Can pedestrians safely navigate shared sidewalks with e-scooters and bicycles? A behavioral analysis using surrogate safety measures

<p>Micro-mobility vehicles, such as e-scooters and bicycles, are essential for addressing urban transportation challenges and enhancing mobility efficiency. While regulations for cyclists are generally well established, those governing e-scooters remain inconsistent, or even entirely absent in...

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التفاصيل البيبلوغرافية
المؤلف الرئيسي: Abubeker Nemo Arshi (23124601) (author)
مؤلفون آخرون: Charitha Dias (12191671) (author), Wael K.M. Alhajyaseen (16936908) (author), Qinaat Hussain (15294164) (author), Christian Samson (23124604) (author), Zahid Hussain (661225) (author)
منشور في: 2025
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author Abubeker Nemo Arshi (23124601)
author2 Charitha Dias (12191671)
Wael K.M. Alhajyaseen (16936908)
Qinaat Hussain (15294164)
Christian Samson (23124604)
Zahid Hussain (661225)
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
author_facet Abubeker Nemo Arshi (23124601)
Charitha Dias (12191671)
Wael K.M. Alhajyaseen (16936908)
Qinaat Hussain (15294164)
Christian Samson (23124604)
Zahid Hussain (661225)
author_role author
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Abubeker Nemo Arshi (23124601)
Charitha Dias (12191671)
Wael K.M. Alhajyaseen (16936908)
Qinaat Hussain (15294164)
Christian Samson (23124604)
Zahid Hussain (661225)
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2025-10-17T09:00:00Z
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv 10.1016/j.trf.2025.103407
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Can_pedestrians_safely_navigate_shared_sidewalks_with_e-scooters_and_bicycles_A_behavioral_analysis_using_surrogate_safety_measures/31239892
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv CC BY 4.0
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Built environment and design
Urban and regional planning
Law and legal studies
Law in context
Vulnerable road users
E-scooters
Safety
Shared sidewalks
Surrogate safety measures
Virtual reality
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Can pedestrians safely navigate shared sidewalks with e-scooters and bicycles? A behavioral analysis using surrogate safety measures
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv Text
Journal contribution
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
text
contribution to journal
description <p>Micro-mobility vehicles, such as e-scooters and bicycles, are essential for addressing urban transportation challenges and enhancing mobility efficiency. While regulations for cyclists are generally well established, those governing e-scooters remain inconsistent, or even entirely absent in some countries. This lack of regulatory clarity has raised concerns regarding the safety of pedestrians and other road users when interacting with e-scooters in mixed-traffic environments. This study assessed and compared pedestrian avoidance behaviors when interacting with bicycles and e-scooters on shared sidewalks using data collected through a controlled experiment conducted in a virtual reality setting. Both objective measures (relative longitudinal distance at avoidance, lateral clearance, and post-encroachment time) and subjective measures (perceived safety and comfort) were used to evaluate pedestrian behaviors. The findings reveal that the behavior of micro-mobility vehicles, such as speed, longitudinal and lateral positioning are critical factors influencing both objective measures and pedestrians perceived safety. As the speed of micro-mobility vehicle increases, pedestrian initiates avoidance at progressively greater distance and experience heightened perceived risk. A high perceived safety and comfort level (≥99%) was achieved when micro-mobility vehicles traveled at 10 km/h or less, with minimum lateral clearance of approximately 0.86 m for e-scooters and 1.11 m for bicycles, corresponding to a minimum sidewalk width of 2.00 and 2.30 m, respectively. These trends highlight the need for wider sidewalks to ensure safer interactions between pedestrians and micro-mobility vehicles as their speed increases. Overall, this study underscores the importance of thoughtful infrastructure design and well-enforced speed limit to create safer and more inclusive shared mobility spaces for all urban road users.</p><h2>Other Information</h2> <p> Published in: Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour<br> License: <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</a><br>See article on publisher's website: <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2025.103407" target="_blank">https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2025.103407</a></p>
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
id Manara2_548b6a9cd1e59d7ab4a10cce18db5fcf
identifier_str_mv 10.1016/j.trf.2025.103407
