As E-Scooter Use Booms, So Do Safety Concerns

The rapid proliferation of e-scooters (electric scooters) in recent years on U.S. roads and sidewalks has brought about a number of welcome changes, from increasing exercise opportunities and positive impacts on the environment and the economy, to better options for getting around more easily and inexpensively.

But along with these benefits come notable safety challenges, and work must be done to address regulatory, infrastructure and educational deficiencies that are putting riders at risk.

Those are some of the main highlights of a new report, E-scooter Safety: Issues and Solutions, released earlier this month by the Transportation Research Board (TRB), intended to help navigate safety issues.

The new resource identifies emerging behavioral safety issues arising from the expanding use of e-scooters and discusses what cities are doing to prevent and mitigate injuries.