KSS air ambulance crews went to 26 serious e-bike and e-scooter incidents in 2025/26, up from 7 the year before. E-bike call-outs alone rose from 2 to 14.

Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex (KSS), the air ambulance that serves Dartford, was called to 26 serious e-bike and e-scooter incidents in 2025/26, up from 7 the year before. Incidents involving e-bikes alone rose sevenfold, from 2 to 14.

The charity released the figures at the start of Road Safety Week, which runs from 15 to 21 November, and is asking everyone on the roads of Kent, Surrey and Sussex to think about their own safety and other people’s.

Overview

  • Serious e-bike and e-scooter incidents attended by KSS: 26 in 2025/26, up from 7 in 2024/25. Each year runs from 1 November to 31 October.
  • E-bike incidents: 14, up from 2.
  • What the charity asks of riders: wear high visibility clothing and a helmet, have lights, keep to speed limits, plan the journey and give other road users space.
  • Road Safety Week: 15 to 21 November 2026, theme “Safe People on the Move”.

The national picture

KSS points to figures the Department for Transport published on 30 July 2026 in its e-scooter factsheet for 2025. Across Great Britain last year there were 10 deaths in collisions involving e-scooters, an estimated 484 people seriously injured and 1,477 e-scooter casualties in total. (Source: Reported road casualties Great Britain: e-scooter factsheet, 2025, Department for Transport.)

The charity’s doctors and specialist paramedics are sent to some of the most serious road collisions in the three counties every day. It says many of the incidents its crews attend could have been prevented by safer choices on the road.

“We would always rather see incidents prevented”

Lynsey Grant, HEMS Paramedic and Prevention Lead at KSS, said: “At KSS, we see the aftermath of serious road traffic collisions across our region. While our crews are ready to provide lifesaving care whenever we’re needed, we would always rather see incidents prevented in the first place. Road Safety Week is an opportunity for everyone to reflect on the choices they make when travelling and to recognise that we all share responsibility for keeping our roads safe.

“If you are using an e-bike or e-scooter, please ride them appropriately, wear high visibility clothing, ensure you have got lights and protect yourself with a helmet. The choices we make behind the wheel, on a bike or on a pavement can have life-changing consequences. By making safe decisions every journey, every time, we can help prevent tragedies and protect our communities.”

Not only riders

The appeal is aimed at drivers, cyclists, motorcyclists and people on foot as well as e-bike and e-scooter riders. The charity’s advice is to wear the right safety clothing and a helmet where one applies, watch out for distractions, stick to speed limits, plan journeys carefully and give other road users the room and consideration they need.

Road Safety Week begins on the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. This year’s theme, “Safe People on the Move”, is about the share everyone has in making roads safer.

E-bikes and e-scooters have also caused harm off the road in the borough: a charging e-scooter started the Ebbsfleet flat fire in which two people were burned, and an e-bike battery on charge was blamed for a house fire in Swanscombe.

About the service

KSS flies doctors and paramedics to people who are critically ill or injured across Kent, Surrey and Sussex, 24 hours a day. It responded to more than 3,000 incidents in 2025-26, an average of eight emergency calls a day. Running the service costs £58,000 a day, money that comes largely from people in the communities it covers. Its helicopters fly from Redhill Aerodrome and the charity is headquartered in Rochester. More is on the KSS website.