E-scooter crashes mainly caused by reckless driving

Chalmers University of Technology

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Marco Dozza, Professor, Division of Vehicle Safety, Department of Mechanics and Maritime Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden

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Credit: Chalmers University of Technology | Hanna Magnusson

Crashes on electric scooters are mostly due to the behaviour of the riders, with one-handed steering and riding in a group being some of the largest risk factors. The researchers are also concerned about riders who deliberately crash or cause dangerous situations when riding, a phenomenon that seems to be specific to electric scooters. This is shown by a study from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, which for the first time examines the causes behind crashes with electric scooters from naturalistic data within an urban environment.

The arrival of electric scooters in cities has meant an opportunity to quickly and smoothly make shorter trips. But not everyone is using them to simply get from A to B.

"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 behaviours that increase crash risks," says Marco Dozza, Professor of Active Safety and Road User Behaviour at Chalmers and one of the authors behind the recently published study.

The study is the first of its kind and is an investigation of risk factors and causes of crashes with electric scooters in urban environments. While the findings clearly show that the vast majority of e-scooter riders do not demonstrate risky behaviour, the study focused on the safety-critical events. 

Using advanced technology and cameras attached to the vehicles, data was collected from almost 7 000 trips with rented electric scooters. This data allowed the researchers to examine the causes of the 61 safety-critical events that were identified, including 19 crashes and 42 “near-crashes”– critical situations that could have led to a crash.

A phenomenon that was discovered surprised the researchers and clearly differs from studies of other vehicle types: in 20 per cent 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 behaviour, 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 behaviour 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 behaviour reduces focus

According to Marco Dozza, the study shows that it is primarily the rider's behaviour that causes crashes, not the electric scooter as such.

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

And the dangerous behaviours have consequences. The study shows, for example, 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 says.

An important 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 says.

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 analysed, almost 20 percent involved other electric scooters, 16 per cent pedestrians and 5 percent bicycles. Most critical events, 30 percent, occurred with cars. As an unprotected road user, you risk serious injury from a car crash, points out Marco Dozza, who is somewhat surprised by the results.

"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 says.

According to the researchers, technical solutions can improve the traffic safety of electric scooters. 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.

At the same time, Marco Dozza believes that it is behavioural changes, possibly nudged by technology, that can make the biggest difference to road safety in the short run. He is convinced that education and training are important ways to 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 says.

The study has been funded by the Swedish Transport Administration.

"This is an important research project because it concerns a new, relatively unresearched 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.

More about the research

The study, Understanding factors influencing e-scooterist crash risk: A naturalistic study of rental e-scooters in an urban area was published in Accident Analysis & Prevention.

The authors are Rahul Rajendra Pai and Marco Dozza at Chalmers University of Technology. The study was funded by the Swedish Transport Administration, within the FFI project e-SAFER, led by Chamers. 

How the study was conducted
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 kilometres. 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 many times the risk of crashes and safety-critical events increases with different behaviours 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 per cent
Electric scooter: 19 per cent
Pedestrian: 15.9 per cent
Bicycle : 4,8 per cent

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Journal

Accident Analysis & Prevention

DOI

10.1016/j.aap.2024.107839 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Article Title

Understanding factors influencing e-scooterist crash risk: A naturalistic study of rental e-scooters in an urban area

 

Amplified global heating risk due to climate and carbon cycle feedbacks

Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK)

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Global heating over this millennium could exceed previous estimates due to carbon cycle feedback loops. This is the conclusion of a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). The analysis shows that achieving the Paris Agreement’s aim of limiting global temperature rise to well below 2°C is only feasible under very low emission scenarios, and if climate sensitivity is lower than current best estimates. The paper is the first to make long-term projections over the next 1,000 years while accounting for currently established carbon cycle feedbacks, including methane.

“Our study demonstrates that even in emission scenarios typically considered ‘safe’, where global warming is generally considered to remain below 2°C, climate and carbon cycle feedbacks, like the thawing of permafrost, could lead to temperature increases substantially above this threshold,” says PIK scientist Christine Kaufhold, lead author of the paper published in Environmental Research Letters. 

