What You Need to Do in an Electric Bike Accident

Electric bikes have recently surpassed cars as many people's preferred mode of transportation to and from places like work, school, and the grocery store daily. The reason for this is that it is convenient to ride an electric bicycle. For example, e-bikes require far less propulsion than conventional bicycles. Consider investing in an e-bike to get to your destination quickly without getting stuck in traffic.

Despite these benefits, a recent study found that the growing popularity of e-bikes over the past three years has contributed to a 74% increase in accidents. Moreover, with the popularity of e-bikes, this percentage is expected to soar in the coming years. Careless riding of an e-bike could result in serious injuries, such as brain damage or spinal cord paralysis. Around 20,000 e-bike accidents occur in Europe each year, and the number is expected to rise this year as more people seek alternatives to driving a car.

Even if you take every precaution, you shouldn't assume you won't get injured just because you ride an e-bike. Therefore, it is crucial to be prepared for what to do and how to respond in the event of an e-bike accident.

Before we discuss what to do in the event of an e-bike accident, there are a few things you should know as an e-bike rider. Please wait patiently.

What Factors Contribute to Electric Bike Crashes?

Most of the time, you can divide e-bike riders into three groups based on how fast they ride on average.

Class I cyclists are limited to 20 mph and are required to use the pedals.

The second category of cyclists can reach speeds of up to 20 miles per hour without pedal assistance.

The second group averaged 28 mph while pedaling a fully autonomous e-bike.

In the US, Class 3 e-bikes are allowed to share the road with other cars but must drive in separate lanes. They must always wear a helmet while riding.

Therefore, you should be aware that accidents are common and incorporate this into your standard driving strategy. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the factors that can lead to accidents when riding an electric bicycle. According to a study, 80% of e-bike accidents are caused by rider distraction, while only 20% are caused by defective infrastructure. Below are some of the most common causes of e-bike accidents.

Most people who buy an electric bike have never ridden a motorcycle. Therefore, Level 3 riders should not start using e-bikes on public roads immediately. Practice makes perfect, as long as you do it away from other people and traffic.

As mentioned earlier, most e-bike accidents are due to the carelessness of the rider. So if this happens, you can sue the rider for damages.

This includes riding an electric bike, a regular bike, or any other form of transportation while drunk, high, or on other drugs that make you feel bad.

What should I do if an electric bicycle crashes?

Here are a few things to keep in mind if you are involved in an e-bike crash.

Locate a Doctor

In traffic, even e-bikes can reach high speeds. Therefore, if you ride carelessly, you run the risk of an accident.

If you are involved in an e-bike accident, you should contact emergency services immediately. Lives, including your own, may depend on this outcome. If you are seriously injured and cannot use your phone, have someone else do it for you. If you have to wait too long, please contact the nearest hospital. Even if there is no major injury, the sooner you contact the hospital, the sooner they can assist you with the insurance process and damage policy.

collect evidence together

After an accident, the evidence must be stored in a safe place. Having supporting documentation on hand will aid in your insurance claim and repair process. Therefore, it is recommended that you take pictures of the damaged bike and the scene of the accident and record the names and contact details of all parties involved. You can ask bystanders to take photos of the scene, including themselves and the damage, to document the situation.

Do not leave the scene of the accident until evidence is collected; this will help you if you file an insurance claim or lawsuit.

The police must be contacted immediately

If you are unable to gather evidence, you should contact the authorities immediately. To create the report, the traffic police will record information such as the location, parties involved, damage to the bike, contact information for witnesses, and any apparent injuries.

Do not use any social media platforms

You may not post anything from the scene of the accident on social media. Sharing every moment of your life on social media is not a good idea, especially if an accident is involved. However, insurance companies are notorious for adding unnecessary complexity to claims, so exercise caution before posting about your e-bike crash online. Therefore, you should not discuss this event on your social media accounts.

If you have been injured, you should consult a lawyer

After gathering all the evidence about the incident, it's time to contact a personal injury attorney. This is advantageous in many ways. An experienced personal injury attorney knows how to handle these types of cases with the utmost integrity. For example, imagine that your insurance company is trying to avoid paying a claim by playing hardball. If you don't have a solid understanding of the law and don't want to risk falling into that trap, you should hire a personal injury attorney.

Personal injury attorneys have years of experience sifting through accident details for evidence to support a client's claim. This will increase your chances of getting full compensation from your insurance company for property and vehicle damage.

The Best Ways to Stay Safe While Riding an Electric Bike

Here are a few things to keep in mind when riding an electric bike to keep you safe and avoid accidents.

Always wear a protective helmet

Although this is the most important piece of advice for safely operating an e-bike, most cyclists do not wear helmets. However, riding an e-bike without a proper safety helmet is extremely dangerous. According to research, most e-bike accidents can be traced to riders who were careless or did not use basic safety precautions, such as wearing a helmet.

Light up your e-bike

If you plan to ride your e-bike at night, you should equip it with proper lighting. Most e-bikes are equipped with small reflectors to improve safety when riding at night, but this is not enough. For safety, install at least one white headlight and one red taillight. Anything that increases your bike's visibility to other motorists at night can help you avoid collisions.

Check the brakes

Before each ride, check that the brakes on your e-bike are in good working order. To avoid any stressful situations while riding an e-bike, you must ensure that the brakes are in good working order.

Do not listen to music or other audio while riding

Wearing headphones or earplugs while riding an e-bike is extremely dangerous. It can damage your hearing while riding, possibly preventing you from hearing oncoming traffic or horns. So, out of an abundance of caution, it's best not to listen to music while riding an e-bike.

 Adjusting to a slower pace may take time

There is no doubt that the thrill of riding an e-bike at high speed is uncontrollable. However, being able to safely drive at speeds in real traffic requires both experience and extensive training. Trying to go faster on an e-bike is also a surefire way to injure yourself without proper training. However, this can be avoided by getting used to riding more slowly. Once you get used to the latter, you can gradually increase your riding speed. Always wear a helmet to protect your head when going out.

Inspect the tire inflation pressure

Properly inflated tires on e-bikes are essential to increasing riding speed and preventing crashes. Check tire tread depth and condition accordingly. Tires that are more than a few years old should be replaced, as e-bikes with worn treads are more prone to accidents.

 Apply the brakes smoothly

Because e-bikes rely on sudden braking, cars and e-bikes are more prone to collisions. To give the e-bike time to react, the rider should brake gradually and smoothly. Use the rear brake to keep the bike from tripping and keep moving forward.

Summarize

Emergencies are always disturbing, and people respond to them in different ways. In addition to focusing on your health, you also have to deal with the paperwork and procedures associated with getting insurance to cover your costs. The police need to be notified of the incident, which requires patience, time, and mountains of paperwork. To help you navigate the legal system, it is highly recommended that you retain the services of an attorney experienced in the field. You should document everything—ideas, data, photos, etc.—that may be useful in the future to speed up the process. Take care of yourself first, and be patient in the process.