Why eBike Riders Take More Risks (and How to Fix It)

A Behavioral Science Deep Dive into Risk Compensation Theory

eBikes are designed to make riding easier.

But that same ease may be quietly changing how riders behave — often in ways that increase crash risk without them realizing it.

Across multiple real-world studies, researchers have found that eBike riders frequently travel at higher average speeds than traditional cyclists even when their rule-following behavior stays about the same

This creates the perfect setup for what behavioral scientists call:

Risk compensation

And it may be one of the most overlooked safety factors in modern micromobility.

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What Is Risk Compensation?

Risk compensation is the tendency for people to:

Take greater risks when they feel safer

Originally studied in automobile safety research, this psychological effect suggests that when perceived danger decreases, people subconsciously adjust their behavior — often increasing speed, reducing caution, or accepting tighter margins.

In other words:

If a system feels safer…

People may use that safety margin to push harder.

On eBikes, this can show up as:

• Riding faster through intersections

• Accepting smaller traffic gaps

• Overtaking more often

• Braking later

• Riding closer to parked cars or driveways

Not because riders want danger —
But because the bike feels more capable.

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Why eBikes Change Rider Behavior

Unlike traditional bicycles, eBikes shift the effort-to-speed relationship.

Motor assistance reduces the physical energy required to maintain higher speeds — making behaviors that once required significant effort suddenly feel easy and controllable.

Behavioral models of cycling show that riders naturally balance:

By lowering the “cost” of speed, eBikes subtly move the rider’s preferred operating speed upward — even if their risk tolerance hasn’t changed.

That matters because:

Stopping distance increases with the square of speed

A small increase in speed can dramatically reduce the time available to react to hazards — especially at intersections, where naturalistic studies consistently show the highest crash risk

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Speed Creates Hidden Risk

Real-world riding studies comparing bicycles and eBikes have found:

In other words:

eBike riders aren’t necessarily breaking more rules.

But they’re entering risky situations faster — which compresses:

• Reaction time

• Braking distance

• Gap-judgment margins

Even modest speed increases can significantly increase near-miss events in visually complex environments such as:

• Intersections

• Driveways

• Parked-car zones

• Bike-lane intrusions

These are the same areas where naturalistic riding data shows critical events cluster most heavily

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The Psychology Behind Risk-Taking on eBikes

Several behavioral mechanisms appear to play a role:

Younger or inexperienced riders may also struggle with:

• Hazard perception

• Conflict anticipation

• Combined braking strategy

Experimental training studies have shown that novice eBike riders detect significantly fewer “unmaterialized hazards” — such as emerging vehicles or turning traffic — than experienced riders.

The good news?

Hazard-perception training has been shown to improve detection ability within just one week.

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Not All Riders Face the Same Risk

Importantly:

Research does not show that all eBike riders are universally more crash-prone.

Exposure-adjusted studies have found:

Low-speed balance loss during mounting or stopping appears to be a key contributor in some subgroups — especially when combined with unfamiliar bike handling

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How to Reduce Risk Without Giving Up eBike Benefits

The most effective safety strategies aim to:

Align perceived risk with actual risk

Rider Training & Education

• Teach hazard recognition (especially intersections)

• Practice combined front + rear braking

• Slow before sightline breaks

Product & Bike Design

• Stable frame geometry

• Predictable assist onset

• Integrated braking feedback

• Visibility enhancements

Infrastructure

• Separated bike lanes

• Protected intersections

• Speed-managed facilities

Short hazard-perception training programs have already demonstrated measurable improvements in rider awareness and decision-making in experimental trials.

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The Bottom Line

eBikes don’t automatically make riders reckless.

But they do change:

• Speed preferences

• Effort perception

• Confidence levels

• Reaction windows

And in safety-critical environments — like intersections — those changes can significantly affect crash risk.

Understanding how behavior adapts to perceived safety is essential to making eBike riding not just easier…

But safer.

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Sources

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16132308
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tbs.2020.10.010
https://doi.org/10.1080/15389588.2018.1542138
https://doi.org/10.1109/access.2021.3108039
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0268960
https://doi.org/10.1080/15389588.2019.1696963
https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031243
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2022.106685
https://doi.org/10.3390/designs5040066