“We found that peak warming could be much higher than previously expected under low-to-moderate emission scenarios.” The study projects the long-term impacts of human-induced climate change and underlines that even small changes in emissions could lead to far greater warming than previously anticipated, further complicating efforts to meet the Paris Agreement targets. “This highlights the urgent need for even faster carbon reduction and removal efforts,” Kaufhold says.

Most studies are too short-term to capture peak warming, as they end by 2100 or 2300. By running longer simulations and incorporating all major carbon cycle feedbacks, including the methane cycle, the researchers were able to assess the potential additional warming from these feedbacks and estimate the possible peak warming. 

The team used PIK’s newly developed Earth system model CLIMBER-X to simulate future climate scenarios over the next millennium under three low-to-moderate emissions trajectories – pathways that align with recent decarbonisation trends. CLIMBER-X integrates key physical, biological and geochemical processes, including atmospheric and oceanic conditions. It also represents an interactive carbon cycle, including methane, to simulate how the Earth system responds to different climate forcings, such as human-made greenhouse gas emissions.

Climate sensitivity shaping future climate outcomes

The study’s simulations consider a range of equilibrium climate sensitivities (ECSs) between 2°C and 5°C, defined as “very likely” by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The ECS is a critical measure in climate science, estimating the global temperature rise associated with a doubling of CO₂ concentrations. 

“Our results show that the Paris Agreement’s goal is only achievable under very low emission scenarios and if the ECS is lower than current best estimates of 3°C,” says PIK scientist Matteo Willeit, co-author of the study. “If the ECS exceeds 3°C, carbon reduction must accelerate even more quickly than previously thought to keep the Paris target within reach.” The paper highlights the important role ECS plays in shaping future climate outcomes while revealing the risks of failing to accurately estimate ECS. It emphasises the urgent need to more accurately quantify this metric and better constrain it.

“Our research makes it unmistakably clear: today’s actions will determine the future of life on this planet for centuries to come,” concludes PIK director Johan Rockström, co-author of the paper. “The window for limiting global warming to below 2°C is rapidly closing. We are already seeing signs that the Earth system is losing resilience, which may trigger feedbacks that increase climate sensitivity, accelerate warming and increase deviations from predicted trends. To secure a liveable future, we must urgently step up our efforts to reduce emissions. The Paris Agreement’s goal is not just a political target, it is a fundamental physical limit.”
 

Article: Kaufhold, C., Willeit, M., Talento, S., Ganopolski, A., Rockström, J. (2025): Interplay between climate and carbon cycle feedbacks could substantially enhance future warming. Environmental Research Letters. [DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/adb6be]

Weblink to the article: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/adb6be

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Journal

Environmental Research Letters

DOI

10.1088/1748-9326/adb6be 

Method of Research

Computational simulation/modeling

Article Title

Interplay between climate and carbon cycle feedbacks could substantially enhance future warming.

Article Publication Date

24-Mar-2025

 

They’d rather die: the lesson that male roundworms refuse to learn

Researchers found that male worms do not learn from experience as well as females do – and discovered the neural receptor responsible, which also exists in humans

Weizmann Institute of Science

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In human society, men tend to be seen as risk-takers, while women are seen as being more cautious. According to evolutionary psychologists, this difference developed in the wake of threats to each sex, and their respective needs. While such generalizations are, of course, too binary and simplistic to faithfully describe complex and multifaceted human behavior, clearcut differences between females and males are often evident in other animals, even in simple organisms such as worms. In a new study published in Nature Communications, Weizmann Institute of Science researchers showed that male worms are worse at learning from experience and find it hard to avoid taking risks – even at the cost of their own lives – and that allowing them to mate with members of the opposite sex improves these capabilities. The scientists also discovered a protein, evolutionarily conserved in creatures from worms all the way to humans, that appears to be responsible for the different learning abilities of the two sexes.

