Impacts of Speed on Dockless Electric Scooter Crashes
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2022-09-01
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Edition:Interim Report
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Abstract:E-scooters have been praised for being an answer to some classical mobility problems, like the last-mile problem, but have not been well-studied in terms of their risks and dangers. Dockless scooters entered the micro-mobility scene in the United States around 2017 and by 2018 had already appeared in at least 100 cities across the country. In addition to helping bridge the gap for the last-mile travel, they have also been viewed positively because of their potential to shift trips away from private vehicles, reduce one’s carbon footprint, and opening the door for more travel options for underserved communities. Still, e-scooter safety issues like their speed capabilities, have not been studied well. Transportation safety analysts have recognized the relationship between speed and fatality crashes, but speed limits for scooters have not been formally established. E-scooters can reach up to 17 mph in some cases with that number only increasing when traveling downhill. Some cities and other entities have recognized the issues with these high speeds and low-level of protection that e-scooters offer and have tried to implement safety countermeasures through geofencing. Geofencing essentially functions as a digital governor that limits scooter operations, like parking ability, speed, or even hours of operation, within a defined geographical area. The geofencing solution has been implemented in places where scooters are highly used, like universities or tourist areas. However, few studies have conducted before and after analyses of these measures and it is hard to know whether or not they truly are effective at preventing serious injuries and crashes. This report provides and overview of the typical ways geo-fencing can improve user safety, statewide rules regarding the implementation of geofencing for e-scooters, and an overview of cities that have implemented geofencing and any issues that they faced. The objective of this report is to provide an inventory of places that have implemented geofencing to improve safety. This inventory will form a basis for further study and in-depth review. Most places that implemented geofences did so in 2019 and only provide a short window of after observations after being interrupted by the pandemic, which poses a significant challenge for conducting an analysis. Future planned work includes leveraging this inventory to conduct a comparative analysis of crash frequency and server for e-scooter crashes before and after the implementation of geofencing to control speeds.
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