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Electric scooters (or e-scooters) are among the most popular micromobility options that have experienced an enormous expansion in urban transportation systems across the world in recent years. Along with the increased usage of e-scooters, the increasing number of e-scooter-related injuries has also become an emerging global public health concern. However, little is known regarding the risk factors for e-scooter-related crashes and injury crashes. This study consisted of a two-phase survey questionnaire administered to a cohort of e-scooter riders (n = 210), which obtained exposure information on riders’ demographics, riding behaviors (including infrastructure selection), helmet use, and other crash-related factors. The risk ratios of riders’ self-reported involvement in an e-scooter-related crash (i.e., any crash versus no crash) and injury crash (i.e., injury crash versus non-injury crash) were estimated across exposure subcategories using the Negative Binomial regression approach. Males and frequent users of e-scooters were associated with an increased risk of e-scooter-related crashes of any type. For the e-scooter-related injury crashes, more frequently riding on bike lanes (i.e., greater than 25% of the time), either protected or unprotected, was identified as a protective factor. E-scooter-related injury crashes were more likely to occur among females, who reported riding on sidewalks and non-paved surfaces more frequently. The study may help inform public policy regarding e-scooter legislation and prioritize efforts to establish suitable road infrastructure for improved e-scooter riding safety.
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Autonomous Scooter Navigation for People with Mobility Challenges
Despite the technical success of existing assistive technologies, for example, electric wheelchairs and scooters, they are still far from effective enough in helping the blind and elderly navigate to their destinations in a hassle-free manner. Riders often face challenges in driving scooters in some indoor and crowded places, especially on sidewalks with numerous obstacles and other pedestrians. People with certain disabilities, such as the blind, are often unable to drive their scooters well enough. In this paper, we propose to improve the safety and autonomy of the navigation by designing a cutting-edge autonomous scooter, which allows people with mobility challenges to navigate independently and safely in possibly unfamiliar surroundings. We focus on the localization and navigation challenges for the autonomous scooter where the current location, maps, and nearby obstacles are unknown. Solving these challenges will enable the scooter to both travel within buildings and perform tight maneuvers in densely crowds automatically.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1637371
- PAR ID:
- 10092487
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- 2018 IEEE International Conference on Cognitive Computing (ICCC)
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Conference Paper:
- https://doi.org/10.1109/ICCC.2018.00020
