One and a half years of e-scooters in Hamburg: Part 1: Alcohol-related abnormalities in traffic

Abstract

Background: Since electric scooters were introduced as an urban means of transportation in Hamburg in June 2019, a high number of violations of the current laws regarding alcohol consumption by e‑scooter riders have been recorded. Objective: The aim of this study is to obtain an overview of traffic offences committed by e‑scooter drivers under the influence of alcohol, to classify their relevance in relation to other road user groups, and to draw a first interim balance with respect to their frequency after 1.5 years. Material and methods: The data of all e‑scooter drivers (n = 342) examined concerning their blood alcohol values analyzed at the Institute of Legal Medicine of the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf between 15.06.2019 and 31.12.2020 were retrospectively evaluated with respect to their demographic information and the medical examination results. These were brought into context with the total number of offences against the road traffic regulations with subsequent blood alcohol measurement. Results: 9.6% of the total number of offences against the road traffic regulations in connection with subsequent determination of the blood alcohol concentration were committed by e‑scooter drivers. 87.7% of those examined were male. The blood alcohol concentration was above the limit of 1.10 ‰ for absolute driving incapacity when using a passenger car in 76.9% of those examined. An accumulation of cases was particularly noticeable at night and at weekends. Due to imprecise records, a certain number of unreported e‑scooter incidents can be assumed among the unspecified motor vehicles. Conclusion: As e‑scooter drivers make up a considerable proportion of drunken road users and the accidents mostly occur at night and at weekends, increased education and, if necessary, a driving ban at these times would seem to make sense.