Helmets free of charge: North County residents showing up in the name of e-bike safety

CARLSBAD, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) — A slew of North County residents gathered in Carlsbad Wednesday night amid an ongoing push for critical bike safety.

New data from Scripps Health shows e-bike- and bicycle-related accidents are one of the leading causes of injury in the North County. Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla statistics from 2023 shows e-bikes make up 10% of total trauma injuries, with a total of 49 accidents reported and 107 accidents for bicycles.

It’s those stats that brought health and county leaders together, all in the name of safety and a growing push for knowledge of the road. In tandem, hundreds of helmets were passed out to North County residents free of charge.

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“We have to all do our part to stay safe and it is never ever acceptable to be driving recklessly…” County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer said.

For brothers Jayden and Ryan Le, e-bikes are their mode of transpiration to and from school, and while convenient for the entire family, they’re well aware of the coinciding dangers.

“A lot of the kids, a lot of them don’t know how to operate an e-bike properly and I sometimes see a lot of them run into the back of cars on accident,” Ryan said.

The San Diego County Bike Coalition also made an appearance to educate parents, students, drivers and cyclists about the overall and ever-changing rules of the road.

“While riding an e-bike isn’t necessarily a dangerous activity, using an e-bike next to a car can be…There are new rules, there are new laws every year and not everyone is up to date on those,” said Kevin Baross with County Bike Coalition.

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