E-Bike Crashes in Oregon:
A First Look

1 Introduction

The 2022 Oregon crash file has been out for about two months and one of the new things in the most recent data is that Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) now tracks e-bike crashes so we can start answering some basic safety related questions about this growing mode of travel. With a formal request for information from our Climate Office about the magnitude of e-bike related injuries compared to other modes, the Research Unit got to dig into these data recently and see whats happening in Oregon based on reported e-bike crashes.

The hope with modes of travel like e-bikes and E-Scooters, is that they will offset the amount of driving and reduce vehicle miles traveled so the state can meet its greenhouse gas reduction goals. And though e-bikes have a motor they still require the user to pedal and so present some health benefits to users. However, with any mode of travel, especially one exposed to vehicle traffic, crashes are possible and safety is a key priority for transportation authorities.

2 Data Definitions

Let us start by defining a few terms including what is meant when we say E-bike. Starting in 2022, Oregon Department of Transportation’s Crash Analysis and Reporting Unit began including as a new vehicle type E-bikes. E-bikes considered in this summary analysis included the following definitions:

• Motorized bicycles
• Electric battery-powered bicycles (e-bikes) - for Tier 1 and 2 having speed-limited motors that don’t exceed 20 mph, per the classifications listed below
  • Tier 1: Top speed = 20 mph and the eBike works only by pedaling.
  • Tier 2: Equipped w/ a throttle-actuated motor that ceases to assist when the eBike reaches 20 mph.

Tier 3 e-bikes would be classified as a motorcycle and are not included in the e-bike analysis below.

The other item to ensure readers are clear about is what kinds of crashes are included in the ODOT crash data system. In order for a crash to be reportable, it must involve a motor vehicle and occur on a public road. Therefore e-bike crashes on off-street paths or mountain biking trails would not be included nor would any crashes that do not involve a motor vehicle. Examples of the latter condition are if an e-bike were to crash into a fixed object like a pole or even another bicycle or pedestrian. Incidents like these might be reported to emergency medical services (EMS) through a 911 call but would not be included in ODOT crash data.

3 Comparing E-Bike Crashes to Other Modes

The number of e-bike crashes reported to ODOT’s crash data system includes 32 incidents. Given that the amount of travel by e-bike is still small relative to vehicle travel and compared to more traditional forms of active transportation, this small number of incidents is not unexpected. However, this does limit what can be said with any certainty through even basic data descriptives. That being said, the below data is presented to provide information about e-bike crashes that have been reported to ODOT.

The first figure aims to provide context for the 32 E-bike crashes detailed in the next section by showing the number of fatal and serious injuries in Oregon by mode. Over the last five years, there were on average 2,646 fatal and serious injuries per year for all modes with a significant increase in the last two years of available data. The vast majority of fatal and serious injuries on Oregon’s roads involve occupants of vehicles, with nearly 3,000 injuries in 2022, the highest recorded in the data set. In the latest period of data, 2022, there were about 100 people injured (fatal or serious) while biking and of these, five were e-bike riders with one fatal injury. The fatal injury is detailed below.

Figure 3.1: Fatal and Serious Injury by Mode

4 E-Bike Crash Data Summary

Diving into what has been reported for e-bike crashes, the figures below show how the e-bike crashes break down across available data elements. The first chart shows the number of injuries by severity showing that one person was killed, four people seriously injured, and 25 experienced a minor or possible injury. The fatal injury occurred when a 71 year old male e-bike rider was involved in a crash on a 30 mph arterial road in Portland. In the crash data, it was reported that the vehicle driver had used drugs prior to the collision. Arterial roads, especially those marked with higher speeds and have multiple lanes are typically over represented in fatal and serious crash data, especially for vulnerable road users.

Figure 4.1: E-Bike Crashes by Injury Severity

The next set of charts below show the 32 e-bike crashes and the types of roads and the recorded posted speed at the location of the crash. Of the 32 crashes, 29 occurred on an arterial road and many of those were marked 35 mph or higher, though many of the crashes did not record a posted speed limit.

Figure 4.2: Road Type & Posted Speed

Lighting conditions are known to impact crash frequency and severity, especially for vulnerable road users, so the below summarizes the e-bike crashes by lighting conditions revealing all but two crashes were in daylight hours and the two at night occurred in a location with lighting.

Figure 4.3: E-Bike crashes and Lighting Conditions

The figures below summarizes the e-bike injuries by age, alcohol and drug involvement, helmet use, and sex of e-bike crash participants. Of the e-bike riders involved in a crash, 8 were 55 and older and 8 were between the age of 13 and 15 with the remainder between the ages of 18 and 54. Of the 32 e-bike crashes, two reported that the motor vehicle driver was using alcohol and 1 motor vehicle driver was using drugs. Helmets were worn by 10 of the 23 crashes where helmet use was documented with 13 riders reported to not have been wearing helmets during the crash with nine crashes containing no information on helmet use. Lastly, the majority of e-bike crash riders are male with 22 of the 32.

Figure 4.4: Age, Alcohol & Drugs, Helmet Use, and Sex of E-Bike Users

The last chart below shows the number of e-bike Crashes by urban area in Oregon. One item of note is that all the e-bike crashes occurred in urbanized area, as defined by Census. The Bend urban area has the highest count of e-bike crashes with 13 crashes, which is more than the other urban areas, but still a relatively small number of crashes. Portland and Eugene urbanized areas, which include the entire metropolitan regions in those places, each had four crashes with Salem and Corvallis with three and two e-bike crashes respectively.

Figure 4.5: E-Bike Crashes by Urban Area

5 Final Thoughts

With just one year of e-bike crash data and fortunately, just 32 crashes, its not possible to see many reliable patterns but as we accumulate crash data, trends will likely present themselves. Another piece of information what would be helpful to know is the amount of e-bike travel activity there is in Oregon. Transportation agencies would be served well by having robust travel monitoring programs that track e-bike travel using travel surveys or traffic counting. Strava Metro tracks e-bike trips and those data show significant growth in e-bike trip making in Oregon since 2019. These data are self reported and are are likely only capturing a certain segment of the e-bike usage. Biases aside, the chart below summarizes the number of self-reported e-bike trips recorded by the Strava app and show that since 2019, e-bike trips recorded on this app are five times higher with 2023 up 36% over 2022. Whether e-bike crashes will increase along with this activity will be determined when we have more data in the spring of 2025.

Figure 5.1: E-Bike Trips Recorded by Strava App in Oregon