STATISTICS revealed by Transport Scotland have laid bare the accidents involvinge-bikesinScotlandover the last five years – with Edinburgh faring the worst.
Since the beginning of 2020, there have been 34 accidents involving e-bikes, which have soared in popularity in recent years, with 15 serious incidents and one fatality.
Of those,Edinburghsaw nine total e-bike accidents – with seven slight incidents and two serious – whileGlasgowwas the next worse off, with three slight and four serious incidents.
Dundee, Falkirk and Aberdeen were the next worst off with three accidents apiece in the dataset, whileArgyll and Butesaw one fatality.
There was, unfortunately, no systematic way to separate regular electricity-assisted bicycles from illegally modified and unlicensed e-bikes, which Transport Scotland says pose “serious risks to safety” and have “no place on our roads”.
This information was gathered under the UK-wide STATS19 data collection system by Police Scotland, who include vehicle descriptions – of “electric bicycles” or “e-bikes”, for instance – when submitting reports.
STATS19 does not record descriptions of bicycles as illegally modified or non-standard in their reporting.
In addition, this dataset is likely to represent an incomplete count of electric bicycle collisions, as officers may not always make complete reports on accidents, with fields that allow trackers to identify e-bikes in collisions going unfilled.
The records that Traffic Scotland keeps also only relate to collisions where somebody is killed or injured.
All this is to say that there may have been many more e-bike accidents in Scotland in 2020 than what the initial data suggests.
A spokesperson for Transport Scotland said today (MON): “There is a difference between genuine e-bikes and illegally modified e-bikes and unlicensed electric motorcycles, which do present serious risks to safety and have no place on our roads.
“Proper and legal e-bikes are transformative in terms of opening up cycling to more people – expanding the distances people can cover and reducing the challenges presented by hills or headwinds.
“They also have an important role in the sustainable movement of cargo and reducing transport emissions.”
In recent years, e-bikes have become far more prevalent on our streets, with new technology introducing cycling to people who may not have considered it otherwise.
They have made long commutes far easier by bike and made cycling easier for a wide range of people, including those with disabilities.
However, with the growth in e-bike usage, critique has also been lodged that many e-bike users are behaving recklessly in pedestrianised areas and travelling at speeds far in excess of what is legal or acceptable on cycle paths.
This criticism is generally thrown at e-bikes as a whole, but these excesses are more than often performed by illegally modified or “souped-up” cycles tweaked to travel at speeds far faster than an ordinary e-bike.
E-bikes modified in this way are reclassified as electric motorcycles under current legislation and become prohibited from using bicycle-only paths.
Chief Superintendent Scott McCarren, head of Road Policing, said: “E-bikes and other forms of electrical personal transport are becoming increasingly common on Scotland’s roads and cycle networks.
“While the number of incidents involving e-bikes remains relatively low, any collision resulting in injury is taken seriously.
“Road safety is a priority for Police Scotland and we work closely with our partners to encourage safe and responsible use of all vehicles, including e-bikes.
“It’s important that anyone using an e-bike does so legally and responsibly. Riders should make sure their e-bike meets the required safety standards and that they use it in accordance with road traffic legislation.”
Crime involving modified e-bikes has seen an explosion in recent years, with Police Scotland making 281 seizures between January and the end of September 2024.
This surge is reflected in the statistics as well. There were only two e-bike accidents recorded in 2020, while 2024 saw at least eight accidents.
In 2025, there have been at least eight accidents so far.
The Transport Scotland spokesperson continued: “Road safety is of paramount importance to the Scottish Government.
“One death on Scotland’s roads is one too many.
“Perceptions around safety is the single greatest barrier to more active travel in our communities.
“That’s why we’re investing over £188m in active and sustainable travel – supporting local authority ambitions to create safe and segregated cycling infrastructure right across the country.”
It is also important to note that these statistics, despite potential underreporting, are relatively low and pale in comparison to car accidents.
In 2024, there were 3,326 road casualties involving cars reported in Scotland.
The statistics tallying e-bike accidents are as of September 10, 2025.
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