Exploring Electric Bicycle Safety Performance Data and Policy Options for California

Abstract:

This study was conducted as directed by California Senate Bill 381 (2023), which called for research to help policymakers develop effective laws and policy to support the twin goals of expanding electric bicycle use and protecting the safety of electric bicycle riders and other road users. The three major strands of findings presented in this report are (1) a review of how California and other states (and countries) regulate electric bicycle use, (2) a review of the electric bicycle safety literature, including original analysis of primary data on crashes, injuries, and deaths, and (3) strategies that the state could adopt to promote the safe use of electric bicycles. The strategies discussed include revising the way the California Vehicle Code defines and regulates electric bicycles, opportunities for improving electric bicycle safety data quality and analysis, building safe infrastructure for electric bicycling, and public education on electric bicycle rules of the road and safe riding practices.

Publications:

Exploring Electric Bicycle Safety Performance Data and Policy Options for California (Full Report)

Research Brief

Authors:

Asha Weinstein Agrawal, PhD
Dr. Agrawal works at San José State University, where she is the Director of the Mineta Transportation Institute’s National Transportation Finance Center and Professor of Urban Planning. Her transportation policy and planning research interests include active transportation and micromobility modes, travel survey methods, and transportation funding. She earned a BA in Folklore and Mythology from Harvard University, an MSc in Urban and Regional Planning from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a PhD in City and Regional Planning from the University of California, Berkeley.

Kevin Fang, PhD
Dr. Fang is an Associate Professor of Environmental Studies, Geography, and Planning at Sonoma State University and a Research Associate with the Mineta Transportation Institute. He has been an early researcher in the realm of micromobility, exploring safety, travel behavior, and policy issues surrounding electric scooters, electric bicycles, skateboards, and other emerging modes. Dr. Fang holds a BA in Integrative Biology from the University of California, Berkeley, a Master of Urban Planning and MSc in Engineering [specialization in Transportation Planning] from the California Polytechnic State University, and a PhD in Transportation, Technology, and Policy from the University of California, Davis.

Published:

December 2025

Keywords:

Electric bicycles

Crash

Policy, legislation and regulation

Safety education

Product safety