C. elegans, a tiny roundworm, is a perfect model for investigating the fundamental genetic differences between the sexes, since the sex of the worm is determined by genes alone, without any hormonal or other factors. These worms are divided into two sexes: males, and females that are actually hermaphrodites that also produce male sex cells and can either fertilize themselves or mate with males.

The tiny worms have simple nervous systems made up of just a few hundred nerve cells, and they are the only organism for which scientists have mapped all of the neuronal connections in both sexes. At the start of their lifecycle, there is no difference between these connections in the two sexes; the differences appear after the worms reach sexual maturity. Researchers in Dr. Meital Oren-Suissa’s lab in Weizmann’s Brain Sciences and Molecular Neuroscience Departments take advantage of the opportunity presented by these worms to reveal the fundamental differences between the brains and nervous systems of males versus those of females.

"We know that male worms will abandon food to look for a mate, so it is possible that their urge to procreate overcomes other evolutionary pressures"

In their new study, the researchers focused on the differences in the learning processes between the sexes. Roundworms get their nourishment from bacteria and, unfortunately for them, are particularly attracted to the odor of one disease-causing bacterium that, if they consume it, harms them. The scientists posed a key question: Can the worms of both sexes learn to avoid this bacterium? The team, led by doctoral student Sonu Peedikayil-Kurien from Oren-Suissa’s group, began their study with “training,” growing worms of both sexes separately and feeding them a diet of the harmful bacterium. After this training, the worms were moved to a “test” dish, where they were free to choose between the toxic bacterium and another one that, while less tempting, would not harm them in any way. The female worms quickly learned to draw a link between the odor of the harmful bacteria and the disease that it causes, and therefore chose to eat from the other bacterium. Most males, however, failed to learn and continued consuming the harmful bacterium, even though they got just as sick: The bacterium entered their digestive systems, secreted toxins and caused an immune response. When the researchers waited for a longer period, a few of the males eventually learned to avoid the harmful bacterium, but only after they were severely infected, became ill and many of them died.

After exposure to the harmful bacterium, female roundworms (in the left window) chose to get their nourishment from a less tempting but harmless source. The males, in contrast, were still attracted to the harmful bacterium (right window), despite continuing to get just as sick as the females

Armed with these findings, the researchers started to look for differences in the nervous system activity of both sexes. Worms have two types of neurons involved in sensing smells: One is responsible for attraction and the other for repulsion. When these cells are activated, they fill up with calcium ions that can be labeled, enabling monitoring of the neural activity in the transparent worms. This allowed the researchers to determine that in female worms – and only in female worms – the neuron responsible for the sense of repulsion became significantly more active in response to the disease that the worms contracted as a result of eating the attractive bacterium. Apparently, that was the conditioning that would later guide them to get their nutrition from a different source.

Gut learning

During the next stage of the study, researchers tried to understand the differences between the sexes at the genetic and molecular levels. “Using genetic engineering, we created female worms with male nervous systems – and we observed a dramatic drop in their ability to learn,” says Peedikayil-Kurien. “On the other hand, in order to get male worms to start linking the digestive system disease to the smell of the bacterium, simply changing the sex of their nervous systems was not enough. We also had to change the sex of their digestive systems. This and other findings led us to postulate that the digestive and nervous systems communicate with one another – possibly using neuropeptides, short proteins that attach themselves to neurons and affect them – and that this communication represses the worms’ ability to learn.”

With the assistance of Weizmann’s Crown Institute for Genomics, the research team examined the changes to gene expression in males that survived exposure to both types of bacteria – that is, those that learned how to steer clear of the danger – and found that there was a decrease in the expression of the npr-5 receptor in their brains. When the researchers created male worms that did not have this receptor, the worms were able to learn; when they put npr-5 back into the worms’ sensory neurons alone, the worms once again lost their learning ability. As a result, the researchers concluded that this receptor is responsible for suppressing sensory learning in males.

