Electric scooter safety: An integrative review of evidence from transport and medical research domains

Kazemzadeh, Khashayar; Haghani, Milad; Sprei, Frances · 2022 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.1016/j.scs.2022.104313

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Summary

This integrative review addresses the critical safety challenges associated with the rapid adoption of electric scooters (e-scooters), a mode of transport that poses significant risks to riders and other road users. Motivated by the lack of comprehensive safety studies in the transport domain and the need to bridge gaps between transport engineering and medical evidence, the authors systematically reviewed peer-reviewed literature to identify safety concerns, accident patterns, and regulatory implications. The study aims to provide evidence-based recommendations for policymakers and researchers to facilitate the safe integration of e-scooters into sustainable urban mobility systems. The researchers employed a systematic literature review methodology guided by the PRISMA framework. They searched the Scopus database in July 2021 using keywords related to e-scooters, safety, accidents, and micromobility, supplemented by forward and backward searches on Google Scholar. From an initial pool of 2,588 publications, they applied strict inclusion and exclusion criteria, focusing primarily on transport research and secondarily on medical studies regarding collision severity and safety gear. Ultimately, 108 peer-reviewed English-language articles were fully reviewed and analyzed. The findings highlight several key safety issues. First, the dockless sharing model contributes to safety risks through miss-parked scooters, which obstruct sidewalks and increase the likelihood of single collisions due to reduced visibility and evasive maneuvers. Second, significant conflicts arise from the speed differential between e-scooters and pedestrians, particularly in narrow off-road facilities. The review identifies head and face injuries as the most common injury types in collisions. Socio-demographic analysis reveals that male riders and young adults (18–44 years) are disproportionately involved in accidents, potentially due to risky behaviors, distraction, and lack of experience. Accidents frequently occur outside business hours and on weekends, suggesting links to recreational use and riding under the influence. The authors also emphasize the need for surrogate safety measures, such as time-to-collision and hindrance metrics, to assess safety without relying solely on rare accident records. The significance of this study lies in its call for uniform regulations and targeted safety interventions. The authors conclude that the absence of consistent rules for safety gear and riding under the influence hinders safe adoption. They recommend the implementation of precise geofencing for parking to mitigate infrastructure conflicts and the adoption of surrogate safety indicators to evaluate interactions with other road users. By integrating transport and medical perspectives, the review provides a foundational agenda for future research and policy-making, urging planners to address specific risk factors such as rider demographics, infrastructure design, and behavioral patterns to ensure the sustainable integration of e-scooters.

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• micromobility e scooter