Survey: Few e-bike riders wear helmets

JUST over one in 10 electric bike riders wears a helmet, according to data which also shows an increased rate in rider fatalities related to brain injury.

According to survey results released yesterday by the Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 12.5 percent of e-bike riders, and just 2 percent of their passengers, wear a helmet.

The survey paid special attention to delivery workers who ride such scooters. Among food delivery drivers, only one in three wear a helmet. Among package deliverers, the rate falls to about 10 percent.

Last year, over 70 percent of all people killed in e-bike and motorcycle accidents died of brain injuries, up from 50 percent in 2015, the center also said.

Nine delivery drivers were killed and 134 injured in 117 road accidents last year, according to Shanghai traffic police.

Meanwhile, about 95 percent of e-bike riders in Shanghai ride faster than the legally allowed 15 kilometers per hour, the survey showed.

Shanghai’s traffic regulations encourage electric scooter riders to wear helmets, but doing so is not mandatory.

In an online survey conducted by the center in November of last year, 84 percent of respondents said they would support a rule requiring helmets for e-bike riders.