Understanding traffic laws and wearing a helmet are key.
Emily Young understands the dangers and benefits of biking. Young is a doctor in the Emergency Department at MaineHealth Franklin Hospital in Farmington. She bikes to work every day, except when the ground is covered in snow.
Young rides a standard bicycle most of the time, but uses her husband’s electric bicycle when it’s wet and muddy — the extra power keeps her from getting stuck. She’s passionate about cycling. It clears her head after work, ensures she gets enough aerobic exercise, and is generally good for her health.
But Young also knows how dangerous cycling can be. She takes the Whistle Stop rail-trail to work, but outside of that, she said central Maine lacks infrastructure for bikes. Her colleagues have seen patients who’ve been injured in e-bike crashes, and she’s seen similar injuries among people riding bicycles, mopeds and scooters.
These accidents are not always because someone was riding dangerously, she said. Sometimes the road is slippery, or something just goes wrong. But a helmet can make the difference between life and death.
“If you have a brain injury, there’s very little we can do to treat it,” she said. “A helmet is much easier to wear than recovering from a head injury.”
Laurel Parker is the medical director of the emergency department at MaineGeneral Medical Center, and she treats patients in Waterville and Augusta’s emergency departments.
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She and most of the her colleagues have seen several e-bike injuries She said head injuries are the most common, as well as orthopedic injuries to the arms, ankles and wrists. Parker hasn’t personally treated a serious head injury, but her colleagues have.
“I think it’s just a matter of time,” she said. “Especially as these things go faster, because you don’t have a steel cage around you like in a car.”
Parker and Young both think e-bikes are important. But they’re clear that safety is an issue, and classification would help.
“They have a good role in providing some additional support for people that are biking, either for work or for independence purposes,” Parker said. “But it’s important to make sure people are aware that these are potentially dangerous, and you need to wear a helmet to protect yourself.”
Andrew Zarro, executive director of the Bicycle Coalition, encourages riders to familiarize themselves with existing e-bike laws before riding. He also encourages new riders to try e-bikes out at the coalition’s office at 38 Diamond St. in Portland before hitting the road. Plenty of bike shops offer the same.