IIHS speed limit study reveals e-scooter safety riddle

Stricter speed limits might be pushing electric scooter travelers onto the sidewalks, a new study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety suggests.

The nonprofit research organization compared scooter use in Austin, Texas, where the speed limit for scooter travel is 20 mph, and Washington D.C., where it is 10 mph. Where bike lanes are not present, D.C. riders were 44 percent more likely to venture off the streets and onto the sidewalk than in Austin. This was true even when road traffic was heavier in Austin and when pedestrian and cyclist populations were denser in D.C.

Scooters find themselves in the rapidly evolving field of micromobility, where riders are negotiating modes of travel that are slower than traditional vehicles but faster than pedestrian foot traffic. The difference in speed in both situations presents problems, Jessica Cicchino, author of the IIHS study, told Automotive News. A separate IIHS study in D.C. found that while scooter injuries are more severe on the roads, injuries are most common on the sidewalks.

Cities and scooter companies find themselves negotiating this “trade-off,” with many of the safety implications of new regulations still unclear, Cicchino said. Car-centric urban planning has posed a challenge across the micromobility sector and experts believe expanded scooter and e-bike use will require rethinking transportation and infrastructure.

Creating opportunities for scooter riders to travel alongside those moving at a similar speed, such as cyclists, is another potential strategy to limit unsafe interactions, Cicchino said. IIHS’ speed limit study found that 80 percent of e-scooter riders in both cities chose to use a bike lane when it was available.

“The more vulnerable road users that you have that might interact with cars, the more important it is to design roads in ways that make it harder to speed, to have more traffic calming or have speed limits that are appropriate for everybody who’s using the road,” Cicchino said.