Alcohol- and drug-impaired e-scooter riding: exploring countermeasures from Australia, Belgium, New Zealand, and Norway

Abstract

This article explores the emerging problem of drug- and alcohol-impaired e-scooter riding. Fifteen government and e-scooter hire firm professionals from four jurisdictions (Australia, Belgium, New Zealand, Norway) described and assessed countermeasures designed to deter drug- and alcohol-impaired riding. Government professionals were from local/municipal councils, state and national departments of transport, and policing organisations. We used Braun and Clarke’s (Qual Res Psychol 18(3):328–352, 2020.https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2020.1769238) six-step method of thematic analysis and the NVivo qualitative analysis software system to analyse the interviews. All participants said traditional police enforcement is ineffective because laws and regulations are underdeveloped, and police have limited resources for patrols. Thematic analysis grouped countermeasures into four themes: enforcement, education, encouragement, and the road environment. Third-party policing initiatives show promise. For example, local/municipal councils required e-scooter hire firms to ban e-scooters from areas that sell alcohol through GPS-based geofencing. However, geofencing and other regulatory controls do not extend to privately owned e-scooters, a growing sector in the market. Other countermeasures used a combination of education and behavioural change techniques (BCTs) to encourage compliance. For example, innovative nudge methods (a type of BCT) have potential to change dangerous riding behaviours by targeting riding norms. However, participants said some people will continue to ride under the influence of alcohol or drugs either because they are addicted to substances or exhibit high-risk behaviours. Government should therefore adopt laws and regulations that build a more forgiving road environment, based on the safe system approach, to limit injuries when crashes occur.