title: Understanding on-road practices of electric bike riders: an observational study in a developed city of China.
abstract: Although millions of electric bikes (E-bikes) operate in China and many associated deaths and injuries have been reported, E-bikers' on-road practices are poorly characterized and few direct observational studies have been performed. This study aims to describe riding behaviors among E-bikers and to investigate factors influencing these practices to inform injury prevention. In March 2012, a cross-sectional observational study was conducted at 14 randomly selected intersections in Suzhou during a 7-day period. A pro-forma observation checklist was used to collect data on road riding practice. Adjusted Odds Ratios (OR) and 95% Confidence Intervals (CI) to assess the likelihood of specific riding practices among E-bikers were evaluated using mixed-effects logistic regression. Among 18,150 E-bikers observed, 37.6% rode E-bikes with cycling pedals, 86.0% of E-bikes were registered, 26.6% did not comply with the road rules, and 41.1% wore at least one safety item. The overall prevalence of carrying passengers, riding in a motor vehicle lane, running red lights, riding in opposite directions (i.e., facing oncoming traffic), mobile phone use, and helmet use were 12.4% (95%CI: 11.9-12.9%), 1.9% (95%CI: 1.7-2.1%), 4.8% (95%CI: 4.5-5.1%), 3.4% (95%CI: 3.1-3.7%), 0.4% (95%CI: 0.3-0.5%), and 9.0% (95%CI: 8.5-9.4%), respectively. Male E-bikers was associated with increased helmet use and riding in motor vehicle lanes, whereas riding a registered E-bike was associated with reduced likelihood of carrying passengers. This study demonstrates common road rule violations and low helmet use among E-bikers and supports the urgent need to develop additional regulations and behavioral interventions to improve safety practice among E-bikers in China.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Population Research, Peking University, China; Neuroscience Research Australia, University of New South Wales, Australia. Electronic address: weidu@pku.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Brent
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Powis
authors.forename: Xiaoying
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ozanne-Smith
authors.forename: Lynne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bilston
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D001642:Bicycling; D002681:China; D002947:Cities; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D055615:Electrical Equipment and Supplies; D005260:Female; D017575:Gloves, Protective / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006260:Head Protective Devices / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D009049:Motorcycles; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012737:Sex Factors
keywords: CI; Confidence Interval; E-bike; Electric Bike; Electric bike; Helmet; OR; Observations; Odds Ratios; Safety practice