As E-Bike Fatalities Continue to Rise, DOT Launches Micromobility Safety Blitz

By Yehudit Garmaise

Nearly 6% of New Yorkers report that they ride an e-bike or an e-scooter once a week or more, and food delivery people use e-bikes every day, but as the weather continues to get warmer, the number of deadly e-bike collisions continues to rise.

Most alarmingly, a growing number of e-bike fatalities are the result of “solo collisions,” in which e-bike drivers die in crashes that do not involve other vehicles, Department of Transportation (DOT) data shows.

To save lives, Mayor Eric Adams and Ydanis Rodriguez, the city’s DOT commissioner, have launched an e-bike public education campaign to educate New Yorkers how to properly accelerate, brake, and operate an e-bike at appropriate speeds.

“We’re using all the tools in our toolbox to keep New Yorkers safe, whether they’re on two feet, two wheels, or four wheels,” said Mayor Adams as he described, “Get Smart Before You Start:” the information blitz that aims to help newer e-bike riders operate their micro-mobility machines with safety and care.

On print and digital media, social media, subway ads, and LinkNYC kiosks, New Yorkers will see compelling images and hear instructive audio recordings that clearly explain how to best operate e-bikes.

To create more space on the streets for e-bike riders, the DOT is also working to create wider bike lanes.

The NYPD will step up “targeted enforcement to reduce fatalities and injuries,” the DOT said. 

“The NYPD fully backs the city’s efforts to educate riders on how e-bikes actually function, and to share best practices that will make bicyclists and everyone else on our roadways safer,” said Police Commissioner Edward A. Caban. “Traffic safety is public safety, and we must support and equip New Yorkers at every turn, on every street, in every borough.”