Ebiking story on "Good Morning Japan" （おはよう日本）on the spread of ebiking among the elderly in Japan

[ebikemom]

Hi all! I'm watching the Japanese news, and there was just a long story on the spread of ebiking amongst the elderly in Japan.

Ebiking in Japan is well established, with the largest segment of ebikers being moms of young kids who cart their children, groceries, etc., around on ebikes, as well as other younger folks who use ebikes for utility--commuting to work/school, etc.

I found it interesting that the elderly are a new/increasing market for ebiking in Japan. Here in the US, retirees were one of the first groups to take up ebiking.

The report said that with the increase in elderly ebikers, there has also been an increase in ebike-involved accidents, with the majority involving elderly cyclists, and 80% of deaths being of elderly riders.

They introduced a man from the "Japan cycling promotion organization" (日本自転車普及協会) who introduced safety principles for older new ebikers. He said that the main challenge is that accelleration can be too fast or unexpected when starting the bike, and that older riders need to learn to stop when entering a situation that is uncertain. In learning to ride, he recommended that the person:

• mount the bike
• hold the brake with one hand
• start the PAS display with the other hand
• then begin pedaling forward while releasing the brake

Anyway, I thought it was great to see a national news feature on ebiking and on how to safely adjust to ebiking. Maybe someday ... here in the US?

 

[ebikemom]

A couple of the elderly ebikers interviewed said that they were motivated to stop driving by this epidemic of elderly auto accidents, and this is what has led them to ebiking as a safer alternative.

 

[Dewey]

Be interesting to see what happens as cyclists in the cities reportedly mostly ride on the sidewalk in Japan. If as I suspect their live and let live attitude does not lead to a huge rise in pedestrian ebike collisions it will be a win for all. The Dutch have identified falls in elderly when mounting a heavier ebike, and loss of control when riding as issues, so are funding research into steering assist. The motorcycle industry could help out here by applying their research on neck airbags into inflatable hip, elbow, and wrist protectors for elderly ebike riders, maybe activated by an accelerometer chip, you would look like the Michelin man if they all went off but they could help lower the risk of serious injuries. Also the bicycle helmet industry should look into more comfortable full face helmets to protect against broken nose/jaw/teeth.

 

[Solom01]

The Japanese are a bit ahead of the curve, but it's also the case in Italy, the US and other developed countries where extremely low birth rates are leading to a huge increase in the over 65 year old population. I have a feeling that when the problems with the health system, social security, elder care and other aspects of this change become apparent concern for ebike accidents aren't going to be at the top of the list of issues we'll be dealing with.

 

[Dewey]

,

The Japanese are a bit ahead of the curve, but it's also the case in Italy, the US and other developed countries where extremely low birth rates are leading to a huge increase in the over 65 year old population. I have a feeling that when the problems with the health system, social security, elder care and other aspects of this change become apparent concern for ebike accidents aren't going to be at the top of the list of issues we'll be dealing with.

Agreed, but we'll also see more marketing oriented towards seniors, currently these tend to be pricier bikes like the Islabikes Icons line in Europe or Pedego's.
"Eighty percent of Pedego buyers are Baby Boomers." Source: https://www.pedegoelectricbikes.com...igant-research-consumer-demand-driving-sales/
"Islabikes launches a range aimed at over 65s, and it’s not electric" Source: https://www.bikeradar.com/news/islabikes-launches-a-range-aimed-at-over-65s-and-its-not-electric/

There's also a fair amount of health research going on eg search PubMed.gov for "Bicycling"[Mesh] AND ("Age Factors"[Mesh] OR "elderly"[All fields] OR "senior$"[All fields] OR "Aged"[Mesh])
Referring back to the OP if you're interested in English language health research on cycling in Japan you could also search PubMed for "Bicycling"[Mesh] AND "Japan"[Mesh]
It's a bit more difficult searching the Japanese language literature, the CiNii database retrieves articles on cycling and the elderly in civil and traffic engineering journals and some full text is available from the J-STAGE repository, but the Japanese health literature is more difficult to search as the Medical Online and 医中誌Web databases are not open access