Date:
October 6, 2026 11
To: Board of Supervisors
Title
Protecting Youth With California’s Largest Regional E-Bike Injury Warning System (Districts: All)
End
Overview
San Diego County is facing an electric bike (e-bike) safety crisis, and children are paying the price. E-bikes are currently on pace to be the leading cause of trauma cases at Rady Children’s Hospital in 2026. As e-bike use has grown, hospitals across our region have seen a surge in serious, life-altering injuries. Children are arriving with skull fractures, spinal injuries, and brain bleeds - injuries more commonly associated with motorcycle crashes than ordinary bicycle accidents.
A 2026 UC San Diego-led study found that reported e-bike collisions across California increased from two in 2018 to 1,566 in 2024, with children and teenagers facing the highest collision rates. Here in San Diego County, pediatric e-bike trauma cases at Rady Children’s Hospital climbed from just three in 2021 to 262 in 2025.
This crisis has already cost young lives. On September 12, 2026, a 14-year-old San Diegan was struck by a car and killed while riding his e-bike in Pacific Beach, the latest in a pattern that includes a 15-year-old boy, killed on El Camino Real in Encinitas in June 2023.
Given the growing number of tragedies, the County has treated this as the public health emergency it is. On May 28, San Diego County’s Public Health Officer issued a health advisory urging riders, parents, schools, healthcare providers, and local governments to take action to prevent further injuries and deaths.
But San Diego County is fighting this crisis in the dark, without a complete or timely picture of who is getting hurt, where crashes are happening, or what devices are involved. Critical information is scattered across hospitals, trauma centers, Emergency Medical Services providers, law enforcement agencies, and state reporting systems. Much of it remains incomplete, delayed, or misclassified.
The curre...
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