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Shared scooter provider Bolt has unveiled new safety measures designed to cut down on drunk and tandem riding.
The Estonia-based micromobility brand claims to be the first to introduce new safety measures that will automatically identify and discourage dangerous riding.
Bolt scooters, available in 45 countries in Europe and Africa, is introducing the new in-app safety measures which will detect tandem riding – when more than one person uses a single scooter- and dangerous riding like skids, with riders then warned about their behaviour by push notification in the app.
Vice president for rentals at Bolt, Dmitri Pivovarov, said: “We are more than a micromobility provider.
“We want to be partners for cities and communities. This is why we have decided to take on the most pressing safety challenges in the scooter industry: tandem riding, drunk riding and skidding.
“Being taken under consideration for a patent on our tandem riding prevention system is a clear sign that we are on the right path. It also shows that we are leading our industry’s efforts for making scooters safer.”
Bolt hopes to tackle tandem riding, which is forbidden by most shared scooter schemes, through an inbuilt accelerometer in the Bolt 4 scooters, which measures a scooter’s acceleration to detect anomalies linked with dual riding. The system will also detect sudden changes in mass, which is often a clear sign multiple people are riding a scooter.
This technology is currently being considered for a patent by the Europe Patent Office.
Bolt is also introducing a cognitive reaction test to try to cut down on drink riding, as users will have to pass a reaction test before unlocking their shared machine.
This feature is already being rolled out in 14 European cities, the firm said.
Last month, Bolt announced that it would be teaming up with Allianz Partners to provide e-scooter insurance, built into the price of its shared rental schemes.
The new three-year partnership will offer two types of insurance to riders – personal accident insurance and rider general liability insurance.
