New Yorkers see mopeds and e-bikes whizzing by on NYC streets and sidewalks, but they do not often see the police statistics that show how dangerous the reckless operation of these micromobility devices can be.
Fatalities involving mopeds doubled year-over-year in July, from two in July 2024 to four this month, according to the latest NYPD traffic statistics. Although the total number of moped fatalities is down for the year, it spiked so far in July, possibly due to the pleasant weather New York is having this summer.
Motorcycle deaths have also jumped 33.3% this month. There were four fatalities over the last 28 days compared to three during the same period last year. Motorcycle fatalities are down around 33% for the year, the statistics show.
As grim as the moped and motorcycle statistics are, e-bike riders are facing their own challenges on the streets of the Big Apple. According to the NYPD, e-bike collisions citywide are up a whopping 21.5% year to date with 401 crashes compared to 330 during the same period last year. That number is also a dramatic increase from 11% reported just three weeks ago by the NYPD.
The NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) said in a statement that citywide, there has a been a record low number of traffic fatalities.
“The facts are that the city has experienced record low number fatalities through the first half of the year and continue to see downward fatality trends across every single mode year to date—including among e-bike, moped, and motorcycle riders,” Vincent Barone, a spokesperson for DOT, said. “Vision Zero is saving lives and we will continue to work every day to reduce traffic deaths on our streets.”
According to the NYPD, reckless e-bike and moped riding is a continued problem on city streets. Illegally parked and driven two-wheelers that are not registered are other challenges the NYPD continues to tackle.
Both are part of the reason Mayor Eric Adams and the department launched the new Quality of Life division in April. The division aims to respond to New Yorkers’ most common concerns, especially those filed through the public 311 system.
NYPD officials said on Monday that Quality of Life teams have seized 282 illegal e-bikes, scooters and mopeds citywide since the program launched in the spring.
“We launched the Quality of Life division with a simple mission to address the daily problems that have plagued our communities and chip away at people’s sense of safety,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. “In just a few months, our Q-Teams have done exactly that — removing hundreds of abandoned vehicles, seizing illegal e-bikes, scooters, and mopeds, and improving the conditions that New Yorkers see every day and want resolved.”
It was not immediately clear how many cyclists have received criminal summonses, a feature of the Quality of Life division that has been criticized by both immigrant and transit advocates in the city. Since a majority of the city’s 65,000 deliveristas are immigrants who use the controversial two-wheeled devices for their livelihoods, the advocates have said the newly launched division puts the workers at an increased risk of encountering Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
“We want protections, not punishment for delivery workers. We demand that the NYPD stop this outrageous attack on workers,” said Luis Cortes, director of Lost Deliveristas Unidos, a group that represents delivery workers, said. “We demand that Mayor Adams seek actual solutions to support the working class’s need for transportation alternatives instead of criminalizing those who are just struggling to find ways to work and live in this city.”
