From what I can see, the study does not fully account for the likely increase in e-Bike use over the same period. That rising baseline could explain at least some of the increase in collisions.
If e-Bike use grew significantly between 2018 and 2024, as I strongly suspect it did, then we would naturally expect e-Bike collisions to increase both in number and as a proportion of total cycling collisions. That alone would not necessarily prove that e-Bikes are more dangerous than conventional bicycles.
To make that comparison properly, we would need collision rates based on exposure, such as injuries per journey, per mile travelled or per hour ridden. We would also need reliable data showing how much e-Bike and conventional bicycle use changed during the study period.
For example, if conventional bicycle use remained broadly stable as a proportion of the population, that could help explain why bicycle collision numbers also remained stable. Meanwhile, rapidly rising e-Bike ownership and usage could produce a sharp rise in e-Bike collisions even if the individual risk per journey had not increased to the same extent.
None of this changes the fact that there has been a very sharp and worrying increase in reported e-Bike injuries. That trend should be taken seriously, investigated properly and addressed through appropriate safety measures, just as it would be if similarly alarming figures were reported for conventional bicycles.
