Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

news

Rise of e-bikes leads to more cyclists than car occupants losing lives on Dutch roads in 2017

Sharp increase in number of men aged over-65 while riding e-bikes blamed

More cyclists than car occupants lost their lives on Dutch roads last year, with the number of people killed while riding their bicycles attributed to a sharp rise in men aged over 65 riding e-bikes.

According to the government agency Statistics Netherlands, 206 cyclists were killed on the country’s roads in 2017, compared to 201 motorists or vehicle passengers.

The figures represent, respectively, an increase of 9 per cent and decrease of 13 per cent compared to 2016.

According to a report in The Guardian, approximately one in four of the cycling fatalities related to people on e-bikes and three in four of the victims were men aged over 65 years.

During 2017, 38 men were killed while riding e-bikes during 2017, almost double the 2016 figure of 20; thee number of males aged 65 or over within those figures more than doubled, rising from 15 to 31.

According to The Guardian, some 294,000 e-bikes had been sold in the Netherlands by 2017, and such bikes have proved popular among older people given the ease with which they enable them to reach speeds of up to  25 kilometres an hour.

According to Dutch Road Safety Research Foundati2ector Peter van den Knapp, the rise in fatalities among older men using such bikes may be attributable not only to increased uptake of them and issues such as poor road surfaces, but also the seemingly simple task of mounting or dismounting.

He told The Guardian: “We know that simple accidents, including fatalities, can often be attributed to bad road surface.

“We should not underestimate how many accidents happen among the elderly when getting on and off an e-bike.

“Such a bicycle is heavier than a regular one. Sometimes the problem starts because some older people do not take into account that their own physical possibilities are reduced.”

He called on the government in The Hague and local authorities to make greater provision for riders, saying: “Road authorities such as municipalities, provinces and central government must put more money into widening cycle paths and the quality of these.”

The Dutch national cyclists’ association, the Fietserbond, said that while it was concerned at the figures, increased uptake of cycling was encouraging.

Spokesman Jaap Kamminga commented: “Of course, every dead person is one too many.

“But if you look at how much more we have all started cycling, especially the elderly, then the Netherlands can congratulate itself.

“Cycling is healthy, we must continue to promote that.”

Concerns have been expressed in the Netherlands for aa number of years now about a rise in injuries among e-bike users, including collisions involving other cyclists on bike paths.

> Netherlands reports rise in bike-on-bike cycle path injuries

In 2016, our sister site eBikeTips reported that riders of more powerful electronically assisted bikes – those capable of speeds of up to 43 kilometres an hour and that in countries including the UK would be considered mopeds – would be required to wear helmets complying with strict safety standards.

> Helmet laws change to accommodate e-bikes in the Netherlands

In September last year, the head of the Dutch police safety unit called for e-bike riders to be required to undergo a specific safety course before being allowed to ride one.

> Older Dutch cyclists warned of electric bike dangers

“People are staying mobile for longer and are more likely to go for an e-bike,” Egbert-Jan van Hasselt explained.

[AdTech Ad] “In itself, that’s nice because it’s healthy. But unfortunately some of the elderly lack the ability. [It is] not a normal bike.

“It would be good if more people follow a course. Because the e-bike is not a regular bike. It gives you an extra boost, and that sometimes happens unexpectedly. As a result, you can tremble, swing and sometimes even fall,” he added.

“On the bike path you used to be [with] just like-minded people, people at the same pace. But now we see e-bikes, ordinary bikes, superfast electric bikes and bicycles. In short, it has become more dangerous. Wear a helmet, especially if you are older.”

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

Add new comment

26 comments

Avatar
Mungecrundle | 4 years ago
0 likes

Talking about the over 65s specifically.

Presumably the eBike is bought when the user would otherwise give up cycling altogether or if the user wishes to (re)start cycling at an advanced age.

It is no surprise that death rates linked to cycling mishaps are going to increase (bowling effect mentioned above). But are they increasing at a rate that cancels out the overall population benefit from e-cycling as active transport?

Somewhat bemused by the commentators wishing to ban the frail and infirm with their slower reactions from cycling at 15mph, as my guess is that if you did they would get back in their cars and drive around at somewhat higher speeds.

Avatar
Rich_cb | 5 years ago
2 likes

Bit more in depth information here:

https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2018/04/25/more-cycling-fatalities-th...

