Data, Helmets and Speed – How to make E-Scooters Safer
E-scooters are fast becoming part of urban living and whilst their increased use brings benefits, safety concerns are growing. A focus on data, helmets and speed could bring an immediate safety dividend.
With the announcement of a task force on e-scooter use in January, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) joined a growing number of countries working through how to extend the Road Safety laws to e-scooters in a way that provides for their safe use as part of a sustainable transport ecosystem.
E-scooters bring many benefits. Studies have shown that access to e-scooters can reduce car journeys providing a strong environmental argument for their adoption, which combined with their convenience has contributed to an explosion in their use. The National Association of City Transportation Officials estimates that Americans took 86 million trips on an e-scooter in 2019, more than double those taken in 2018
These factors are also why e-scooters are increasingly being featured in transport plans especially around what the transport industry refer to as the ‘last mile’. The distance from home or work, and the nearest public transport hub.
However, the rapid pace of adoption has caught regulators off-guard especially when it comes to safety considerations and this has caused many countries to start playing catch-up.
Whilst numbers are hard to come by there has been an increase in media reports of e-scooter related injuries and, sadly, some deaths. Most of those reported have involved younger people as you might expect with new technology. This and the seeming ubiquity of e-scooters on our streets has led to a call for action which governments are responding to.
Any work on this would be well advised to start with the Safer Systems approach to Road Safety. This recognises the interconnectivity of factors — vehicles, roads, people and speed — contributing to road safety and at its heart acknowledges that humans make mistakes. A simple but effective way to frame any strategy.
Getting the right framework in place will take time. It will rightly require careful study, and consultation with a wide range of stakeholders before any government can implement a comprehensive suite of measures. However, in keeping with the maxim ‘don’t let perfect be the enemy of good’ there are some immediate actions that could be taken to improve the safety of e-scooters.
The first, and arguably most important, has to be around getting better data. There are no reliable figures around e-scooter collisions.
A study from the US estimated there were 29,628 visits to Emergency Rooms for e-scooter related injuries in 2019 which equates to just over 9 injuries per 100,000 population. When you consider that the use of e-scooters is limited to some geographical areas in the US we can only assume this is likely to increase with greater take-up. This provides a concerning reference point for other countries.
Where counting systems have been introduced there have been concerns that e-scooter related collisions are under-reported. This makes it difficult to get a clear sense of the scale of the problem. Mandatory reporting of any collision resulting in an injury, and the introduction of robust data systems that capture information to the standard required for road traffic collisions is essential. It will provide policymakers with the hard data required for evidence-based strategies.
What data we do have shows that the head is particularly vulnerable to e-scooter related collisions. Whilst injuries to the arm caused when trying to break a fall, and injuries to ankles caused when jumping off a scooter to avoid a collision are also common. Head injuries differ in two respects. They are much more likely to cause life-changing injuries, and more importantly, the likely severity of any injury can be mitigated by one simple measure. The wearing of a helmet.
This does present a particular challenge for e-scooter sharing schemes with spontaneous riders unlikely to want to carry a helmet around just in case they decide to ride. (There must be an opportunity for innovation around portable helmets!). We must think about helmets and e-scooters as we do seatbelts and cars. A non-negotiable. Experience from Brisbane in Australia suggests that mandating works. Compliance increased very quickly to 64% following the introduction of a helmet law.
The other area for early attention must be regulating speed. Whilst many of the injuries mirror those that you would see from skateboards and traditional scooters it is the speed that e-scooters can get up to that can significantly increase the severity of any injuries to riders and pedestrians.
Some countries have introduced speed limits with a consensus being reached around a limit in the region of 20km per hour. Whilst this is a good start any speed limits must be tailored to the specific environment. Riding on a dedicated e-scooter path is very different from weaving in and out of a pedestrian walkway.
Geofencing technology which enables software to limit the speed of e-scooters when entering certain areas, for example, pedestrianised zones could be a practical way of automating the enforcement of these and academics in Greece are developing a methodology to help plan zones for this.
Whilst recognising that regulators will want to take a broader look, an early focus on data, helmets and speed could form the basis for a package of measures that could deliver an immediate safety dividend for riders and pedestrians alike. This will inevitably prevent life-changing injuries or worse, and for that reason alone must be worth doing. However, it is also necessary if we are to fully exploit the opportunities micro-mobility provides to transform our transport experience.
