NTSB finds 119 deaths while using electric bikes, e-scooters

DETROIT (AP) — At least 119 people died while riding electric scooters or e-bikes from 2017 through 2021, according to a study by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board released Tuesday.

The agency, which investigates traffic crashes but has no regulatory authority, used its research to call for better data collection on "micro mobility" deaths and injuries.

Multiple government agencies have jurisdiction over e-scooters and e-bikes, and the NTSB recommended they all gather data to create a more accurate picture of how many people are hurt or killed. The scooters and bikes have spread across the country, especially in large cities and college towns where they are widely used with little oversight.

"E-scooter and e-bike growth as an industry and a popular form of transportation is clear," the report said. "What is less clear is how transportation safety professionals best go about assessing the safety of these devices as a form of transportation, and the safety of the riders who use them."

To count the deaths, the NTSB gathered news media reports and cross checked them against databases maintained by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and the Collaborative Sciences Center for Road Safety.

The agency found a lack of standardized, as well as a dearth of complete and reliable data on e-scooter and e-bike fatalities and injuries.

The NTSB made multiple recommendations to NHTSA, the CPSC, the Federal Highway Administration on gathering data for e-bike and scooter trips and miles traveled. It also called for a specific e-bike product code to be added to a national injury tracking system.