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e-Scooter Safety

• e-Scooter use has increased globally in recent years


due to dockless e-scooter schemes offered by private
companies (e.g. Lime and Neuron).
• There are safety concerns for riders, due to the non-use
of helmets, excessive riding speeds, and drink-riding,
increasing injury risk.
• Pedestrians are also at risk, either by being hit by riders
or tripping over parked on footpaths
• Like powered and unpowered bicycles, these devices
have a lower carbon footprint than cars, and can
overcome the last-mile limitation often associated with
public transport.

State of the Road A Fact Sheet of the Centre for Accident Research & Road Safety - Queensland (CARRS-Q)

THE FACTS influence data sharing opportunities, ° Wear a securely fitted approved bicycle
• e-Scooters are part of a rapidly expanding consumer experience and safety. helmet at all times;
family of small electric devices for ° Not carry passengers;
personal transportation including The rules ° Not use a mobile device while riding;
hoverboards, powered skateboards and • Often, rules relating to e-mobility device ° Not drink and ride; and
Segways. Various terms for this class design and construction are set at the
of devices include: e-micromobility, ° Use working front (white) and rear (red)
national level, user licensing and most
powered micromobility, personal mobility lights when riding at night, or when
road rules at the state level, and rules or
devices (PMDs), rideables, and Personal there is low visibility.
agreements relating to the operation of
e-Transport Systems (PeTs)1,2. shared schemes and where the devices • Most cities require that e-scooters are used
• Until now, the majority of e-scooter use can be used or parked are managed at on roadways, however in Brisbane and
has been through shared schemes and the local level. The rules and conditions Adelaide their use is mainly on footpaths.
most of what we know about the use and that the user agrees to in shared schemes In Queensland, they are restricted to
safety of e-scooters relates to shared use. comprise another level of regulation. footpaths and minor low speed roads10.
There is evidence that user behaviour • e-Scooters are classified as ‘non-road’ E-SCOOTER SAFETY ISSUES
may differ markedly between shared and vehicles under the Federal Motor Vehicle
privately owned e-scooters3. Standards Act 1989 and the Motor Vehicle • e-Scooter use can result in injuries to both
Standards Regulations 19899. As PMDs, riders and pedestrians – from collisions
• In 2018 in the US, there were 38.5 million
e-scooters must have the following or falling over e-scooters parked on the
trips by shared e-scooter, similar to the
characteristics: footpath. Concerns about e-scooters
number of trips by docked bikeshare (36.5
blocking footpaths have been widespread,
million) and many more than by dockless ° one or more wheels; particularly among disability groups5.
bikeshare (9 million)4.
° propelled by an electric motor; • Currently, it is difficult to identify e-scooter
• In Australasia, dockless e-scooters first
° an effective stopping system controlled users in emergency or crash data
appeared in New Zealand in October
by using brakes, gears or motor control; (separating electric from non-powered),
20185. The most comprehensive Australian
° when propelled only by the motor, the product type (personal or shared), and
shared scheme began in Brisbane in
cannot reach a speed of more than cause of crash (product failure, product
November 2018 where more than 500,000
25km/h on level ground; misuse or user behaviour).
trips occurred in the first three months of
operation6. ° not more than 1,250mm in length by • While e-scooters are largely restricted to
700mm in width by 1,350mm in height; footpaths and shared paths in Australasia,
• In Australia and New Zealand, trip lengths
or 700mm in length by 1,250mm in footpath riding is banned in many other
for shared e-scooters average about one
width by 1,350mm in height; jurisdictions. This makes it difficult to
kilometre5.
compare safety outcomes with other
• Share schemes for bicycles and e-scooters ° weigh 60kg or less when the vehicle is
countries. However, most e-scooter rider
have the potential to decrease traffic not carrying a person or other load; and
injuries result from falls, rather than
congestion by replacing car trips7. ° has no sharp protrusions. collisions with motor vehicles, even in
However, in many cities e-scooter use • The National Transport Commission5 is countries where most riding is on roads11.
often replaces walking, cycling or public currently reviewing the Australian Road • Most e-scooter rider injuries result from
transport and is for recreation, not Rules to identify any regulatory barriers to falls, not collisions with motor vehicles,
