From this article in The Guardian I see that the rate of deaths among cyclists in the Netherlands has increased sharply in the past year. The majority of the increase comes from elderly gentlemen (65+) who overestimate their ability to ride e-bikes.
E-bikes are certainly cheaper to buy and run than cars and more convenient in many ways. They can travel at 20mph and are a great way to move around town. It seems many of these fatalities are caused by the difficulty of mounting and dismounting heavy e-bikes as well as failing to realize that hitting things at 20mph is actually quite dangerous.
I have to wonder exactly how much cycling is actually being done here. I suspect these e-bikes are being treated as electric scooters and that very little cycling is occurring. The article doesn't go into the health benefits obtained by having septuagenarians on bicycles in any depth.
Pete could teach them a thing or two!
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