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Micromobility is environmentally friendly and dangerous. While the number of accidents involving cars or motorcycles has been falling for years, accidents involving bicycles, e-bikes, e-scooters or e-scooters remain consistently high. According to a survey by the Accident Prevention Advisory Center (BFU), 560 people were seriously injured and 23 were fatally injured in e-bike accidents last year alone; This represents an increase of 5 percent or 35 percent compared to 2021. According to BFU Risk decreases Fatal injuries on e-bikes increase with age; Two-thirds of those who died were over 65 years old.
Yet Switzerland remains a country of people who don’t like bicycle helmets. This is illustrated by the number of existing 18 divisions of Touring Club Switzerland (TCS). Its members counted helmeted and unhelmeted two-wheeler riders 44 times in April and May in different regions and at different times of the day.
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The result, while unrepresentative, is alarming: Of the 3,123 people riding a bicycle, e-bike, e-scooter or e-scooter, only 51 percent were wearing helmets; Almost half were not wearing helmets. This means the TCS number is below BFU’s last observation in 2022; This corresponds to 56 percent of helmet users.
The TCS survey also found differences between modes of transportation: Only 14 percent of scooter pilots wore helmets; E-scooters are exempt from the helmet requirement. As for organic bikes (bikes you can pedal on your own without electrical assistance), only 46 percent wore helmets.
Regional differences
As a result, 92 percent of fast e-bikes with a top speed of 25 to 45 km/h complied with the currently valid helmet requirement. Helmets are only recommended for slow e-bikes at speeds up to 25 km/h, but 68 percent view this positively and wear a helmet. Regionally, in Ticino, at least 72 percent of organic cyclists wear helmets; In western Switzerland it was only 52 percent and in eastern Switzerland it was only 43 percent.
Currently, there is a legal obligation to wear a helmet only on e-bikes at speeds between 25 and 45 km/h. But the federal government is now targeting female e-scooter riders as part of consultations on slowing traffic in public areas. It is quite possible that in the future they will be treated equally with mopeds and it will be mandatory for their drivers to wear helmets.
Source: Blick
I’m Ella Sammie, author specializing in the Technology sector. I have been writing for 24 Instatnt News since 2020, and am passionate about staying up to date with the latest developments in this ever-changing industry.