commuting3,4. the safe use of innovative vehicles across even in countries where most riding is on
• Most shared e-scooters are made by the Australia. roads11.
Chinese company Xiaomi/Ninebot/Segway. • The rules for the use of PMDs in • Ambulance and emergency department
They vary in motor wattage, maximum Queensland can be found here. Riders data from Brisbane in early 20195 showed
speed, range, lock-to technology, must: that most injured riders were aged 20-
handlebar adjustment, gyroscope sensors
° Be at least 16 years of age, or 12 with 34 years old and the numbers of males
and accelerometer sensors8, which can
adult supervision; and females were similar. A comparison
with the CARRS-Q study of the number WHAT CAN BE DONE TO IMPROVE physical docks, with or without charging
of riders in the Brisbane CBD3 led the E-SCOOTER SAFETY facilities.
Royal Australasian College of Surgeons to • Operating environments need to provide
conclude that e-scooter riders were twice CARRS-Q WORK IN THIS AREA
sufficient separation from higher-speed
as likely to be injured as bicycle riders. motor vehicles while minimising risks to • International review of the safety of
• Among the patients for whom injury bicycle riders and pedestrians. The level of e-micromobility which has informed
data was available, 10% had minor head safety depends on the maximum speeds at submissions and presentations to
injury, 3% had major head injury, 21% had which the e-scooters can (or are permitted governments.
upper limb fractures and 6% had lower to) travel and the speed of motorised • Series of observational studies of the
limb fractures. Fractures were commonly vehicles and bicycles in those locations. use and behaviour of shared and private
reported in New Zealand12 and US • A recent trend in regulating e-scooter e-scooters and bicycles in central Brisbane
studies5,11,13-16. schemes is to require electronic speed and how they interacted with pedestrians
• Inexperience appears to be a significant control, with lower speeds or lockouts and motor vehicles3.
contributor to crash risk, particularly at high-risk locations (e.g. areas of high
among riders of shared e-scooters. Use pedestrian activity). However, there is less FUTURE DIRECTIONS
of alcohol, speeding and under-age riders opportunity to affect the way in which • Dockless e-scooters have considerable
have also been widely reported5,11,14-15. privately-owned e-scooters are used, and economic advantages over dockless
• Low rates of helmet wearing – even the number of these scooters may increase e-bikes and are likely to dominate the
in Australia – among riders of shared significantly. shared e-mobility market.
e-scooters are contributing to frequent • Submissions to the National Transport • e-Mobility may be incorporated into
head injuries in crashes5,14-15,16. Commission’s current review have Mobility as a Service (MaaS) as shared
• The small size of the wheels on e-scooters suggested that mandatory comprehensive mobility companies are spreading across
has raised concern regarding their stability insurance be required for e-scooters and vehicle types.
on uneven surfaces, particularly footpaths, similar devices, and other organisations
but there is little scientific evaluation of have called for speedometers to be fitted Future research may focus on:
their stability. The size of the wheels can to allow users to comply with speed
• The public health implications and extent
vary considerably, with some shared restrictions5.
of changes from cycling and walking to
e-scooters having larger wheels, and • There is potential to require technological using e-scooters.
possibly better stability. constraints on parking locations as part of
• The safety and amenity of e-scooters on
• Braking problems related to the electronic permits for e-scooter schemes, and also
shared paths and in bicycle lanes. Will bike
control systems have occurred on shared to include penalties for operators who do
paths or shared paths need to be widened
e-scooters in Australia17,18, New Zealand19 not remove illegally parked e-scooters in a
to improve safety and reduce congestion?
and Switzerland20. timely manner. Confiscation is a possible
approach for privately owned e-mobility • Will private use of e-scooters overtake
• There have been issues with firmware shared use? Will currently observed
devices if they are illegally parked.
security and integrity to bypass payment differences in user behaviours between
Provision of dedicated parking is a possible
processes, as well as geofencing and speed shared and private e-scooters continue?
solution to e-scooters blocking public
controls for shared e-scooters17.
space and causing trip hazards8. Virtual • The skills needed for safe e-scootering and
docks might be possible as a lower cost to how they can best be trained.