With a rapidly increasing population aged 65 and over and an even more rapid increase in e bike ownership amongst that population it's almost impossible to infer anything from absolute fatality rates.

Overall the death rate per km cycled fell for the year in question indicating that e bikes perhaps aren't as dangerous as some are making out.

Avatar
Yorkshire wallet | 5 years ago
0 likes

Am I missing something or are EU regulated e-bikes not what I think there are? Surely they're just bikes you pedal that have electric assistance, not those illegal things which are basically mopeds which do accelerate quickly? I can't see anyone shitting themselves riding a legal e-bike unless they have a secret Tesla 'insane' mode.

I reckon there's a whole in market full of wobbly people there for the C5 to make a comeback. Clive Sinclair was obviously ahead of his time.

 

 

 

 

Avatar
srchar | 5 years ago
0 likes

Suffice to say, most e-bikes I encounter are ridden by people who clearly have little experience of riding at the speeds they can attain and little regard for other road users.

Avatar
FluffyKittenofT... replied to srchar | 5 years ago
0 likes

srchar wrote:

Suffice to say, most e-bikes I encounter are ridden by people who clearly have little experience of riding at the speeds they can attain and little regard for other road users.

 

Are you in the Netherlands, though?  If not, then I don't see that anecdotal experience is particularly relevant.  I doubt the demographic of e-bike users is  the same as in the UK.

Avatar
StuInNorway replied to FluffyKittenofTindalos | 4 years ago
0 likes

FluffyKittenofTindalos wrote:

srchar wrote:

Suffice to say, most e-bikes I encounter are ridden by people who clearly have little experience of riding at the speeds they can attain and little regard for other road users.

 

Are you in the Netherlands, though?  If not, then I don't see that anecdotal experience is particularly relevant.  I doubt the demographic of e-bike users is  the same as in the UK.

Having visited the Netherlands last year, I concur regarding the standards of the e-bike users. (Normal bikes riders, especially in Ansterdam) are a law unto themselves. The majority of bikes we saw were older, city bikes (sit up and beg, with a 3 speed hub gear style) and invariably rattled enough that a bell was not needed. The e-bikes however flew past on the often narrow section of bike lane tht is on the footpath with alarming speed and little passing space.
 

Avatar
FluffyKittenofT... | 5 years ago
2 likes

What were the actual causes of death?  Are they counting, for example, heart-attacks (even those subsequent to suffering a fall)?  Or are we talking death solely due to physical trauma?

Older people are more likely to have existing health problems.  So does one not have to compare it with the death rate one would expect to see in that group if they were using another mode of transport?  (Or engaging in another leisure activity).  To be crude about it, how many of these guys would have come a cropper  via another means, had they not been using an e-bike?

 

The meaning of the statistics is very unclear to me.

 

Avatar
jh27 replied to FluffyKittenofTindalos | 4 years ago
0 likes

FluffyKittenofTindalos wrote:

What were the actual causes of death?  Are they counting, for example, heart-attacks (even those subsequent to suffering a fall)?  Or are we talking death solely due to physical trauma?

Older people are more likely to have existing health problems.  So does one not have to compare it with the death rate one would expect to see in that group if they were using another mode of transport?  (Or engaging in another leisure activity).  To be crude about it, how many of these guys would have come a cropper  via another means, had they not been using an e-bike?

 

The meaning of the statistics is very unclear to me.

 

A very good point - it's quite possible that some of them just died of old age  1 - or doing things that pensioners are reportedly more inclined to, like driving the wrong way up a motorway.  What about the overall fitness levels of this age group - how many are living longer due to the increasingly active lifestyles - perhaps life expectancy is increasing?

If the increase in e-bikes is responsible for the in increased number of cyclist deaths, is it also responsible for the even greater decrease in motor vehicle occupant deaths?

Avatar
alansmurphy | 5 years ago
0 likes

Good point apuking, so the incidence rate is actually falling, much less catchy headline though...

Avatar
srchar replied to alansmurphy | 5 years ago
0 likes

alansmurphy wrote:

Good point apuking, so the incidence rate is actually falling, much less catchy headline though...

Depends how much those new riders use their shiny new e-bikes.  Without usage figures, it's not possible to infer any change in incidence.  Tripling ownership doesn't necessarily triple usage, if many of the new riders try it once, sh*t themselves and stick the e-bike in the garage, never to be ridden again.

