Pensioners make up 40 percent of ebike injury claims to ACC
As sales of ebikes continue to accelerate, pensioners now account for more than 40 percent of e-bike crashes resulting in claims to ACC. Figures released to RNZ show the agency had 704 active e-bike injury claims by the end of last year, of which 307 involved people 65 and older.
Taupō woman Nicky Hollings remembers her ebike crash at the popular Craters Mountain Bike Park last November all too vividly.
“I came to this lip, you know, it was quite high and there was a big downhill drop and I just put on the brakes and I slowed down too much and it all went pear shaped from there. I went over the handle bars and basically snapped my arm off the top of my shoulder.”
Claims to ACC from ebike injuries have risen 13-fold from 2015 when there were just 53 active files. Five years ago, claims were worth just over $57,000 while they now top $1.2 million.
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RNZ: Robin Martin – February 4, 2020
