Developments in E-Scooter safety for Pedestrians

E-Scooters are here to stay and as we have discussed in many earlier blogs the safety of the driver rests mostly on the well-lit and good quality escooter with proper components – but what about the safety of others like pedestrians and vision impaired?

Well, just as there have been developments in electric cars and buses those same technologies are being researched to be used in electric scooters – the main focus is on sound.

As electric scooters are like other vehicles using electric motors are practically silent it can be difficult for pedestrians to hear them coming and if they can’t see it either for example the scooter is coming from behind then there is a chance of accidents.

As bikes also have this problem we have had a time-proven way of letting people we are coming – the majestic ringing bell. Most escooters are already equipped with these but so are cars and other vehicles and some have deemed it not enough.

New research is on the way

Now the researchers at the University of Salford are developing a universal scooter sound to be played out from speakers when the scooter is being ridden. Sounds simple enough right? Actually, it seems that they are testing what sounds would work best considering the noise and annoyance level while also making it easier to understand the traveling speed and distance of the approaching object.

Annoyance is an important factor as if the scooters are not detected well enough the sound is useless and if it’s too annoying living in a city full of continuously beeping scooters would be a nightmare.

Other than that the approaching a vehicle feeling is important. Like traditional motor-powered vehicles with their noise are quite easy to tell where they are coming from and how fast. It seems that the scientists have chosen a combination of sounds to create a similar audio output as cars which they call broadband emulating the sound space of motor and tires.

Who knows maybe this kind of sound attachment will be added to scooters in the future or if they become a legal requirement in-built in scooters. For sure this kind of research will continue and there might be a chance of being creative with sounds as well. The traditional motor sound might be just a bit boring and it’s the first result.

If we know the combination of sounds needed there should be space to make your ride a bit more personal – or how does a scooter sound like a space rocket or futuristic digital hoverboard sound?

In any case, we here at Langfeite are always supporting and following the latest trends in electric scooter safety as our goal is to give everyone a pleasant experience with the escooter lifestyle – be it rider or pedestrian.

So why not take a look at Langfeite’s escooter lineup and contact us today? They might not sound like sports cars yet but who knows what the future holds!