The E-bike has become extremely popular within a very short time. Despite the expensive purchase of the bicycle and the long waiting times, the bicycle repairers are doing golden business. The downside of this success is the enormous increase in the number of accidents. The speed these bikes easily achieve exceed many tuned scooters. So you keep looking out for the cycle paths for Deliveroo, Thuisbezorgd, Takeaway, Just eat and Ubereats cyclists who come at full speed behind you and pass you.
Every day we hear stories of accidents experienced by drivers of the E-bike. Often with very serious injuries because wearing a protective helmet is not mandatory. The last in the list of acquaintances is Simon Cowell (60). The jury member from Britain's got talent and America's got talent broke his back in an accident with an e-bike. The accident occurred in Malibu on Saturday, when Simon was testing the newly purchased two-wheeler.
serious injury
But closer we also find daily stories of serious injuries caused by a fall with an E-bike. The chance of a fatal traffic accident on an electric bicycle is three times higher than with a normal bicycle. Experts from the insurance company Allianz calculate this on the basis of accident and mobility statistics from the German Ministry of Transport. E-bikers are twice as likely to be severely injured. Head injuries and injuries to arms and legs in particular are more common.
The 56-year-old presenter Caroline Tensen also fell during a round with her e-bike. She crashed hard and landed on her face with injury as a result. De e-bike has become an indispensable part of the Dutch street scene. Especially the elderly more often choose a bicycle with pedal assistance. As you can imagine, an accident at 45 kilometers per hour usually has a much greater impact than a collision at 25 kilometers per hour. And we also see that difference in the surrounding rules liability.
weak and strong road users
The distinction between weak and strong road users is examined. According to the law, cyclists and pedestrians are weak road users. If you ride a normal e-bike (which in principle does not go faster than 25 kilometers per hour), then you also belong to this group. The strong road users include cars, scooters, motorcycles, buses and mopeds. Because the pedelecs go just as fast as a moped, they are also among the strong road users.
Because weak road users are more vulnerable in an accident with strong road users, they are additionally protected by the law. Has a weak road user had an accident with a strong road user? Then the weak road user will in any case be compensated for 50 percent of his damage, even if he has made a traffic error. This is called the 50 percent rule. For weak road users younger than 14 years, even 100 percent of the damage is compensated (the 100 percent rule). So here it is not the law of the strongest, but of the weakest.
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