“When working with road safety, it is important to understand that electric scooters not only meet mobility needs in cities but are also used for pleasure. Unfortunately, it is clear that leisure riding in some cases leads to dangerous behaviors that increase crash risks,” said Marco Dozza, professor of Active Safety and Road User Behaviour at Chalmers and one of the authors behind the recently published study.

A phenomenon that was discovered surprised the researchers and clearly differs from studies of other vehicle types: in 20 percent of safety-critical events, the rider deliberately created a risk situation or collision while driving.

Because the incidents were intentional, they were not included in the analysis of crash risks, but Marco Dozza sees significant concerns with this behavior, which he thinks can be likened to a type of vandalism. He points out that there are not the same established social norms for the use of electric scooters as for other types of vehicles.

“This behavior seems to be specific to electric scooters. The lack of ownership because the electric scooters are rented may make the rider feel less responsible for the vehicle and care less about the consequences of a crash,” he says.

Odd riding behavior reduces focus

According to Marco Dozza, the study shows that it is primarily the rider’s behavior that causes crashes, not the electric scooter.

“There are significantly more varied, strange and dangerous behaviors among electric scooter riders compared to other road users,” he says.

And the dangerous behaviors have consequences.

The study shows that riding with only one hand on the handlebar increases the risk of crashing by six times.

Riding together in a group or using a mobile phone during the journey, almost triples the risk of a crash occurring.

“It is not possible to steer and brake with an electric scooter in the same way as with a bicycle, so riding with one hand on the handlebar is significantly more difficult – and dangerous – than many people might think. The results confirm how important it is not to be distracted while driving. Looking at your mobile phone or riding with many people in a group can take the focus away from driving and the surrounding environment,” he said.

A take away from the study is the importance of experience when riding an electric scooter.

“The risk of being involved in a crash is greatest the first time you ride an electric scooter. For those who have ridden less than five times, the risk is still more than twice as high,” he said.

Another conclusion is that the type of trip the electric scooter is used for matters a lot. Commuting to and from work or to another designated point, leads to fewer crashes than more aimless riding or riding where the user takes detours on the way to the destination.

Unexpected number of incidents with cars

Of the critical events analyzed, almost 20 percent involved other electric scooters, 16 percent pedestrians and 5 percent bicycles. Most critical events, 30 percent, occurred with cars.

“Since bicycles and electric scooters should be ridden on bike lanes, I had expected more conflicts with bicycles. The fact that so many cars are involved suggests that many crashes may occur when the electric scooter is ridden outside the bike lanes or when there is no bike infrastructure available. The risk of crashes is greatest at intersections, and my impression, even though this is not something that the study has concluded, is that it may be difficult for motorists to see the electric scooter riders in time, especially if they are not riding on a bike path,” he said.

Technical solutions could improve the traffic safety of electric scooters, the researchers said.

For example, technology can warn of dangerous situations and remind the rider to keep both hands on the handlebars.

Technology can also keep track of how the driver is using the vehicle and identify whether it is being ridden as part of a ‘pack’ or if the rider is using a phone at the same time.

Geofencing can employ this information to automatically adapt vehicle speed to crash risk.

Dozzo said the combination of behavioral changes and technology could reduce the number of crashes.

“Parents can teach their children to ride an electric scooter in the same way as they teach them to ride a bike. Maybe there is a need for education, and preferably practical training, to be able to rent an electric scooter,” he added.

The study was funded by the Swedish Transport Administration.

“This is an important research project because it concerns a new, relatively underresearched area, where accidents increase in line with use. The results show that a combination of training and technical solutions on the electric scooter can be effective in reducing accidents and injuries,” says Rikard Fredriksson, senior expert in vehicle safety at the Swedish Transport Administration and adjunct Professor, Division of Vehicle Safety, Chalmers University of Technology.

Data was acquired from 17 extra-equipped electric scooters for rent in Gothenburg, Sweden, and data was collected from 6,868 trips made by 4,694 electric scooter riders over a total distance of 9,930 kilometers. Data included speed, accelerations, and how the brakes were used. The vehicles were also equipped with cameras aimed forward to facilitate the analysis of risky situations.

Risk factors when riding an electric scooter

The figures indicate how much the risk of crashes and safety-critical events increases with different behaviors and types of conflict vehicle.

Riding — Number of times increased risk of safety-critical events

• One-handed control: 6.5
• Riding in a group (pack riding): 2.7
• Mobile use while riding: 2.7
• Rider experience ≤ 5 trips: 2.2

Type of trip — Number of times increased risk of safety-critical events

• Aimless riding/detours vs point to point: 4.9
• Leisure riding vs commuting: 2.4

The proportion of vehicles involved in safety-critical incidents

• Passenger car and van: 30.2 percent
• Electric scooter: 19 percent
• Pedestrian: 15.9 percent
• Bicycle: 4.8 percent

Chalmers University of Technology. (2025, March 25). E-scooter crashes mainly caused by reckless driving. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 26, 2025 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/03/250325115839.htm