Analysis of electric scooter user kinematics after a crash against SUV

PLoS One. 2022 Jan 21;17(1):e0262682. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0262682. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

The article presents the results of the analysis of electric scooter user kinematics after a crash against a vehicle. The share of electric scooters (e-scooters) in urban traffic has been growing in recent years. The number of road accidents involving e-scooters is also increasing. However, the safety situation of electric scooter users is insufficiently researched in terms of kinematics and injury outcomes. The article presents the importance of this problem based on an in-depth literature analysis of e-scooter-related types of accidents, injuries percentages, and helmet use. Subsequently, four accident scenarios were designed and simulated using two numerical codes-LS-DYNA for handling finite element (FE) code (the vehicle and scooter model) and MADYMO for multibody code (dummy model). Scenario one is a side bonnet crash that simulates an accident when the scooter drives into the side-front of the vehicle. The second and the third simulation is a side B-pillar crash, which was divided into two dummy's positions: the squat and up-right. The fourth simulation is a frontal impact. For each scenario, subsequent frames describing the dummy movement are presented. The after-impact kinematics for various scenarios were analyzed and discussed. The plots of the dummy's head linear acceleration and its magnitude for the analyzed scenarios were provided. As the study is devoted to increasing riders safety in this means of transportation, the potential directions for further research were indicated.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Accidents, Traffic*
  • Automobiles
  • Biomechanical Phenomena
  • Head Protective Devices
  • Humans
  • Motorcycles*
  • Wounds and Injuries / etiology
  • Wounds and Injuries / prevention & control

Grants and funding

Acknowledgments The publication was developed as a part of project LIDER/8/0051/L-8/16/NCBR/2017 funded by the National Centre for Research and Development, Poland and Grants no. 1/S/KPBMiM/21 and 1/S/KPBMiM/22 financed by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Poland (MEiN). Funding APC was covered under Grant no. 1/S/KPBMiM/22 commenced at the Maritime University of Szczecin, Poland.