News / Voi
Voi to host safety events in Bristol
In a bid to combat irresponsible rider behaviour, e-scooter company Voi will be hosting safety events and launching more in-app functions to keep people safe.
“Since Voi’s distinctive coral e-scooters first hit the streets of Bristol, a key challenge that has emerged is responsible rider behaviour,” says the company, which has received some backlash for riders parking the scooters on pavements.
“Voi has put these new measures in place to deter e-scooter riders from parking incorrectly as well as encouraging users to act cautiously, taking into consideration pedestrians and other road users.”
is needed now More than ever
At the safety events, which will tour across the UK to cities where Voi is being trialled, participants will receive ride demonstrations and training on how to ride a scooter and will be able to redeem credits and a free Voi helmet by completing the online traffic school #RideLikeVoila.
The sessions will also include road safety tips, developed in partnership with DriveTech, and are aimed at all Voi users.
Voi electric scooters on Elm Lane in Redland. Photo: Tom Archer
The company has also introduced five new safety features, including an “end of the ride” photo feature, where users are required to take and submit a photo of their parked e-scooter in a bid to deter improper parking, receiving a warning in the first instance, and following that a £25 fine. Voi says parking has improved by 70 per cent in areas were this has been used.
They are also introducing “the helmet selfie”, which uses an image-classifier AI that is immediately able to detect if a user is wearing a helmet with 95 per cent accuracy, with helmet-wearers issued five loyalty points at the end of their ride, and the “reaction test”, an in-app reaction test game to test whether the rider is drunk. Drunk users can be fined and have points added to their driving licence.
The “beginner’s mode’ feature has also been introduced and will reduce the scooter’s speed to 10mph, and the Voi app will also have a guide on where and where not to park scooters.
The guidelines highlight slow-speed zones, incentivised parking spots, mandatory parking spots, no-park zones, no-ride zones and outside the Voi zone to riders.
“Our number one priority at Voi is to keep our riders and the wider community safe,” says Jack Samler, general manager at Voi Technology UK and Ireland.
“E-scooter riders, like those riding bicycles or walking, are vulnerable road users so while we campaign for better infrastructure to protect them we also combine tech, education and design to make our service as safe as possible
Main photo: Martin Booth
Read more: ‘It is cars parking on pavements we should worry about, not e-scooters’
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