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Transcript/Script(PLAYBOOK SLUG: LogOn: E-scooter Safety Technology
HEADLINE: LogOn: Electric Scooters Are Popular, but Are They Safe?
TEASER: As the machines enter more markets, technology scrambles to improve safety
PUBLISHED AT: 02/07/2023 at 10:30AM
BYLINE: Deana Mitchell
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Austin, Texas
VIDEOGRAPHER: Deana Mitchell
PRODUCER: Deana Mitchell
SCRIPT EDITORS: SKS, Reifenrath
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, Bird, Zoom, Reuters
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO _X_
TRT: 1:57
VID APPROVED BY: Reifenrath
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES: Joseph Al-hajeri is correct spelling of name))
((INTRO))
[[Electric scooters are buzzing in cities all over the world. With accidents rising, some scooter operators and local authorities in the United States are using technology to improve safety. Deana Mitchell has our story.]]
((Julia Montoya, E-scooter User))
“It's cheap, it's convenient and it's fast — and it's honestly fun. Like, I like being outside a lot, so it kind of just works.”
((NARRATOR))
Since her car broke down, Julia Montoya has been using an electric scooter to get to her job at an Austin, Texas, coffee shop. Even at night — or in heels — she says the e-scooter is easy to ride.
((Julia Montoya, E-scooter User))
“I've never had an accident. There have been close calls just with bumps in the road and stuff. I think, normally, I try to use the bike lanes.”
((NARRATOR))
Safety advocates say where people ride e-scooters — whether in bike lanes or on the road or sidewalks — is key to reducing the nearly 450 percent increase in e-scooter-related emergency room visits between 2017 and 2021.
((Jamie Perkins, Superpedestrian Communications Director))((Zoom))
“Frankly, what we find is that a lot of people who are riding on (00:51- Place onscreen credit in all caps) Mandatory CG: Bird)) sidewalks, either they just don't know that they're not allowed on sidewalks ((end courtesy)) or they're doing it more as a survival thing because there's not a bike lane.”
((NARRATOR))
Joseph Al-hajeri, Austin's shared mobility services supervisor, says his team is working with operators to improve safety.
((Joseph Al-hajeri (all-HODGE-urr-ee), Austin Shared Mobility Services))
“We're definitely developing new things that allow us to enhance that for micro-mobility users to park, to guide them.”
((NARRATOR))
E-scooter operator Bird is using new sensors that detect locations within centimeters. Scott Rushforth is Bird’s chief vehicle officer.
((Scott Rushforth, Bird Chief Vehicle Officer)) ((Zoom))
“It can tell how fast the vehicle's going and how it's leaning and what you're doing with the throttle and brake. And then it also takes ((1:29-1:52—Place onscreen credit in all caps) Mandatory CG: Bird)) GPS signals in … which allows the vehicle to say, ‘I know where the sidewalk is, and if you enter it, it's going to immediately very, very, very gracefully and gently slow them down."
((NARRATOR)) Al-hajeri says boosting overall commuter safety means reducing single occupancy vehicle use, especially for trips of less than one kilometer, by getting more people to use alternative transport, ((end courtesy)) including e-scooters.
((Deana Mitchell, for VOA News, Austin, Texas))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)Austin, Texas
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
