Photo courtesy of Ford

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When it comes to making our streets safer for all road users, there’s no substitute for better infrastructure.

Protected bike lanes and roads that are designed to make drivers slow down — and give ample space to people using modes other than cars to get around — have been proven time and again not only to help people feel safer but to actually reduce the likelihood of collisions and, when crashes due happen, reduce the severity of them.

Spin recently sent out a national survey in the U.S. and found the majority of those who responded see e-scooters as a way to reduce car traffic in their communities, but believe there must be significant investments in safer bike lanes.

Sixty-two percent said additional protected bike lanes would make them more comfortable using e-scooters as a regular mode of transit. Sixty-five percent said their town or city needs more bike lanes with more than 50 percent calling for more than 10 miles in new bike lanes.

Safety is a top concern. We found that 74 percent of consumers’ top concerns revolve around safety: keeping sidewalks clear for pedestrians, ensuring scooters are safely maintained, and the difficulty of safely riding close to cars on the street.

At Spin, we continue to work toward the kind of systematic change required to make everyone safe, whether they’re riding e-scooters, riding bikes, walking, or rolling. Our recent partnership with Drover will give our scooters a unique ability to detect sidewalk and bike lane riding which will help cities determine where they need better safer infrastructure. Unlike competitors, we have, through our relationship with Ford Motor Company, a direct way to influence and educate car drivers on how to safely share the road with people getting around by other modes.

This year, Ford did something fun to remind drivers how to responsibly share the road with people on bikes, scooters, and other more sustainable modes of transportation. This holiday season, Ford, unveiled their ‘Safe Distance’ Christmas Jumper in the UK. The jumper has small projectors hidden within the reindeer’s antlers, nose, and tail to illuminate the road around the wearer, marking out a 1.5 meter (or about five feet) “safe zone” in the shape of a Christmas tree. That’s the minimum distance drivers should be giving bicyclists and scooter riders when they pass them on the road.

It’s not a substitute for better infrastructure, but visual reminders to drivers about safe road sharing etiquette can help make them better — and safer — drivers.

Speaking of infrastructure, as we continue to advocate for, promote, and invest in infrastructure improvements, we also want to help our riders find the routes that offer them the best rides. Our in-app “Destinations” feature, which we introduced earlier this year, helps riders optimize their routes to include bike lanes.

At the start of their ride, users can enter their destination, or tap on a point of interest, directly in the app. The app serves them multiple routes to select from and the estimated travel times for each route.

Infrastructure works. Data shows that being able to travel in a protected bike lane makes a big difference. According to a recent study from the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), bike lanes are a top choice for riders:

• Eighty-eight percent of surveyed scooter riders in Hoboken, NJ, said they would feel safer riding in the street if protected bike lanes were present.
• In Alexandria, VA, 53 percent of scooter riders surveyed said they prefer to ride in bike lanes over trails, sidewalks, and streets.

Of course, one big obstacle here is the need for robust bike and mobility lane networks to exist.

As many cities look toward a time in the near future when we begin to reopen, advocates are making the case for the need for more resilient infrastructure, especially streets that accommodate more than just moving cars quickly.

A great example is the work of the Denver Streets Partnership. Through our Mobility Data for Safer Streets Initiative, we provided the Denver Streets Partnership with a toolbox they then used to measure and report on the huge success the city was having with its open streets initiative, while also making the case for more permanent changes.

We look forward to next year and beyond as we continue to work with our partners for a world where streets are designed for people — and safety — first.

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