Learning from experience and developing a sense of repulsion from danger are important survival tools. Why, then, is this ability suppressed in males? “We know that male worms will abandon food to look for a mate, so it is possible that their urge to procreate overcomes other evolutionary pressures, such as the need to avoid danger,” Oren-Suissa suggests. “One important point that we discovered in this context is that when we allowed male worms to mate with female worms during the ‘training’ period, we saw that their ability to learn from experience improved. In fact, you could say that the receptor we identified is responsible for the fact that males will prioritize reproduction over learning from experience as part of their decision-making process.”

The receptor that the Weizmann researchers identified in worms has a counterpart in mammals, including humans. In mammals, it is activated by a neuropeptide known as NPY, which has been linked in previous studies to a sense of stress, eating control and many other processes. “In past studies, scientists discovered that female mice have lower levels of NPY than males, and they postulated that this is why they are more sensitive to stress in response to danger,” Oren-Suissa explains. “This assumption fits nicely with our findings, which show that repulsion from danger is accompanied by a decrease in the expression of the receptor. Human disorders such as PTSD and anxiety, which entail negative feelings toward what is perceived as danger, are more common among women. Even though human behavior is far more complex, our study lays the groundwork for understanding the differences between the sexes in more complex organisms.”

Science Numbers

PTSD is diagnosed in 5-6 percent of men and 10-12 percent of women. The anxiety disorder is also 1.7 times more common among women than men.

Also participating in the study were Dr. Rizwanul Haque and Dr. Asaf Gat from Weizmann’s Brain Sciences Department.

Dr. Meital Oren-Suissa's research is supported by the Swiss Society Center for Research on Perception and Action; the Sagol Weizmann-MIT Bridge Program; Merav and Shlomo (Salo) Mandelbaum; and the Jenna and Julia Birnbach Family Career Development Chair.

 

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Journal

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-025-55950-7 

Article Title

Modulation by NPY/NPF-like receptor underlies experience-dependent, sexually dimorphic learning

 

New EU project will bridge Intellectual Property and Open Science to boost knowledge valorization

The newly-funded Horizon Europe project IP4OS will empower multi-professional teams across Europe with tools and practices to align Intellectual Property (IP) management with Open Science (OS) principles

Pensoft Publishers

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Credit: IP4OS

The successful valorisation of research knowledge is critical to advancing Europe’s economic, digital, ecological, and social transformation. Achieving this requires a seamless integration of Intellectual Property (IP) management and Open Science (OS) practices, ensuring that research outputs are both protected and widely accessible.

Addressing this, the IP4OS project (Intellectual Property for Open Science) will leverage the synergy between IP tools and OS principles to ensure research outputs are more FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Re-usable), promoting sustainable innovation and collaboration across Europe.

IP4OS, which began on the 1st of January, and launched its activities with a Kick-off meeting in Brussels on 8 and 9 January 2025, brings together a multi-professional consortium of eight partner institutions from six European countries, working to create practical strategies for knowledge valorisation. Coordinated by Kiel University (CAU), the project will run for 24 months.

A key component of the project is the formation of multi-professional teams within research institutions. These teams will provide hands-on support at every stage of the research cycle, helping researchers navigate the complexities of knowledge valorisation. By balancing openness with strategic protection - applying the principle of "as open as possible, as closed as necessary" - IP4OS will ensure that research findings can be both shared and commercially leveraged when appropriate.

To achieve its objectives, IP4OS will conduct an extensive survey of good practices, identify knowledge gaps, and create educational resources to empower professionals and institutions. The project will track its impact across multiple dimensions, including knowledge sharing, professional empowerment, scientific progress, economic growth, and social innovation. Special attention will be given to fostering inclusivity, research integrity, and ecological responsibility.

By enhancing the understanding and application of IP and OS, IP4OS is set to redefine the European research landscape, enabling more effective dissemination and utilisation of knowledge. 

Stay updated on IP4OS news by following the project on LinkedIn, BlueSky, and YouTube, or visiting the official website at ip4os.eu.

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This project receives funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme (Grant Agreement ID: 101059592). Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the EU nor the EC can be held responsible for them.

