Two road incidents involving e-bikes in the span of seven days has police reminding everyone to be mindful of their surroundings.
On Tuesday, an e-bike rider fell to the ground while trying to avoid a vehicle that was backing out of a Hickling Trail driveway.
While there was no contact between vehicle and e-bike, the rider was taken to Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) with non-life-threatening injuries.
It was the second e-bike incident in a week. On Tuesday, May 18, a rider was seriously injured after a collision near the intersection of Edgehill Drive and Jagges Drive, which left both the rider and the pedestrian with serious injuries.
In that incident, the driver of the e-bike, a 45-year-old Barrie man, was airlifted to a Toronto-area trauma centre in serious condition while the pedestrian, a 44-year-old Barrie man, was taken to RVH, also with serious injuries.
The 45-year-old e-bike operator is still in hospital with serious injuries.
The Edgehill incident is still under investigation.
On Wednesday, Barrie police communications co-ordinator Peter Leon told BarrieToday that in both cases, awareness could have played a big part in safety.
“In last week’s incident, the pedestrian had not taken all precautions before stepping onto the roadway and as for last night, it's still early to know, but lessons can still be learned from it,” said Leon.
“These are more examples of the need to keep aware of your surroundings whether you’re backing up in a vehicle or a pedestrian crossing the road," he said. "Be cognizant that e-bikes are out there and it's something to watch for.”