network_acronym_str Manara2
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oai_identifier_str oai:figshare.com:article/31239892
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spelling Can pedestrians safely navigate shared sidewalks with e-scooters and bicycles? A behavioral analysis using surrogate safety measuresAbubeker Nemo Arshi (23124601)Charitha Dias (12191671)Wael K.M. Alhajyaseen (16936908)Qinaat Hussain (15294164)Christian Samson (23124604)Zahid Hussain (661225)Built environment and designUrban and regional planningLaw and legal studiesLaw in contextVulnerable road usersE-scootersSafetyShared sidewalksSurrogate safety measuresVirtual reality<p>Micro-mobility vehicles, such as e-scooters and bicycles, are essential for addressing urban transportation challenges and enhancing mobility efficiency. While regulations for cyclists are generally well established, those governing e-scooters remain inconsistent, or even entirely absent in some countries. This lack of regulatory clarity has raised concerns regarding the safety of pedestrians and other road users when interacting with e-scooters in mixed-traffic environments. This study assessed and compared pedestrian avoidance behaviors when interacting with bicycles and e-scooters on shared sidewalks using data collected through a controlled experiment conducted in a virtual reality setting. Both objective measures (relative longitudinal distance at avoidance, lateral clearance, and post-encroachment time) and subjective measures (perceived safety and comfort) were used to evaluate pedestrian behaviors. The findings reveal that the behavior of micro-mobility vehicles, such as speed, longitudinal and lateral positioning are critical factors influencing both objective measures and pedestrians perceived safety. As the speed of micro-mobility vehicle increases, pedestrian initiates avoidance at progressively greater distance and experience heightened perceived risk. A high perceived safety and comfort level (≥99%) was achieved when micro-mobility vehicles traveled at 10 km/h or less, with minimum lateral clearance of approximately 0.86 m for e-scooters and 1.11 m for bicycles, corresponding to a minimum sidewalk width of 2.00 and 2.30 m, respectively. These trends highlight the need for wider sidewalks to ensure safer interactions between pedestrians and micro-mobility vehicles as their speed increases. Overall, this study underscores the importance of thoughtful infrastructure design and well-enforced speed limit to create safer and more inclusive shared mobility spaces for all urban road users.</p><h2>Other Information</h2> <p> Published in: Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour<br> License: <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</a><br>See article on publisher's website: <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2025.103407" target="_blank">https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2025.103407</a></p>2025-10-17T09:00:00ZTextJournal contributioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersiontextcontribution to journal10.1016/j.trf.2025.103407https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Can_pedestrians_safely_navigate_shared_sidewalks_with_e-scooters_and_bicycles_A_behavioral_analysis_using_surrogate_safety_measures/31239892CC BY 4.0info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:figshare.com:article/312398922025-10-17T09:00:00Z
spellingShingle Can pedestrians safely navigate shared sidewalks with e-scooters and bicycles? A behavioral analysis using surrogate safety measures
Abubeker Nemo Arshi (23124601)
Built environment and design
Urban and regional planning
Law and legal studies
Law in context
Vulnerable road users
E-scooters
Safety
Shared sidewalks
Surrogate safety measures
Virtual reality
status_str publishedVersion
title Can pedestrians safely navigate shared sidewalks with e-scooters and bicycles? A behavioral analysis using surrogate safety measures
title_full Can pedestrians safely navigate shared sidewalks with e-scooters and bicycles? A behavioral analysis using surrogate safety measures
title_fullStr Can pedestrians safely navigate shared sidewalks with e-scooters and bicycles? A behavioral analysis using surrogate safety measures
title_full_unstemmed Can pedestrians safely navigate shared sidewalks with e-scooters and bicycles? A behavioral analysis using surrogate safety measures
title_short Can pedestrians safely navigate shared sidewalks with e-scooters and bicycles? A behavioral analysis using surrogate safety measures
title_sort Can pedestrians safely navigate shared sidewalks with e-scooters and bicycles? A behavioral analysis using surrogate safety measures
topic Built environment and design
Urban and regional planning
Law and legal studies
Law in context
Vulnerable road users
E-scooters
Safety
Shared sidewalks
Surrogate safety measures
Virtual reality