Fatbike users in accidents are young with more serious injuries – DutchNews.nl

Half the people taken to hospital after an accident with their fatbike are under the age of 16, public safety institute VeiligheidNL said on Wednesday after a week-long monitor of A&E admissions.

All 82 hospital accident and emergency departments monitored admissions from bike-related accidents between September 30 and October 6. In total, they dealt with 1,291 victims, of whom 96 were on a fatbike at the time of the accident, 480 were on a different sort of e-bike and 715 were on an ordinary bicycle.

“We now have a much better picture of the actual number of accidents involving e-bikes and fatbikes in particular,” said VeiligheidNL director Martijntje Bakker.

Almost a quarter of the fatbike riders were admitted to hospital, compared with 16% of e-bike riders and 13% of ordinary bike users.

“We are not talking about grazes here,” Marcel Aries, chairman of the doctor’s safe cycling campaign group Artsen voor Veilig Fietsen, told broadcaster NOS. “These are serious injuries, broken bones, cerebral hemorrhages and damage to internal organs.”

The accident reports also recorded the type of accident, the seriousness of the injuries, the age of the cyclist and whether or not they wore a helmet. Just 3% of fatbike and 6% of e-bike riders were wearing one.

The figures, if extrapolated over a full year, indicate some 5,000 fatbike riders a year could end up in A&E. “That is a lot,” Bakker said.

Fatbikes are currently classed as normal e-bikes, which means users don’t need a licence or a helmet to use one. There are no age limits.

Safety campaigners and a majority of MPs have called for action. Last month MPs voted in favour of a motion calling for compulsory helmets and an age limit of 14. VeiligheidNL wants a ban on all e-bikes for the under-16s.