The median age of injured conventional bicycle riders was 30 (IQR, 13-53) years vs 39 (IQR, 25-55) years for e-bicyclists (P < .001). Scooter riders had a median age of 11 (IQR, 7-24) years at the time of injury vs 30 (IQR, 20-45) years for e-scooter riders (P < .001) (Table 1 and Figure 3). As a group, those injured from EV accidents were significantly older than those injured from conventional vehicles (age, 31 vs 27 years; P < .001) (eTable 1 in Supplement 1).
e-Bicycles have lowered barriers to cycling for older adults, a group at risk for physical inactivity.9,10 Biking has clear-cut physical and cognitive health benefits for older adults, so this extension of biking accessibility to older e-bicyclists should be considered a boon of the new technology.22,23 However, as injured e-bicycle riders are older than conventional bicyclists, the unique safety considerations for older cyclists should be a focus of ongoing study.
There is a popular conception that ebikes are ridden recklessly on streets and sidewalks by youths, doing dangerous stunts, riding against traffic, not wearing helmets, and incurring serious injury to themselves and others as a result. This conception is often used to justify legislation to restrict or ban ebike use by minors. However, the data suggests quite the opposite, as it is older riders which are racking up injuries.
The data does not support restrictions on ebikes, but rather their wholesale adoption, especially for audiences which are at risk of inactivity or disadvantaged by a lack of transportation options. Ebikes are not at odds with conventional bicycles.
The California Bicycle Coalition offers this succinct summary:
“We think this backlash against e-bikes is the wrong direction for what we want for safer ways for people biking and sharing the road,” said Jared Sanchez, the policy director for the California Bicycle Coalition. “We don’t believe that adding restrictions for people riding e-bikes is the solution.”
They also have a page on how to fight against "bikelash", aka naysayers of bicycles and bikes: https://www.calbike.org/talking-back-to-bikelash/
I can't speak to the proportion of minors on acoustic bikes versus ebikes, but there are definitely under-18s with ebikes, in numbers ranging from "noticeable" to "common", if I may draw from anecdotes in my area and reports from around the country.
Usually people buy a cheap bike for their kids or a cheap scooter. Why spend 1000 on a thing that will be too small for him or her in 6 months? But you are right. Well to do people in well to do places will give their kids dangerous toys. Similarly as an example, in San Diego CA, you can rent a bird scooter to ride around town. You can be any age because the rental is thru an app on your or someone else's phone. Ultimate it is possible for a minor to ride a scooter. Elsewhere, you see that less because electric scooters are expensive with respect to having fun. With respect to mobility to go to work or to the uni or shopping, e scooters and bikes are a bargain. So I would think that it depends on the locality.
All valid points, especially on sizing of kids bikes. For e-scooters, though, I'm not aware of there being substantially different sizes. If most public e-scooter program have only one size yet still works for a broad range of riders, then apparently fitment isn't as big of a concern than on bikes.
This YT video by OhTheUrbanity describes the cost differences between using a public e-scooter rental for general mobility versus buying a private e-scooter outright, with rentals being more expensive. They also observed at the time -- it's a 3 year old video -- that e-scooters can be purchased for CAD$800 or less. I think that's around USD$600, and other basic models can be had for less nowadays.
Given this calculus, it seems plausible that even for households with constrained disposable income, an e-scooter wouldn't necessarily be an extravagance and would not quickly be grown out of for a child. I personally don't use e-scooters, but I can see why parents might consider a cheap 15 mph (25 kph) e-scooter and helmet for their child, in spite of the injury statistics, if the alternative is having to drive them around, costing gasoline and a free-range upbringing.