Micromobility Safety Regulation: Municipal Best Practices Review

As rented and shared micromobility options, e-scooters are new and potentially transformative app-based modes that promise to alleviate first mile/last mile mobility issues, congestion, and more. Yet their safe deployment has not yet been systematically understood or standardized by users, cities, or operators. As of December 2019, 1,500 people had been injured and 8 killed in e-scooter crashes. These devices are not yet regulated by a federal agency like the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) or the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), and their use is not uniformly regulated at the municipal level. Some jurisdictions are imposing strict regulations across a region, regardless of density levels or urban design, while others have not imposed any rules at all. Without further understanding of what constitutes effective local regulation, the safe operation of these devices may not improve. This project explores what types of regulations municipalities and regions are imposing in an effort to address the safe deployment of these micromobility options.

Language

  • English

Project

  • Status: Active
  • Funding: $120500
  • Contract Numbers:

    69A3551747115

  • Sponsor Organizations:

    Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

    University Transportation Centers Program
    Department of Transportation
    Washington, DC  United States  20590
  • Managing Organizations:

    Safety through Disruption University Transportation Center (Safe-D)

    Virginia Tech Transportation Institute
    Blacksburg, VA  United States  24060
  • Project Managers:

    Glenn, Eric

  • Performing Organizations:

    Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI)

    400 Harvey Mitchell Parkway South
    Suite 300
    College Station, TX  United States  77845-4375
  • Principal Investigators:

    Stoeltje, Gretchen

    Fletcher, Ashley

    Simek, Chris

    Zmud, Johanna

    Geiselbrecht, Tina

    Hansen, Todd

  • Start Date: 20200901
  • Expected Completion Date: 20230113
  • Actual Completion Date: 0
  • USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers Program

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01745346
  • Record Type: Research project
  • Source Agency: Safety through Disruption University Transportation Center (Safe-D)
  • Contract Numbers: 69A3551747115
  • Files: UTC, RIP
  • Created Date: Jul 15 2020 9:46PM