Switzerland considering e-bike courses for seniors
Electric bike courses for senior citizens could become a reality. The Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) is in the process of drawing up a catalogue of the "skills, abilities and aptitudes required" for riding e-bikes, making distinctions by age category.
“The safety of e-bike users is very important to us, which is why we are interested in the results of this work,” a spokesperson for FEDRO told the Keystone-ATS news agency, confirming a report in Le Matin Dimanche and the Sonntagszeitung.
The increase in sales of electric bikes has been accompanied by a rise in serious accidents. In 2022, 583 people had a serious or fatal accident with an electric bike. By 2021, the figure had risen to 548, writes the Accident Prevention Bureau on its website.
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The risk of death in an e-bike accident is four times higher for the elderly, mainly because their bodies are more fragile.
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