Concerns over young victims of fat bike accidents after ‘measurement week’

• Sharyfah Bhageloe

  Domestic editor

Half of the victims who end up in the emergency room as a result of an accident with their fat bike are younger than 16 years old. Knowledge center SafetyNL draws this conclusion from a ‘measurement week’ held recently. The group says the results are worrying.

During the investigation hospitals recorded the number of bicycle accidents between 30 September and 6 October. All 82 hospitals with emergency departments participated, says VeiligheidNL.

In that week, hospitals counted a total of 1,291 victims. 96 of them were on a fat bike, 480 on another e-bike and 715 on another type of bike. Most of the injured cyclists were registered in North Holland. In accidents involving ‘normal’ e-bikes, 51 per cent of the victims were over 55 years of age.

According to the latest estimate in 2022 from the RAI Association, there were 3.8 million e-bikes on the road that year. It is not known how many fat bikes there are in the Netherlands. The mode of transport, an electric bicycle with thicker tires and a stronger frame, is relatively new and has not yet been carefully documented.

The director of SafetyNL Martijntje Bakker says that the measurement week gives some clarity about the number of accidents. “We now have a better idea of ​​the number of accidents involving fat bikes and e-bikes,” she said.

The type of accidents, the severity of the injuries and the age of the driver were recorded. The hospitals were also checking whether they were wearing helmets.

Based on the figures, Bakker expects 5,000 fat bike riders to end up in the emergency room in a year. “I think that’s a lot.”

The same rules now apply to the fat bike as to the standard electric bike. This means that you do not need a driver’s license and you do not necessarily have to wear a helmet. There is no age limit, so even young children can ride a fat bike.

However, there is a demand for measures in politics. Last month, a majority of the House of Representatives passed a motion for a helmet requirement and a ban on children under the age of 14. SafetyNL is calling for a ban on all electric bikes up to the age of 16.

The group is concerned about the figures from the measurement week. 22 percent of people who come to the emergency room after a fat bike accident are later admitted to the hospital. That percentage is lower for other bikes.

Marcel Aries, chairman of Doctors for Safe Cycling and in that capacity also the initiator of the measurement week, agrees with these concerns. “This is not about scratches, but serious injuries. Think bone fractures, brain hemorrhages and tears in the abdominal organs.”

According to Aries, the severity of the injury depends on the type of vehicle. “Compared to the normal bicycle and the e-bike, the fat bike is a slightly heavier vehicle and can go even faster. ” He says children under 16, the biggest group of fat bike casualties, are “particularly vulnerable”.

“This group of young people has a vulnerable brain and a vulnerable abdominal wall. A fat bike can go up to 50 kilometers per hour. We can be happy that there have not been many deaths yet.”