The 14-year-old was riding an electric bicycle at an estimated 25 mph when he slammed into Janet Stotko during her evening walk, leaving her unconscious and bleeding on a sidewalk in her Minnesota neighborhood.The 2024 crash nearly killed Stotko, who was raced to a hospital with severe brain injuries, a facial fracture and broken eardrum. But after being on a ventilator for two days, spending three weeks in the hospital and enduring brain surgery, she survived, surprising even her doctors.At a checkup, she said, her doctors told her, “Wow, we can’t believe you’re here.”Now, she’s pushing for stricter laws regulating e-bikes in hopes that others won’t be hurt.E-bikes offer a convenient, eco-friendly and cost-effective alternative to cars, but their increasing use is drawing safety concerns. A study by the University of California, San Francisco found that rider injuries from e-bikes nearly doubled each year from 2017 to 2022, and a University of California, San Diego study showed injuries in San Diego among e-bike riders under 18 soared 300% from 2019 to 2023.Under federal law, most e-bikes are considered nonmotorized vehicles just like traditional bicycles, so riders don’t need a driver’s license or insurance and they don’t have to wear a helmet. But many states have more stringent rules, and regulations vary widely.Health experts have called for new laws and better enforcement of existing regulations, and officials in many places are taking action.Here’s what e-bikers should know to keep themselves and people around them safe.Not all e-bikes are the sameMany states have adopted a three-tier classification of e-bikes: Class 1 have motors that kick in while riders pedal with maximum speeds of 20 mph; Class 2 have throttles that reach the 20 mph maximum without pedaling; and Class 3 provide pedal-assist up to 28 mph.There are faster versions available, sometimes called e-motos, that can reach 40 mph even without pedaling. Many states treat these bikes like motorcycles, so they’re not allowed on sidewalks or paths, but in some states there are no specific rules for the ultra-fast bikes.As John Maa, a general surgeon at MarinHealth Medical Center in Northern California, notes, it’s basic math that increased speeds lead to increased injuries.”It’s Newton’s principles, right? Force equals mass times acceleration, and also kinetic energy is mass times velocity squared,” Maa said.Learn where you can and can’t rideSpeed limits, helmet requirements and other rules for e-bikes are changing rapidly, and what’s legal in one city or state might be illegal in the next.New York City imposed a speed limit of 15 mph on all electric bikes in October, and Florida lawmakers recently sent the governor a bill limiting e-bike speeds to 10 mph within 50 feet of pedestrians. In Connecticut, an October law requires all e-bike riders to wear a helmet, and bikes without pedals equipped with batteries over 750 watts will require a driver’s license.”We were not only hearing from manufacturers and riders, but we were hearing from concerned citizens trying to share the road with these new electric bikes and e-scooters, and also law enforcement who really needed some clear policies set into place,” said Christine Cohen, the Connecticut state senator behind the legislation.Know your bikeThe market is full of vehicles that blur the line between a traditional e-bike and something closer to a motorcycle, and manufacturers don’t always make the distinction easy to spot.To understand a bike’s capabilities and where it can be legally ridden, check its top speed, motor wattage, and whether it requires pedaling or operates on throttle alone. Anything outside the three-class classification could be subject to motor vehicle regulations, making it illegal to ride on some shared-use paths where slower e-bikes are allowed.”The first thing we always tell people is familiarize yourself, read the manual, look at some videos, look at your specific model,” said Charles DiMaggio, an injury public health researcher and professor at New York University’s medical school.Going to a local bike shop instead of buying online can help, enabling riders to ask questions, take a test ride and learn what’s legal and what isn’t.Follow traditional bike safety measuresHospitals and medical groups like the American College of Surgeons and American Association of Neurological Surgeons have called for stricter policies and offered safety tips.Above all, they stress wearing a helmet. Other tips include riding defensively around cars, using front and rear lights, wearing reflective vests in the dark, and avoiding biking under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Experts also recommend against altering an e-bike to make it faster.Maa added that e-bike riders should consider wearing a motorcycle helmet that covers the neck to protect against spinal injuries. He also advises parents to make sure their children can comfortably ride a pedal bike before they graduate to e-bikes.”Make sure they’re comfortable, they understand the rules of the road, they’re able to navigate turns, understand the flow of traffic, the use of bicycle lanes,” Maa said.Minnesota victim wants accountabilityAfter she was injured, Stotko told the city council in her community of Hastings, Minnesota, about her crash to push for a stricter ordinance. The city agreed, reducing maximum e-bike speeds to 15 mph on city trails, prohibiting e-bikes on sidewalks and imposing penalties.City police issued a citation to the 14-year-old rider for operating an e-bike underage, but no one was charged for the injury to Stotko.”It’s really about taking accountability and ownership of owning an e-bike and operating one,” she said.