 

Study evaluates airborne transmission risk of mpox compared to COVID-19 and smallpox

The study demonstrates the power of computational modelling in advancing infectious disease research

Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore

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SINGAPORE – A collaborative research effort between the A*STAR Infectious Diseases Labs (A*STAR IDL) and the A*STAR Institute of High Performance Computing (A*STAR IHPC) has provided new insights into the likelihood of mpox spreading by airborne respiratory particles, comparing it to SARS-CoV-2 and smallpox. The interdisciplinary study, published in The Lancet Microbe, underscores the importance of computational modelling in infectious disease research, combining virology and simulations to assess potential viral transmission risks.

Investigating the Potential for Airborne Transmission

The study addresses a critical question in public health: could mpox evolve to become efficiently airborne like its viral relative, smallpox? While close physical contact remains the dominant mode of transmission, the presence of mpox virus in respiratory fluids, such as mucus and saliva, raises concerns about possible aerosol transmission under certain conditions.

To investigate this, researchers integrated virological data with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to model the transmission of respiratory aerosols in a typical indoor setting. Their findings reveal that the inhaled infectious dose of mpox is at least 100 times lower than that of SARS-CoV-2 and smallpox, making efficient respiratory aerosol transmission highly unlikely in its current form. However, the study suggests that future viral evolution could alter this dynamic, underscoring the need for continued surveillance.

Interdisciplinary Collaboration for Public Health Insights

“This research is a testament to the power of interdisciplinary collaboration,” said Dr Matthew Tay, corresponding author and Principal Scientist at A*STAR IDL. “By combining expertise in virology with advanced computational modelling from our colleagues at A*STAR IHPC, we have been able to quantitatively address a key question in mpox transmission that would otherwise be almost impossible to study experimentally.”

Dr Fong Yew Leong, first author and Principal Scientist from A*STAR IHPC, further emphasised the role of computational methods in infectious disease research. “The integration of CFD simulations and passive scalar transport modelling allows us to estimate pathogenic transmission risks at higher spatial resolutions compared to general population models. The deep expertise in virology from A*STAR IDL helped us conceptualise inferences from seemingly unrelated, but looming pathogens, such as mpox. Exploring such synergies contributes greatly towards pandemic preparedness.”

The study also highlights key knowledge gaps, particularly the need for further research to determine the precise dose of airborne mpox that results in human infection. The authors recommend ongoing monitoring of new mpox variants for changes in viral shedding and infectivity that could influence transmission potential.

This work exemplifies A*STAR’s commitment to leveraging cross-disciplinary expertise to address pressing public health challenges. As infectious diseases continue to evolve, such innovative interdisciplinary approaches provide better understanding and lead to potential translational outcomes towards development of novel treatments, diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines to safeguard population health.

– END –

 

For media queries and clarifications, please contact:

Tay Shu Chian

Manager, Corporate Communications

Agency for Science, Technology and Research

Tel: +65 97263652

Email: tay_shu_chian@hq.a-star.edu.sg

 

Aileen Tan

Manager, Corporate Communications

Agency for Science, Technology and Research

Tel: +65 91866450

Email: aileen_tan@hq.a-star.edu.sg

______________________________________________________________________

About the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)

The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) is Singapore's lead public sector R&D agency. Through open innovation, we collaborate with our partners in both the public and private sectors to benefit the economy and society. As a Science and Technology Organisation, A*STAR bridges the gap between academia and industry. Our research creates economic growth and jobs for Singapore, and enhances lives by improving societal outcomes in healthcare, urban living, and sustainability. A*STAR plays a key role in nurturing scientific talent and leaders for the wider research community and industry. A*STAR’s R&D activities span biomedical sciences to physical sciences and engineering, with research entities primarily located in Biopolis and Fusionopolis. For ongoing news, visit www.a-star.edu.sg.

 

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Journal

The Lancet Microbe

DOI

10.1016/j.lanmic.2025.101082 

Method of Research

Computational simulation/modeling

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Aerosol transmission risk of mpox relative to COVID-19 and smallpox