Campaign for greater safety on e-scooters
A campaign to encourage riders to be safer on e-scooters has been held in Bath .
Voi Technology, the city’s leading e-scooter operator, ran its Ride Safe, Park Smart campaign over four days last weeek.
The drive sought to encourage users to ride safer around the city as well as to wear a helmet and park with more consideration.
Helmet wearers are rewarded with loyalty points at the end of their ride to go towards discounted trips.
Jessica Hockey, senior manager, partnerships and marketing UK and Ireland at Voi Technology, said: “Safety is at the heart of all our marketing activity and the goal of this large-scale, multichannel campaign is to ensure our riders have these key safety messages at the top of their mind at all times.”
Jack Samler, general manager at Voi UK and Ireland, said: “People in the UK have embraced Voi’s e-scooters with more than 3.5 million rides taken so far.
“Whether it’s riding to work, running errands or visiting friends and family, we’re committed to ensuring all riders know the rules of the road and are safe when they’re on the move.
“We hope everyone will see and absorb our new ad campaign over the next few weeks and remember to ride safe, park smart and wear a helmet every time they take a Voi e-scooter.”
There has been some backlash to the e-scooters since their introduction in the city, with one elderly woman saying she was almost knocked down by one.
In Bath, bright coral ads were shown across multiple platforms, including at kiosks, and on large and small billboards. The ads also featured a code for new riders to get £3 off their first ride.
Safety features introduced after September 2020 include a reaction test to discourage users from riding under the influence of alcohol.
The beginner mode lets users reduce the e-scooter speed to 10mph until they get used to riding and there is also selfie picture technology that can detect whether a rider is using a helmet.
In another safety innovation users can take and submit a photo of their parked e-scooter at the end of thei ride. Riders who fail to park correctly receive a warning in the first instance, and following that a £25 fine is imposed.
Voi has seen a 70 per cent improvement in good parking behaviour since the introduction of the new feature, helping to tackle street clutter.
Voi also works closely with disability associations, including the Royal National Institute for Blind People (RNIB), to ensure the needs of vulnerable groups are heeded during UK trials.
This has seen the testing of an e-scooter sound to help alert blind and visually impaired people when an e-scooter approaches, and the introduction of Rnib-approved parking racks in cities including Birmingham and Southampton.
In Bath, a blind schoolgirl has already said that e-scooters make her walk to school more dangerous as she can’t see or hear them coming.
Voi will continue to roll out its online and in-person safety events across the cities where the company has trials, giving away free helmets to participants, as part of its ongoing commitment to educating its riders.