Investigation of e-scooter drivers colliding with kerbs - A parametric numerical study

Most electric scooter-related injuries occur in single crashes and the reported use of helmets during accidents is very low. The objective of this study is to numerically investigate single e-scooter accidents at kerbs. A finite element (FE) model containing the THUMS AM50 V4.02, an e-scooter, a helmet, and a rigid kerbstone was created. The FE helmet model was parameterised by material characterisation and standard helmet tests and a new, unconventional helmet testing setup was proposed. In a parametric study using the FE solver LS-DYNA, collisions of the e-scooter rider against the kerb with three different velocities (10, 20, 30 km/h), two different impact angles (90°, 60°), and with and without the helmet were investigated. The accelerations at the head centre of gravity were measured and the injury criteria HIC, BrIC and CSDM were evaluated. The variation of the collision angle influenced the body-kinematics and the injury criteria values. Higher e-scooter collision speeds resulted in higher impact speeds and increased HIC. The wearing of a helmet was the main factor in the reduction of translational impact accelerations and HIC, while for BrIC and CSDM whether the values increased or decreased depended on the collision scenario.