Factors associated with helmet use by e-scooter riders

Australian jurisdictions are among the few internationally that require e-scooter riders to wear helmets. In most countries, voluntary helmet use by e-scooter riders is close to zero and consequently, head injuries are common among these riders. This paper reports results from a series of observational studies of shared and private e-scooters from Brisbane and survey-based measures of self-reported knowledge of the rules and compliance. The observations showed that riders of private e-scooters were much more likely to wear helmets and that provision of helmets on shared e-scooters had little effect on wearing rates. The survey results confirmed the higher wearing rates by private riders and that knowledge of the rule was high. The influences of demographic, locational and other variables on helmet use are also described.