FOX NEWS
Electric bicycles caused a record number of fires, injuries and deaths in New York City last year as Democrats continued to push for greater adoption of the device as a solution to global warming.
Overall, e-bikes sparked 267 fires which caused 18 deaths and 150 injuries in the city, according to New York Fire Department (FDNY) data shared with Fox News Digital. The figures represent the highest levels of each statistic, with e-bike related deaths increasing 200%, fires increasing 21% and injuries increasing 2% in the city year over year.
“As we rely more and more on micromobility vehicles to earn a living in our daily lives, we increase the risk of fires caused by lithium-ion batteries. And as mentioned, we had over 100 deaths in this city alone on these batteries,” Democrat New York Mayor Eric Adams said during an event on e-bike safety last year.
“And one of the problems that we’ve noticed, when you look at those taped-up batteries, you see that they are refurbished,” he continued. “These shops are going inside attempting to refurbish the batteries and do it their own way. This is a safety issue.”
Amid the uptick in e-bike fires and deaths, New York City leaders led by Adams and FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh — who said last year that e-bikes are “incredibly dangerous devices” and called for additional regulation — have spearheaded a public education campaign about the dangers of the device and pushed policies to ensure safety.
In March 2023, Adams unveiled the city’s Charge Safe, Ride Safe plan to prevent further harmful e-bike incidents. Then, months later, he announced the city had been awarded $25 million in federal funding to install 173 outdoor e-bike charging stations. In December, Adams said his administration would soon launch a battery-charging pilot program for delivery workers.
