What E-bikes Can Learn From Football

Football has changed dramatically over the past few decades. Athletes have become bigger, stronger and faster. As the game evolved, so did the approach to player safety.

The response was not one single solution. Rules changed to limit dangerous hits. Practice contact was reduced. Coaches and athletes were educated on safer tackling techniques, including keeping the head up and avoiding leading with the helmet. At the same time, protective equipment continued to improve.

E-bikes may require a similar, multi-part approach.

E-bikes are giving more people greater range, mobility and freedom, but they also introduce a much wider range of riding speeds. In California, Class 3 e-bikes can provide motor assistance up to 28 mph. That means riders, including teenagers, may encounter impact conditions that differ significantly from traditional cycling.

California is now addressing the rules and education side. AB 1569 (link), signed in August, directs the California Department of Education, working with the California Highway Patrol, to develop a standardized e-bike safety and training program for students in grades 7–12.

We support that approach. But education and regulation are only part of the equation.

The other part is protection.

Energy in a collision changes with the square of velocity.  So, the impact energy of an e-bike rider moving at 30 mph vs. a casual rider at 10 mph is actually 9 times greater (3 x 3).   Traditional helmet systems are generally designed around overly-simple test conditions that focus on a small number of point conditions.  With 9x changes in possible impact energies from an e-bike collision, the traditional approach to designing helmets to point conditions inevitably will suffer.  That is why SoftShox is developing Adaptive Impact Protection, protection designed to respond across the changing angles, speeds, and conditions of real-world impacts. And, SoftShox is already used in Football.

No need to reinvent the wheel.  E-bikes can learn from Football.  Safer participation requires better rules, better education and better equipment.