Traffic accidents in Switzerland – e-bike accidents are declining – but appearances are deceptive – News


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In the canton of Zurich, there were slightly fewer accidents involving e-bikes in 2021. But the police are only cautiously optimistic.

The growth in sales of bicycles with electric motors continued unabated in 2021. With this e-bike boom, however, the number of accidents has also increased, as has been clearly observed in recent years.

According to figures from the Federal Roads Office, 521 e-bike riders were seriously injured in 2020, and 15 even had fatal accidents. Compared to the previous five years, the number of serious accidents has doubled. Now, however, the number of accidents seems to be stabilizing, as the first figures from the cantons show.

Stable accident figures – despite the e-bike boom

In the canton of Zurich, bicycle accidents have decreased overall, as can be seen from the latest traffic accident statistics: in 2021, 859 cyclists had an accident in the canton of Zurich, compared to 1123 the year before. This corresponds to a decrease of almost 24 percent. If you only look at the figures from the city of Zurich, it is the first decline in bicycle accidents in several years.

A slight decrease can also be seen in e-bike accidents. The Zurich cantonal police registered 16 percent fewer accident victims in 2021 than in the previous year. “The numbers have remained stable, although we assume that many new e-bikes are in circulation,” says Marius Weyermann, head of the Zurich traffic police. A similar picture emerges in the canton of Schaffhausen: 24 e-bike accidents were registered there, compared to ten more the year before.

E-bike riders often injure themselves seriously

However, those responsible for the Zurich police do not want to talk about a turnaround. Last year, due to the bad weather, fewer people were out on the bike. It will therefore only become clear in the next few years whether the decline in accidents will continue. The fact that e-bike riders often injure themselves seriously should not be neglected either.

According to the figures from the canton of Zurich, serious injuries account for a good 19 percent of non-motorized bicycle accidents and 24 percent of e-bike accidents.

In Winterthur, for the first time in 2021, there were more serious injuries with e-bikes than with conventional bicycles – even though the total number of accidents with conventional bicycles is still significantly higher. “That gives us food for thought,” says Daniel Beckmann, department head at the Winterthur city police.

The University Hospital Zurich has for a examination takes a closer look at the injuries of e-bike accident victims who were hospitalized between 2009 and 2018. According to the study, the injury patterns of the e-bikers who had an accident are more comparable to those of cyclists than to those of motorcyclists. The reason for this is probably the significantly higher speed of the motorcycles.

The study also shows that although e-bike riders wear a helmet twice as often as other cyclists, they still suffer serious head injuries more frequently in accidents.

In view of the results, the study authors emphasize how important head protection is. They also recommend that older and untrained people in particular take part in e-bike courses.

In order to prevent serious e-bike accidents as far as possible, investments have been made in various prevention offers in recent years. The cantonal police in Zurich, for example, offers courses designed to make senior citizens fit for road traffic in particular. There are similar offers in other cantons.

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