Avatar
FluffyKittenofT... replied to srchar | 5 years ago
0 likes

srchar wrote:

alansmurphy wrote:

Good point apuking, so the incidence rate is actually falling, much less catchy headline though...

Depends how much those new riders use their shiny new e-bikes.  Without usage figures, it's not possible to infer any change in incidence.  Tripling ownership doesn't necessarily triple usage, if many of the new riders try it once, sh*t themselves and stick the e-bike in the garage, never to be ridden again.

 

But it seems a fair first-guess that the usage rate will not have changed dramatically from what it was before.  Seems very unlikely to me that a tripling of ownership would not increase usage at all, even if it doesn't actually _triple_ the usage.

Avatar
apuking | 5 years ago
5 likes

This whole news article is quite pointless as sales of E-bikes in the Netherlands to 65 years + have trippled over the figures of last year, so the rise from 20 to 38 deaths is quite irrelevant in relation to the quantity of elderly people riding e-bikes.

 

Avatar
FluffyKittenofT... replied to apuking | 5 years ago
0 likes

apuking wrote:

This whole news article is quite pointless as sales of E-bikes in the Netherlands to 65 years + have trippled over the figures of last year, so the rise from 20 to 38 deaths is quite irrelevant in relation to the quantity of elderly people riding e-bikes.

 

 

It's not quite irrelevant, but the issue should surely be what is the effect on the death rate of that age group overall, not what is the change in the death rate of cyclists.

 

  The question is has a lot of older people taking to using e-bikes led to those people doing better or worse, in terms of mortality, no?  Or, at least, 'is there anything that can be done to reduce what downside risks there might be, without reducing the benefits?'.

Avatar
BehindTheBikesheds replied to apuking | 5 years ago
0 likes

apuking wrote:

This whole news article is quite pointless as sales of E-bikes in the Netherlands to 65 years + have trippled over the figures of last year, so the rise from 20 to 38 deaths is quite irrelevant in relation to the quantity of elderly people riding e-bikes.

wrong, because the e bikes are replacing ordinary bikes for the most part, the increase in deaths outstrips increase in overall use and is in the opposite direction to falling deaths in the other groups. So it's very relevant.

Less physical effort would reduce heart attacks not increase them, also overall deaths per mile travelled went down only due to the non/low % e-bike buying groups. Increases in deaths of the older age groups has outstripped total miles increases thus the figure would be even better overall if not for e-bikes.

Avatar
BehindTheBikesheds replied to apuking | 4 years ago
0 likes

apuking wrote:

This whole news article is quite pointless as sales of E-bikes in the Netherlands to 65 years + have trippled over the figures of last year, so the rise from 20 to 38 deaths is quite irrelevant in relation to the quantity of elderly people riding e-bikes.

 

You still did not come back and address your incorrect statement regarding cycling numbers in NL  Please show how many over 65s are cycling as opposed to not cycling beforehand? You will find that cycling has been stagnant in NL for over a decade, this includes the older age catergories who are buying e-bikes. As I said upthread last year, people in the older age groups are rather more restricted by their own physical abilities when riding unaided, when you chuck in acceleration and a top speed that is in many cases best part of a 100% faster than they might prdinarily travel then you have a big big problem. 

That's because these people are not used to such speeds, have shortened thinking time for making decisions and as we know the worst scenario for deaths of NL cyclists is where they come to a junction with motor raods, this figure being put at circa 60 deaths annually (out of the circa 200 or so in total).

This also occurs for people not used to cycling at all but as I said last year, it was the age groups buying e-bikes in significant numbers (which does not equal more people cycling at all and you failed to prove your point on that) that had a reversal of the trend of fewer people on bikes dying between 2006 and 2016 in the groups that did not buy e-bikes in big numbers, the massive difference was clearly e-bikes whichever way you look at it. 

that's not to say that people should not use e-bikes but the acceleration and top speed for some is clearly too much, hence my proposal to ECF that the top speed should be 12mph or whatever in km/h. I beleive this would save lives as well as still alowing mobility, still encouraging people to choose to use cycles into older age or infirmity as well as the other up side of more range.

 

Avatar
I love my bike | 5 years ago
1 like

“We should not underestimate how many accidents happen among the elderly when getting on and off an e-bike.

 

So, they should be wearing helmets, and think about using low step-over e-bikes.

