E-bike education seminar set for Dec. 6

With e-bike injuries increasing across the region, Scripps Health is teaming up with the San Diego Bike Coalition and other local organizations to educate the public about safe riding.

A one-hour seminar covering rules and regulations will be followed by an optional skills training course and will include giveaways and prizes.

The lecture hall and parking lot at Torrey Pines High School will host the event on Dec. 6 at 6 p.m. Registration is required and available at tinyurl.com/SDebike.

Since 2019 cities and medical providers have documented an increase in e-bike and electric scooter injuries nationwide.

Locally, the trend has become most visible in the City of Carlsbad which recently enacted significant local regulations in e-bikes in the wake of documenting 63 collisions in 2021. The situation reached a tragic inflection point in August with the death of Christine Embree, 35, whose e-bike was struck by a vehicle near Carlsbad High School on Aug. 7, also endangering her toddler who was also aboard.

Though no alcohol was said to be involved in the fatal accident, experts said in May that intoxication is often involved in the most-severe accidents that end up arriving at local trauma centers, including Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla which is participating in the Torrey Pines seminar.

Injuries suffered from crashes often involve riders not wearing helmets and may occur in speeds greater than would be common for pedal-powered bikes.

Dr. Vishal Bansal, director of trauma surgery at Scripps Mercy Hospital in Hillcrest, said in May that recovery from e-bike and electronic scooter injuries to the head can be particularly slow.

“They’re generally never getting right back to normal, it may take months to years — sometimes never — to have full brain recovery,” Bansal said.

For those who can’t make the Dec. 6 event, the bike coalition offers a year-round schedule of educational events ranging from bike rodeos at schools to brown bag lunch presentations at local businesses. The list of offerings includes a two-day smart cycling program, which includes three hours in the classroom and six hours on local roads.

For more information, visit sdbikecoalition.org.