As Pediatric E-Bike Injuries Soar, New Jersey Will Now Require A License To Ride One

Chances are you’ve seen headlines like this in your city too:

“15-year-old dies after e-bike collides with motorcycle.”
“Death of 14-year-old in e-bike crash sparks safety concerns.”
“12-year-old flown to trauma center for major injuries suffered in e-bike crash.”

In recent years, the rate of injuries resulting from e-bike and e-scooter accidents has soared nationwide. The rate of e-bike and e-scooter injury-related emergency room visits increased by 671% among children and adolescents between 2023 and May 2026, according to health system data gathered by Truveta. Pediatric trauma centers around the country have reported e-bikes are now the leading cause of injury in school-aged children they treat, according to the American College of Surgeons.

In an effort to curb the number of accidents, New Jersey is enacting the strictest e-bike regulations in the country this month. Effective July 19, New Jersey residents must be at least 15 years old and have an e-bike license or a valid driver’s license to operate an e-bike. And just like a car, motorized bicycles (which can reach up to 28 miles per hour) are required to have insurance coverage and be registered. Low-speed electric bicycles, which have a maximum speed of 20 miles per hour, do not require insurance but must be registered. Riders of all ages are required to wear a helmet.

Getting an e-bike license looks pretty much exactly like getting one for a car — teens will have to study a manual on safety and road rules, pass vision and knowledge tests, and then pass a supervised road test as well. Then-New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed these regulations into law back in January, and residents have until the end of the year to register their e-bikes and comply with the new requirements.

Other states have some regulation around e-bike safety. In Oregon, riders of Class 1 e-bikes must be 14 years or older, while any e-bike with a throttle is reserved for 16-year-olds and up. The age was lowered to 14 earlier this year after previously being set at 16, despite the Oregon Health Authority’s report that e-bike injuries continue to rise across the state. New Hampshire and New York have also introduced bills similar to New Jersey’s, essentially regulating e-bikes as motor vehicles to improve safety.

The state’s new laws are in line with what child health and product safety experts have been calling for. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that no one under age 16 be allowed to operate an e-bike or e-scooter. Teens this age are old enough to control the bikes and mature enough to understand the rules of the road — motor vehicle crashes and loss of bike control are the top two causes of pediatric e-bike fatalities, the organization says. Similarly, children 12 and younger should not be allowed on any motorized bike or scooter that goes faster than 10 miles per hour, per the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

E-bikes led to roughly 53,000 emergency department visits and were cited as the cause of 104 deaths between 2017 and 2022, according to data from the CPSC. The American College of Surgeons says that because of the rate of speed involved, kids injured on e-bikes more closely resemble motorcycle crash survivors than bicycle accident victims. About two-thirds of kids who come to the emergency room following an e-bike crash have sustained a head injury, their report adds, noting that typical bicycle helmets are not crash-tested at such high speeds — riders on faster models should actually be wearing motorcycle helmets.

As New Jersey residents adjust to the new laws, legal experts say other states may soon follow suit. Regardless of your state’s laws, doctors encourage parents to review user manuals and safety guidelines for the e-bike’s size and weight limits, make sure your child is highly visible while riding, and always require kids to wear the appropriate helmet.