Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

This study describes electric bike–related injuries from 2004 to 2010, and suggests injury prevention strategies to reduce electric bike–related injuries in China and other countries. Electric bike–related injuries data were obtained from the Bureau of Traffic Management at the Ministry of Public Security. Linear regression was used to identify statistically significant trends in electric bike–related injuries over the period. The results showed electric bike–related nonfatal injury rate had increased almost 4-fold and mortality rate increased 6-fold from 2004 to 2010. Linear regression showed a significant increase of 0.23 per 100 000 population per year (95% confidence interval = 0.18-0.29, P < .001) in the casualty rate from electric bike–related road traffic injuries. China will face new challenges arising from electric bike–related injuries. Programs need to be developed to prevent nonfatal injuries and fatalities caused by electric bike–related crashes in this country.

Keywords

electric bikes bicycles road traffic injuries fatalities China

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

National Bureau of Statistics. China Statistical Yearbook. Beijing, China: National Bureau of Statistics; 2007.

Weinert

Cherry

. The transition to electric bikes in China: history and key reasons for rapid growth. Transportation. 2007;34:301-318.

Weinert

Yang

Cherry

. The transition to electric bikes in China and its effect on travel behavior, transit use, and safety. 2006. http://pubs.its.ucdavis.edu/publication_detail.php?id=1049. Accessed April 9, 2010.

Feng

Raghuwanshi

Huang

Zhang

Jin

. Electric-bicycle-related injury: a rising traffic injury burden in China. Inj Prev. 2010;16:417-419.

People’s Daily Overseas Edition. China’s electric bikes have reached an output of 20 million per year. 2010. http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrbhwb/html/2010-02/04/content_443274.htm. Accessed April 9, 2010.

Peden

Scurfield

Sleet

. World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2004. http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention. Accessed November 20, 2009.

Bureau of Traffic Management at the Ministry of Public Security of PRC. China Road Traffic Accidents Statistics. Beijing, China: Bureau of Traffic Management; 2011.

Zhang

Xiang

Jing

. Road traffic injuries in the People’s Republic of China, 1951-2008. Traffic Inj Prev. 2011;12:614-620.

The Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China. Regulation on the implementation of the law of the People’s Republic of China on road traffic safety. 2004. http://www.gov.cn/banshi/2005-08/23/content25579.htm. Accessed November 20, 2009.

10.

Cherry

Cervero

. Use characteristics and mode choice behavior of electric bikes in China. http://www.its.berkeley.edu/publications/UCB/2006/VWP/UCB-ITS-VWP-2006-5.pdf. Accessed April 9, 2010.

11.

Jamerson

Benjamin

. Electric Bicycle Worldwide Report. 7th ed. 2004.

12.

General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of PRC. Electric Bicycles—General Technical Requirements (GB17761-1999). Beijing, China: Chinese Standards Press; 1999.

13.

Finch

Kompfner

Lockwood

Maycock

. Speed, Speed Limits and Accidents (Project Report 58). Crowthorne, England: Transport Research Laboratory; 1994.

14.

Baker

. Injuries to bicyclists in Wuhan, People’s Republic of China. Am J Public Health. 1997;87:1049-1052.

15.

Rahim

Zhou

. A study on bicycle-related injuries and their cost in Shanghai, China. J Environ Health. 2011;73:22-28.

16.

Sacks

Holmgreen

Smith

Sosin

. Bicycle-associated head injuries and deaths in the United States from 1984 through 1988. JAMA. 1991;266:3016-3018.

17.

Tin Tin

Woodward

Ameratunga

. Injuries to pedal cyclists on New Zealand roads, 1988-2007. BMC Public Health. 2011;10:655.

18.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mandatory bicycle helmet use–Victoria, Australia. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 1993;42:359-363.

19.

Thomas

Acton

Nixon

Battistutta

Pitt

Clark

. Effectiveness of bicycle helmets in preventing head injury in children: case-control study. BMJ. 1994;308:173-176.

20.

Thompson

Rivara

Thompson

. Effectiveness of bicycle safety helmets in preventing head injuries: a case-control study. JAMA. 1996;276:1968-1973.

21.

Attewell

Glase

McFadden

. Bicycle helmet efficacy: a meta-analysis. Accid Anal Prev. 2001;33:345-352.

22.

Karkhaneh

Kalenga

Hagel

Rowe

. Effectiveness of bicycle helmet legislation to increase helmet use: a systematic review. Inj Prev. 2006;12:76-82.

23.

Zhang

Tsimhoni

Sivak

Flannagan

. Road safety in China: analysis of current challenges. J Saf Res. 2010;41:25-30.

24.

Zheng

Cooper

Dean

. Modeling the contribution of speeding and impaired driving to insurance claim counts and costs when contributing factors are unknown. J Saf Res. 2007;38:25-33.