Users of modified pedelecs: a risky group among Czech e-cyclists?

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

The increasing share of pedelecs in traffic presents new risks for traffic safety. Higher speeds, different handling of pedelecs compared to traditional bicycles and the presence of road users, whose physical condition would not allow them to cycle without support, on the road lead to more crashes and different injury patterns. These problems are intensified for some cyclists by illegal modification that allows even higher speeds of their pedelecs. The presented study aimed to reveal who the riders of modified pedelecs are, why the tuning occurs and whether the riders of modified pedelecs are more prone to risky behaviour. Online and field questionnaire surveys were used in the study, resulting in 1006 complete interviews. The obtained data included information on riders’ demographic characteristics, annual distance ridden, types of roads used, the purpose of riding, helmet use, alcohol consumption when riding, crash experience, and ownership of a manipulated pedelec. It has been revealed that 10% of cyclists had their bikes modified and that the modified pedelecs were more prevalent among males, younger cyclists, and riders with higher annual distance ridden compared to riders of standard pedelecs. The data also indicated that owners of modified pedelecs had generally worse safety characteristics, judging by not using the helmet, alcohol consumption and crash experience.