Avatar
davel | 5 years ago
8 likes

How much of this is the 'bowling effect' - ie. if the over 65s flock to any activity, it'll spike the death rate.

Avatar
hawkinspeter | 5 years ago
0 likes

It sounds like they need a "beginner" mode for the e-bikes that restricts top speed to 15kmh. That should provide a reasonable compromise speed for people to get used to the handling/reactions and road conditions.

Avatar
Yorkshire wallet replied to hawkinspeter | 5 years ago
1 like

hawkinspeter wrote:

It sounds like they need a "beginner" mode for the e-bikes that restricts top speed to 15kmh. That should provide a reasonable compromise speed for people to get used to the handling/reactions and road conditions.

You make it sound like you're putting grandad on a 1000cc superbike. It's a still just a bicycle. Like anything in life, some things aren't for some people.

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to Yorkshire wallet | 5 years ago
0 likes

Yorkshire wallet wrote:

hawkinspeter wrote:

It sounds like they need a "beginner" mode for the e-bikes that restricts top speed to 15kmh. That should provide a reasonable compromise speed for people to get used to the handling/reactions and road conditions.

You make it sound like you're putting grandad on a 1000cc superbike. It's a still just a bicycle. Like anything in life, some things aren't for some people.

I agree that some things aren't for some people, but if a lot (65?) of people are dying from it, then we should consider a sensible way of increasing the safety for new riders.

Old people seem okay to travel around in mobility solutions, so a similar speed might be appropriate - when I've seen mobility scooters then don't seem to any faster than 10mph. (Of course mobility scooters are less demanding as you don't need to balance).

Avatar
Yorkshire wallet | 5 years ago
1 like

Got to consider the body as a whole system. If you get to the state you need assistance to do 15mph, then I'd guess you're probably compromised in other areas as well and maybe the roads aren't the place to be with slug reactions and poor physical strength.

Avatar
A440 | 5 years ago
1 like

Good! Maybe this will lead to elimination of these crap mopeds.

Don't forget: "e-bikes" suck!

Avatar
BehindTheBikesheds | 5 years ago
0 likes

The infra IS part of the problem, it isn't as great as it could be and more deaths occur when it junctions with roads. The infra is not suited to higher speed cycling just as it isn't here, as much as there is nice wide lanes there are plenty of cycle infra in NL that is narrow and poor so much so that people often just go onto the roads in the towns/city.

So when you add in a 16mph speed with no effort at all for someone who may not have cycled for a long time and/or at that speed in 40-50 years either through not cycling or simply because they haven't been capable of such you replicate in a similar way what happens on a moped/motorcycle.

The natural speed due to your own capabilities limits this and is a big factor in safety, jusgement of the speeds and braking distance is also a factor. Lower max electric only speed (I proposed 12mph to ECF) would increase range without much sacrifice on time.

ECF and other Dutch orgs keep ignoring it but when the increase in deaths is in the reverse to other age groups - so the age groups that are not buying ebikes are having a big safety improvement over the last 10 years and the increase in those older groups outstrips the increase in use/miles travelled then you know that e-bikes are the root cause. This was discussed last year and I was told it was not evidence of e-bikes (or rather the speed) being an issue, I believe it is.

Avatar
technone | 5 years ago
1 like

There's been a bit of talk about the rise of cycling deaths in the Netherlands online. If elderly people on e-bikes going too fast is the problem, there need to be some sort of restrictions. Maybe have the shops tighten the speed restrictions when selling to the elderly?

Any solution is going to probably restrict their speeds on e-bikes. I can't imagine infrastructure being the cause of cycling deaths in the Netherlands. Unless you've got drivers gunning it for the cycling old folk, which due to current NL legislature is highly unlikely, there's sadly nobody to blame but the elderly.

Unrelated, but the only thing that sours me about NL infrastructure is how they allow motorized scooters on the lanes. 

Avatar
pjm60 | 5 years ago
2 likes

Quote:

proved popular among older people given the ease with which they enable them to reach speeds of up to XX kilometres an hour.

 

That's pretty quick, can't even see the numbers

Avatar
ConcordeCX replied to pjm60 | 5 years ago
5 likes

pjm60 wrote:

Quote:

proved popular among older people given the ease with which they enable them to reach speeds of up to XX kilometres an hour.

 

That's pretty quick, can't even see the numbers

XX=20. Not very fast at all. And that's probably Roman kilometres, so even slower.

Latest Comments