finding in and of itself is not surprising, though, since electric bicycle popularity has also climbed rapidly. •Despite a rapid increase in incidents, electric bicycle crashes, injuries, and fatalities are, on the whole, far less common than incidents involving conventional bicycles. Project 2423 December 2025 CSU TRANSPORTATION CONSORTIUM transweb.sjsu.edu/csutc Exhibit 1 March 10, 2026 Item #2 Page 3 of 4 • When injuries do occur, electric bicycle riders have somewhat more severe outcomes than conventional bicycles, on average, with more serious medical diagnoses and/or higher hospitalization rates. • Most electric bicycle injuries appear to result from solo crashes, but vehicle crashes appear to be involved in a majority of fatalities. • Nationwide, people injured and killed on electric bicycles tend to be older than those in incidents with conventional bicycles. That said, emergency rooms in communities where electric bicycles are popular among teenagers report numerous young people injured. A major stumbling block to understanding electric bicycle safety risk is the fact that some proportion of crashes, injuries, and fatalities attributed to “electric bicycles” involve higher-power devices that are not legal electric bicycles. Policy options The State of California can most effectively support safe electric bicycle riding with a package of complementary actions that include educating all road users about electric bicycle rights and responsibilities, building safe biking infrastructure, re-considering how the California Vehicle Code defines and regulates use of electric bicycles, and improving data collection and analysis of electric bicycle related incidents to inform policy changes. Specific actions recommended in the report include: • Building high-quality bicycle infrastructure on state facilities and supporting local government efforts to do the same • Adopting strict disclosure requirements on retailers, so that buyers understand whether the device is a legal electric bicycle under statute, which class of device it is, and state MTI is a University Transportation Center sponsored by the US Department of Transportation, the California Department of Transportation, and public and private grants, including those made available by the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017 (SB1). The Institute is part of San José State University’s Lucas Graduate School of Business. About the Authors Asha Weinstein Agrawal, PhD, is Professor of Urban Planning at San José State University. Kevin Fang, PhD, is Associate Professor of Environmental Studies, Geography, and Planning at Sonoma State University. To Learn More For more details about the study, download the full report at transweb.sjsu.edu/project/2423.html rules on who may ride the device • Publishing a handbook of Rules of the Road for riders of electric bicycles, conventional bicycles, and other micromobility devices that presents the full set of rules for these modes as defined in the California Motor Vehicle Code • Specifying that the 750 watt maximum motor power refers to peak power, not continuous power for legal electric bicycles • Revising the procedures that medical staff and police officers use to report incidents involving two-wheeled electric devices so that only those incidents involving legal electric bicycles are classified as such Project 2423 December 2025 CSU TRANSPORTATION CONSORTIUM transweb.sjsu.edu/csutcMarch 10, 2026 Item #2 Page 4 of 4 E-Bike Safety: Local Data & Policy Options Presentation to the City of Carlsbad March 10, 2026 Asha Weinstein Agrawal, PhD Acknowledgements Co-author: Project funding: Kevin Fang, PhD, Sonoma State University The analysis presented was developed as part of a larger study about e-bike safety policy required by CA Senate Bill 381 (Min -2023) Overview A. E-bike safety concepts B. How dangerous are e-bikes? C. Revise the e-bike definition & class system A. E-bike safety concepts What EB safety concerns have been identified? 1.EB riders are injured or killed as a result of: •Collisions with motor vehicles •Solo crashes 2.Other road users are •Injured or killed by EB riders •Intimidated by aggressive or careless EB riders The primary types of safety data available 1.Medical: hospital & EMS records, death certificates 2.Police: collision reports ALL have major limitations: •High probability of devices being miscategorized “EB” data includes electric pedal devices with higher speeds or more powerful motors than are legal for EBs •E-bike class rarely reported •The is no record for many (most?) incidents What we want to know about EB incidents to set policy 1.How many incidents occur and how severe the outcomes are 2.Incidents per exposure (per trip or per distance traveled) To calculate, need the # of EB trips taken and/or distances traveled 3.Factors associated with more frequent incidents Examples: specific street types, EB rider characteristics, EB rider behaviors, or motorist behaviors 4.How the numbers and types of EB injuries compare to similar devices (bicycles, e-scooters, etc.) B. How dangerous are EBs? Key findings from CA, US, & global safety data •# of reported EB crashes/injuries each year is rising, but so are EB #s •Far fewer people are reported injured on EBs than on most other travel modes, including conventional bicycles and cars •Majority of reported EB incidents involve adults •Very few bystanders injured •Many (most?) of the reported “e-bike” incidents likely did not involve legal EBs, especially in California There is statewide evidence on device types, but 2025 counts of “bicycle-shaped devices with electric motors” parked at Bay Area middle and high schools found 88% were not legal e-bikes So, legal EBs may actually be relatively safe Injuries from EBs and other light modes treated in US hospital emergency rooms Source: Data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), produced by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission Transportation patients treated in CA hospitals (2023) Data: Hospital Emergency Department –External Cause of Injury/Morbidity Code Frequency and Hospital Inpatient –External Cause of Injury/Morbidity Code Frequency 4,757 patients C. Opportunities for Carlsbad Overall approach 1.Educate the whole community, especially kids and parents, about: •Identifying legal EBs vs. not-EBs •Rules for riding EBs 2.Keep rules about using EBs as simple as possible 3.Collect better data on e-bike crashes and injuries to understand the true nature of local safety issues Help community members choose legal EBs Don’t expect consumers to research state EB laws before a purchase! 1.Share information on legal vs. not-legal devices through schools, targeting both kids and parents 2.Encourage retailers to disclose to shoppers whether or not the device is a legal EB, the EB class, and California rules on who may ride the device Proposed legislation would require retailers to do this 3.Work with local media to help educate the community Help people learn the rules for riding EBs We cannot expect people to follow rules they don’t know 1.Run educational campaigns to educate ALL road users on EB rules of the road 2.Offer bicycle and EB rider education in all schools •Target both students and parents 3.Prominently sign any EB rules specific to a place (e.g., speed limit on a shared-use path) Advocate for standardized riding rules Advocate for good state-wide rules, including on ages & helmet use, rather than focusing on local regulations It is impractical to expect everyone riding an EB in Carlsbad to know city- specific rules Study the nature of local EB crashes & injuries Better data and analysis is needed to understand the safety problems well enough to craft effective policy solutions 1.Carlsbad can work with police, local hospitals, and local EMS to collect better data •Document the device make, model, and key characteristics (e.g., throttle) •Collect good data on crash circumstances (location, what was happening, light and weather, etc.) •Document more crashes 2.Analyze the data to understand causes For more information MTI report: Exploring Electric Bicycle Safety Performance Data and Policy Options for California Asha Weinstein Agrawal, PhD Education Director, Mineta Transportation Institute San José State University asha.weinstein.agrawal@sjsu.edu