As the popularity of electric two-wheelers surges in Tampa Bay, so do risks to riders’ lives.
E-bikes and e-scooters are many young Floridians' favorite way to get around.
However, medical professionals say that safety concerns often go by the wayside for underage e-riders. Tampa General Hospital, the region’s only Level 1 trauma center, recently saw a 500% increase in pediatric e-bike injuries.
With an eye towards bringing these numbers down, AAA — The Auto Club Group launched its “E-Ride Ready” campaign earlier last week.
Guest speakers at the kickoff press conference included a young e-bike crash survivor and Dr. Jade Kumar, a TGH pediatric surgeon.
”What concerns us most is the severity of these injuries,” Kumar said. “Compared to traditional bicycles, children riding e-bikes experience twice the rate of traumatic brain injuries.”
Children and teenagers, who often cruise well above safe speeds without helmets, are particularly vulnerable.
“We can fix broken bones, but we can’t fix the brain,” Kumar added.
Kumar’s former trauma care patient, nine-year-old Dylan Shepherd of Pasco County, attended the launch with his parents.
Dylan was wearing a helmet at the time of his April accident. While he suffered rib fractures, bruised lungs and a torn spleen, his mother said the outcome would have been much worse without protective gear.
“If there’s anything that we can take away from this, it’s to please protect your children,” Kaitlyn Shepherd said. “Please make sure they’re wearing a helmet and all the protective gear that they need so they can come home.”
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A bill that would have required Florida riders under 18 to wear helmets failed in the legislature earlier this year.
However, in March, lawmakers passed SB382, which cracks down on e-bike use on sidewalks and creates a Micromobility Safety Task Force. That bill still awaits Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signature.
AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins echoed Kumar and Shepherd’s comments about parental responsibility. The centerpiece of the “E-Ride Ready” campaign is a free safety guide for parents, which includes information on helmet brands that match e-bike speeds and other guidance.
“Our advice is to do your homework before you purchase an electric bike or a scooter,” Jenkins said. “Some devices come with a smartphone app capability that allows the parent to control the top speed.”
Kumar acknowledged e-bikes’ appeal to young people, but said safety should come first.
“Every child deserves a chance to have fun, but they also deserve a chance to come home safely at the end of the day,” she said.
Limits of legislation
The micromobility industry, which sells e-bikes and e-scooters, has taken off across Florida.
It’s not only young people who prefer e-riding.
In 2023, Tampa piloted its eBike voucher program for low-income riders. Since then, 450 residents have received up to $3,000 off a new bike.
Hunter Hamrick brought his e-scooter because it’s cheaper — and more convenient — to charge the device than it is to fill a gas tank and find downtown parking.
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“It just makes life in general a lot easier,” Hamrick said. “Tampa isn't the most walkable city right now, and I think e-scooters and e-bikes are a way for folks to get around a lot faster.”
Still, Hamrick acknowledges the pitfalls of letting kids use the devices. You have to be 18 to use Lime, a short-term micromobility rental service, and Hamrick recalled a middle schooler who asked him to scan his face and bypass the app’s age detector.
Hamrick questioned the enforceability of the new sidewalk law and predicted police may unfairly target Black teenagers.
And, as the Consumer Product Safety Commission reports collisions with vehicles are the leading cause of e-bike rider deaths, Hamrick said better bike lanes are a more permanent solution.
"The infrastructure should be the priority,” he said. “I often try not to ride on the sidewalk, but I don’t want to get hit with a car. Those are hospital bills; those are potential permanent injuries.”
“He’d still be here today”
Up until mid-May, Nicole Guthrie’s 11-year-old son owned a dirt bike that he wasn’t allowed to ride above 25 mph. He was driving in their Dunedin neighborhood with a helmet on when his mom said a Pinellas County Sheriff’s deputy pulled him over and threatened him with jail time.
Guthrie said adults in her community, from police to neighbors who post underage kids’ faces on Facebook, unfairly target young riders.
“Especially with summertime, we’re trying to encourage our kids to not be inside in front of screens,” Guthrie said. “Are they all being perfect? No, but we could count how many imperfect adults are not following the speed limit, are not using their blinker.”
Guthrie also pointed to videos where cars purposefully try to push kids off the road because they don’t want to share a lane.
Between 2017 and 2024, annual e-rider deaths increased 2000 percent nationwide, a trend mirrored in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties. Public data is lacking, but the Tampa Bay Times reports there have been almost 30 e-bike deaths over the last five years locally.
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Connor Lynch, a University of South Florida sophomore, died when a car struck him while he rode his scooter down Fletcher Ave. in Feb. 2024.
His mother, Michelle Lynch, founded the Connor Lynch Legacy Fund in the wake of her son’s death. The nonprofit focuses on micromobility safety and clearer regulation.
“Five seconds is all the difference that was needed between that car turning in front of him,” Lynch said at a Sept. 2025 press conference with AAA. “He’d still be here today.”
