Computational prediction of head-ground impact kinematics in e-scooter falls

Pasinee Posirisuk, Claire Baker, Mazdak Ghajari

Accident Analysis & Prevention, 2022

Abstract

E-scooters are the fastest growing mode of micro-mobility with important environmental benefits. However, there are serious concerns about injuries caused by e-scooter accidents. Falls due to poor road surface conditions are a common cause of injury in e-scooter riders, and head injuries are one of the most common and concerning injuries in e-scooter falls. However, the head-ground impact biomechanics in e-scooter falls and its relationship with e-scooter speed and design, road surface conditions and wearing helmets remain poorly understood. To address some of these key questions, we predicted the head-ground impact force and velocity of e-scooter riders in different falls caused by potholes. We used multi-body dynamics approach to model a commercially available e-scooter and simulate 180 falls using human body models. We modelled different pothole sizes to test whether the pothole width and depth influences the onset of falls and head-ground impact velocity and force. We also tested whether the e-scooter travelling speed has an influence on the head-ground impact velocity and force. The simulations were carried out with three human body models to ensure that the results of the…

Cite as (BibTeX)

@article{posirisuk-2022-computational-prediction-of-head,
  title={Computational prediction of head-ground impact kinematics in e-scooter falls},
  author={Pasinee Posirisuk and Claire Baker and Mazdak Ghajari},
  journal={Accident Analysis & Prevention},
  year={2022},
  doi={10.1016/j.aap.2022.106567}
}