REFERENCES
Current as at September 2020
1. Society of Automotive Engineers International, “SAE 8. Anderson-Hall K, Bordenkircher B., O’Neil R., Smith C.S., 14. Austin Public Health, “Dockless electric scooter-related
J3194(TM): Taxonomy & classification of powered “ Governing micro-mobility: A nationwide assessment injuries study”, Austin, Texas, 2019.
micromobility vehicles”, SAE International 2019. of electric scooter regulations,” presented at the TRB 15. Badeau A,as
Carman C, Newman
Current at September 2020 M, Steenblik J, Carlson
2. OECD/ITF, “Safe Micromobility,” International Transport 2019 Annual Meeting, Washington D.C., 2019. M, Madsen T, “Emergency department visits for electric
Forum, Paris 2020. 9. Australian Government Department of Infrastructure scooter-related injuries after introduction of an
3. Haworth, N & Schramm, A, “Illegal and risky riding Transport Cities and Regional Development and urban rental program,”American Journal of Emergency
of electric scooters in Brisbane,”Medical Journal of Communications, Non-road vehicle option (2019). Medicine, 37(8), pp. 1531-1533, 2019.
Australia, 211(9), pp. 412-413, 2019. 10. Queensland Government. Rules for personal mobility 16. Trivedi TK, Liu C, Antonio ALM, Wheaton N, Kreger V,
4. NACTO, “Shared micromobility in the U.S.: 2018,” 2019. devices. (2018, Jan 2019). Yap A, et al., “Injuries Associated With Standing Electric
11. Portland Bureau of Transportation, “2018 e-Scooter Scooter Use,” JAMA Network Open, 2(1), e187381, 2019.
5. Submissions to National Transport Commission issues
paper, “Barriers to the safe use of innovative vehicles and findings report,” 2019. 17. R. Barker, “Electric scooters”, Emergency Medicine
motorised mobility devices”. (2019). 12. L.J. Mayhew and C. Bergin, “Impact of e-scooter injuries Australasia, 31(6), pp. 914-915, 2019.

6. L. Stone, “Lime scooters’ Brisbane permit extended to on Emergency Department imaging,” Journal of Medical 18. T. Crockford, “Dangerous glitch sends Brisbane Lime
middle of the year,” in Brisbane Times, ed, 2019. Imaging and Radiation Oncology, 63(4), pp. 461-466, rider flying off scooter,” in Brisbane Times, ed, 2019.
2019. 19. K. Canlas, “E-scooter injury claims cost ACC nearly
7. A. Vishwanath, H. S. Gan, S. Kalyanaraman, S. Winter,
and I. Mareels, “Personalised Public Transportation: 13. M. Aizpuru, K.X. Farley, J.C. Rojas, R.S. Crawford, T.J. $740,000,” in Insurance Business, 2019.
A new mobility model for urban and suburban Moore, and E.R. Wagner, “Motorized scooter injuries 20. T. Crockford, “Lime lifts price before rolling out ‘Rolls-
transportation,” in 17th International IEEE Conference in the era of scooter-shares: A review of the national Royce’ model for Brisbane,” in Brisbane Times, ed, 2019.
on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSC), 2014, pp. electronic surveillance system,” American Journal of
1831-1836. Emergency Medicine, 37(6), pp. 1133-1138, 2019.

Phone +61 (0)7 3138 4568


Email marketing.carrsq@qut.edu.au
Twitter @CARRS_Q
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Current as at April 2020

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