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Sweet treats abound for the dozens of participants in Sunday’s annual Chocolate and Coffee Run. People were able to get coffee and donuts after they finished their run. The top three runners in each group also received a gift card to the running store Heart and Sole. The organizer, Run Fit, is […]



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Makers of dietary supplements are pushing the Food and Drug Administration to expand the types of ingredients they can put in their products, a change that could open the door to more marketing of peptides, probiotics and other trendy wellness offerings.The FDA was holding a public meeting on Friday to discuss its longstanding criteria for dietary supplements and whether they could be broadened to include substances that don’t come from food, vitamins, herbs or other traditional ingredients. FDA officials will hear from industry executives, consumer advocates and academics.It’s the first such meeting since Robert F. Kennedy Jr. became the nation’s top health official last year. Kennedy has vowed to “end the war at FDA” on dietary supplements, peptides and other products that are popular within his Make America Healthy Again movement.Friday’s meeting came at the request of the Natural Products Association, an industry group that has clashed with the FDA over certain new supplement ingredients. The group asked for the meeting in a January letter, citing “the cost and uncertainty that arise when regulatory expectations are unclear.”The FDA’s top food official, Kyle Diamantas, opened the meeting by underscoring the administration’s commitment to “cutting red tape” to lower the industry’s costs.”The industry has grown tremendously over the last 30 years yet the regulatory framework has largely stayed the same,” Diamantas told attendees.Here’s what to know about the issue:Many wellness products don’t qualify as supplementsUnder FDA regulations, supplements are deemed to be a category of food, with most of their ingredients coming from plants, herbs and other substances found in the American diet.That requirement has become a challenge for the industry in recent years as newer wellness products often feature substances that have never been used in food.Peptides, for instance, are druglike chains of amino acids that have been widely promoted by celebrities and influencers as a way to build muscle and look younger, although there’s little science supporting their use.Many specialty pharmacies and clinics sell them as injections or IV infusions, but some supplement makers have also begun adding them to capsules, gummies and powders.Technically, those products violate FDA rules, according to FDA lawyers. The same goes for certain types of probiotics, bacteria-containing products that are pitched to aid digestion and promote gut health.Companies argue that FDA law, as written, doesn’t specify that all ingredients must come from food.”The hope of the meeting is that FDA is willing to open up its interpretation of what constitutes a dietary ingredient to allow dietary substances that aren’t already in food,” said Robert Durkin, a former official in the FDA’s supplements program who now consults for companies.But consumer advocates warn that allowing new ingredients would vastly expand the market for supplements, which the FDA has long struggled to oversee.”FDA should focus on making the current market safer instead of allowing more chemicals and substances in supplements,” said Jensen Jose, senior regulatory counsel of the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest, in a presentation at Friday’s meeting.Supplement makers view Kennedy as an allyKennedy recently declared himself “a big fan” of peptides, telling podcast host Joe Rogan that he’s personally used them to treat injuries. He also vowed to loosen FDA limits on producing injectable peptides, which have been subject to federal safety restrictions.Some of Kennedy’s allies and supporters are proponents of the chemicals, including Gary Brecka, a self-described “longevity expert,” who sells peptide injectables, patches and nasal sprays through his website.Dr. Mark Hyman, another Kennedy friend, sells dozens of dietary supplements, including some claiming to contain peptides, through his website.Two former health advisers from Kennedy’s presidential campaign also have ties to the industry.Calley Means, now serving as a senior adviser in the Department of Health and Human Services, co-founded an online platform that helps people spend tax-free health dollars on supplements and other wellness goods.Dr. Casey Means — his sister and President Donald Trump’s surgeon general nominee — made hundreds of thousands of dollars promoting supplements, probiotics and related products, according to financial disclosure forms.Supplements have never been subject to strict FDA oversightThe FDA does not review dietary supplements the way it approves drugs and other medical products after confirming their safety and effectiveness. The agency does not even have a list of all the products in circulation.With some 100,000 or more supplements on the market, manufacturers are legally responsible for making sure their products are safe and truthfully advertised, according to the FDA. Supplements can’t claim to treat specific diseases or medical conditions.The 1994 law that gave the FDA oversight of the industry also exempted supplement makers from nutrition labeling requirements, under which companies must scientifically support health claims.Instead, supplement makers can make more general claims, such as that their products maintain or support health and well-being.Some former regulators think that approach was a mistake.”It sanctioned unauthorized, implied health claims,” said Mitch Zeller, who worked on supplement issues at the FDA during the 1990s. “There are all manner of claims being made on supplement labeling or in advertising that are carefully worded to avoid making a drug or treatment claim.”Companies can also say their products improve the structure or function of certain body parts, such as strengthening bones. Products making general or specific claims must carry a disclaimer: “This statement has not been evaluated by the FDA.”

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