Fifteen people have died in e-bike and scooter crashes in New York so far this year, police data shows — even as the NYPD reports it has stepped up efforts to issue summonses to reckless riders.
Of the 15 e-bike and scooter deaths, six were on devices categorized as “illegal motorized scooters” and five on electric bikes with pedals, NYPD data as of Aug. 14 shows.
Another three people died on standing e-scooters and one died on another electric device, cops said.
A 20-year-old man died when a motorized scooter he was riding smashed into the back of a double-parked, unoccupied food delivery truck on 86th St. in Brooklyn on April 21. (Theodore Parisienne/for New York Daily News)
July was the bloodiest month so far this year, with ten fatal or near-fatal e-bike and scooter crashes investigated by the NYPD’s Collision Investigation Squad. Police have investigated dozens more crashes involving serious injuries this year.
Among the deadly crashes in 2022 was a collision April 21 of an electric moped with a parked truck on 86th St. near W. 11th St. in Gravesend, Brooklyn. The 20-year-old operator of the moped was declared dead at the scene, and his 35-year-old passenger ended up in the hospital. The crash so mangled the bike, its front end was nearly severed.
Another involved a woman, 57, who was riding an e-bike against traffic on Fort Hamilton Parkway in Borough Park, Brooklyn on June 30 when she crashed into a truck. She was declared dead at the scene.
A woman riding an e-bike against traffic on Fort Hamilton Parkway in Borough Park, Brooklyn on June 30 collided with a truck. She was declared dead at the scene. (Gardiner Anderson/for New York Daily News)
Late on the evening of June 29, a 26-year-old e-bike rider died in Mott Haven, the Bronx, when he collided with a truck on E. 149th St. at St. Ann’s Ave. He was rushed to Lincoln Hospital but couldn’t be saved.
As of August 14, police have issued 2,822 summonses for moving violations to e-bike and scooter riders. That exceeds by 32% the 2,139 such summonses issued in the same period of 2021.
So far this year, 1,591 people have been injured by e-bikes and other electric rides, according to NYPD data updated on Aug. 14.
This year’s reported injuries include 611 on illegal motorized scooters — up by 15, or 3%, from the same period of 2021, the data shows.
Also this year, police count 581 injuries from crashes involving standing e-scooters and 399 on e-bikes with pedals.
The City Council in November 2019 legalized many kinds of throttle-assist and pedal-assist e-bikes used by delivery workers. In 2020, the Council allowed e-bikes in bicycle lanes.
Not all types of electric bikes were legalized by the Council, including mopeds that must be registered with the state. Police say that fact is widely ignored by some who sell two-wheeled electric rides.
“Some businesses and manufacturers saw this (the city’s legalization of many e-bikes) as an opportunity to market electric motorcycles under the umbrella of ‘e-bikes,’” an NYPD spokesperson said.
Many people, including immigrant delivery workers, “have unknowingly purchased these devices only to wind up injured or have the non-street legal device seized by the police,” said the NYPD spokesperson.
Police are now conducting enforcement “at the point of sale before predatory sales practices result in injury or monetary loss” by people who buy illegal scooters.
Copyright © 2022, New York Daily News
Copyright © 2022, New York Daily News