LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — There’s been a large uptick in electric scooter and bicycle-related deaths. According to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, fatal collisions are up 200%, compared to this time last year.
This week, a man died and a teen was hospitalized following a crash involving two electric scooters near West Warm Springs Road and South Torrey Pines Drive. Last month, a 62-year-old man died following an electric bike crash at the intersection of Jones Boulevard and Elkhorn Road.
Despite the troubling statistics and safety challenges, e-bikes and scooters remain popular. One bicycle store manager told KLAS that although the store sells various types of bicycles, e-bikes make up the majority of his sales, adding that the number only continues to rise.
“Thirty percent of our inventory and probably 20% of our sales are e-bikes,” Shaun Fowler, store manager for Trek Bicycle Las Vegas West, told 8 News Now. “It’s gone up significantly because it lets regular people just go further faster.”
Fowler continued, “People now too are considering it another form of transportation, so not just weekend but maybe they’re going to park their car a couple of days a week and use it as transportation.”
Long-time cyclist Brad Curtis told KLAS it took him some convincing to get onboard with the idea of an electric bike.
“When I turned 60, my kids bought me an electric bike because I was refusing to go for it,” Curtis said.
Fast forward to today, he loves it due to its expanded capabilities. The avid biker also rides motorcycles and emphasizes the importance of defensive riding.
“Sometimes, they just don’t see you,” he said. “I’ve been cut off a thousand times, right? So, you have to ride really defensively.”
Meanwhile, Trek store manager Fowler recommends focusing on offensive riding.
“Be aggressive like a car,” he advised. “Don’t scoot all the way over. Give yourself space. Cars are supposed to stay three feet away from you.”
In Nevada, state law requires bike riders to follow the same traffic laws as other drivers, including speed limits and right-of-way laws.
