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Abstract
Bicycle and scooter use entails significant safety and health risks. News stories have described the reckless behavior of users across the United States with the emergence of micromobility options. This paper investigates risky behaviors associated with U.S. bicycle and scooter riding adults. Two separate surveys were administered through the Qualtrics platform. Participants were asked to rate the severity and frequency of 20 risky behaviors of riders on five Likert scales. The risk matrix is built based on the magnitude and frequency of each risk, and ordered logistic regression is applied to identify significant factors. Regression analysis revealed that age and income are significant factors shared between both survey groups. Education level and living in urban areas are two statistically significant factors explaining the different risky behaviors with bicycles or scooters. In general, the survey results show that participants perceive there is a low risk associated with reckless behaviors. It may imply that they are exposed to fewer incidents, or the news media exaggerate the incidents. Further research on other aspects of risk, such as network geometry and safety education, would help better understand the underlying factors. The findings offer insight for developing new enforcement policies and safety education programs to enhance scooter/bicycle sharing programs and provide a safe environment for all road users.
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