E-scooter operators strongly in favor of alco limit for micro mobility
HUS gathered data on e-scooter accidents in the Helsinki region during last summer and published the results on Monday 13th of June. During 2021, there were 446 e-scooter related injuries, out of which 257 were minor. In 2021, 24 364 622 kilometers were ridden on e-scooters in Helsinki, which is equivalent to 11 709 3251 rides in total. The Nordic Micromobility Association members take the injury numbers very seriously and urge the decision-makers to take action on introducing an alco limit for micro mobility. Since the summer of 2021, many actions have been taken to decrease the number of accidents.
“We are committed to vision zero and work tirelessly to cut the number of accidents,” says the members of Nordic Micromobility Association, “Today the risk of being involved in an e-scooter accident is 0,002 percent per ridden kilometer in Helsinki, or approximately 1 out of 26 000 rides. As we anticipated, HUS’s results indicate that riding under influence is one of the major contributors for those e-scooter accidents that require medical care. Drunk driving cases with cars have killed an average of 47 people and injured 430 a year in the last three years in Finland2. Alcohol never belongs in traffic regardless of mode of transport. Unfortunately, many still ride intoxicated with micro mobility vehicles as well. This is why we have proposed introducing an alco limit for micro mobility, like for cars, like in Norway, a development many road safety experts agree with. A legal limit would raise the bar for riding and drinking and would decrease the number of accidents, so we urge the decision-makers to take action on this. We also need to educate all road users on safe behavior.”
E-scooter operators take the injury numbers very seriously and work actively together with the city of Helsinki and other stakeholders to decrease the number of accidents. In summer 2021, the e-scooter operators voluntarily agreed on a temporary weekend night closure, lowering of speed limits, the introduction of a beginner mode where first-time-users have the max speed significantly lowered and other measures to prevent further injuries while the causes and preventive measures are being investigated.
Night closure not a permanent solution
The NMA members don’t see night closure as a long-term solution.
“Shared micro mobility is an important mode of transportation for many, e-scooters are extremely popular and the number of users and rides is constantly growing. Our data shows that most people use micro mobility to run everyday errands and for commuting. A night closure is especially problematic for those that work early or late shifts on weekends, as public transportation schedules are poor during nighttime and micro mobility gets them home safely and effortlessly. Many were extremely disappointed with the night closure on weekends. A night closure also hinders the sustainable mobility transition, as people need to be able to trust that there is shared mobility available when they need it or they cannot give up on their private cars', the NMA members explain.
A wide study on e-scooter accidents currently being made
A wider study on e-scooter accidents is currently being made by Aalto University’s researchers together with the e-scooter operators, HUS, the city of Helsinki and a number of other key stakeholders with the aim to find the most effective measures to improve e-scooter safety. The study will be published in autumn. In the preliminary results the role of poor infrastructure for micro mobility in Helsinki has been highlighted as a main cause for accidents.
The NMA members wait for the results of the study to be published and are prepared to take data-driven actions. “In Finland we still have relatively poor data around accidents compared to, for example, Sweden. Hence, it is good that more data is now being collected, as data-driven decision-making is vital, especially because e-scooters are a relatively new mode of transportation, and we are still in a phase of a modal shift in our societies. In Sweden we have seen a positive trend and have managed to lower the number of accidents year by year even though there have been more rides (accidents in 2020: 0,005 % per driven km or 1 in 13 000 trips, accidents in 2021: 0,004 % per driven km or 1 in 15 000 trips3)”, the NMA members says, “An alco limit, better infrastructure and safety education are the cornerstones.”
Following an analysis of accident data in Sweden, the Swedish Transport Agency has pointed out that the risk is just as great of suffering a minor, moderately serious and serious injury in the event of an accident with a bicycle, electric bicycle or electric scooter. A conclusion that can be drawn from this is that it is important to work for improved road safety for bicycles in general, not just for electric scooters.
1. Aggregated data from all companies that were active in Helsinki during 2021
2. https://www.liikenneturva.fi/en/road-safety/drink-driving/
3. The number of accidents is taken from the Swedish Transport Agency's “Olycksstatistik om fem fordonstyper 2021-11-15”. The report only reports the number of accidents from 1 January to 31 August in 2021. The number of journeys and kilometers traveled is based on a compilation of the companies' own data. https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.di.se/debatt/debatt-vi-har-en-nollvision-for-elsparkcykelolyckor/&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1654686853729789&usg=AOvVaw2jpmybdn8m4DFAN3EpOMXs
Contact details
Elin Ulfhammer
The NMA secretariat
info@nordicmicromobility.com
About NMA
The Nordic Micromobility Association is a joint initiative by micromobility companies primarily e-scooter operators. The association works to promote the industry, encourage competition, and continue to establish dialogue with cities and governments across the Nordics. Our primary goal is to maintain high standards of scooter operations across the Nordic countries in line with our existing agreements in cities. Our members are Bird, Bolt, Dott, Lime, Superpedestrian, TIER and Voi.