Dr. John Draus dispiritedly predicted e-bikes — bicycles with electric motors that can surpass 28 mph — would be a popular gift this past Christmas. A sharp uptick in related injuries this January seemed to prove him correct.
Draus is medical director of the Wolfson Children's Hospital Trauma Center and chief of pediatric surgery for Nemours Children's Health, Jacksonville. The trauma center has seen a 3,700% rise in pediatric patients admitted for e-bike and e-scooter injuries since 2022, jumping to 115 cases in 2025.
This January alone, he saw 19 new cases. At one point, three kids were nursing e-bike injuries at the same time. "What we see is just the tip of the iceberg," Draus says. His counts don't include injured riders who aren't admitted into the hospital. "Nobody gets on an e-bike or gives an e-bike to their kid expecting or hoping that their child is going to have a bad accident. But those things certainly are happening and happening more commonly in our community."
As vice chair of pediatric trauma for the Florida Committee on Trauma, Draus says e-bikes are a "hot topic" statewide. They're becoming more affordable and, thus, more attainable. (An e-bike can cost less than $500.) Across Florida, pediatric bicycle and motorcycle injury counts remain stable, yet the number of e-bike-related cases is rising. Injuries range from arm or leg fractures to severe brain injuries and death.
Florida needs to better understand the problem, Draus says. Legislators seem to agree: This session, a bipartisan team pushed House and Senate bills for studying e-bike risks.
The companion bills create a nine-member safety task force that will recommend improvements to state laws governing e-bikes and other micromobility devices by Oct. 1, as well as a crash data collection and reporting process. They also instruct e-bike users to yield to pedestrians and go no faster than 10 mph on shared pathways.
The bills saw bipartisan support in both chambers, with legislators from both sides of the aisle referencing e-bike injuries in their own districts across the state.
"Unfortunately, this bill was inspired by tragedy. But not just one tragedy — across Florida, families have lost loved ones and young people have been seriously injured while using electric bicycles and other high-speed electric devices," said Rep. Yvette Benarroch (R-Naples), sponsor of the House bill, at a January subcommittee hearing.
She credited the Florida Sheriffs Association, Florida Highway Patrol, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, doctors and affected families and jurisdictions for helping craft the legislation. "We cannot prevent every tragedy, but we can take responsible steps to reduce risks and make our shared spaces safer." As of press time, the Senate and House had both passed the bill, and it was awaiting Gov. Ron DeSantis' signature. It would take effect immediately upon becoming law. — By Brittney J. Miller