Companies join forces to improve safety for micromobility users

Austrian traffic technology company Swarco and San Franciscan micromobility specialist Lime are joining forces to improve the safety of vulnerable road users travelling with e-scooters and bikes.

The companies are combining expertise in a pilot project to reduce the traffic crash risk of micromobility users at traffic light-controlled intersections.

Risk mitigation

The joint pilot project, Intersection Risk Mitigation, aims to optimise Swarco’s adaptive traffic light management algorithms to help improve the safety of vulnerable road users as well as enhance traffic efficiency for drivers.

Annie Chang, director of safety programmes at Lime, noted that intersections are key areas where conflict between cars and micromobility users are more likely to occur. “We’re encouraged by Swarco’s leadership in providing traffic management solutions throughout Europe and believe that with Lime’s unparalleled expertise in micromobility data, we can make a real impact in improving safety for all road users, including pedestrians, cyclists and scooter riders,” she said.

Swarco will leverage Lime’s anonymised ridership data to develop insights and potential countermeasures like adjusted crosswalk timing algorithms to support safer road conditions, especially for vulnerable users of micromobility.

“We know that intersections are key areas where conflict between cars and micromobility users are more likely to occur”

“As a specialist in mobility and intersection safety, Swarco is well positioned to help cities offer a safer environment for their new mobility carriers like e-scooters, in particular at those blackspots and conflicting zones where pedestrians, vehicles, e-scooters, bicycles and other modes meet,” added Christoph Stögerer, head of innovation and technology at Swarco’s intelligent transport systems division.

“Lime and Swarco will engage with municipalities to create these Intersection Risk Mitigation solutions. This helps to understand current challenges firsthand from the stakeholders affected and evaluate the capabilities of such solutions under real life conditions.”

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