Where Newcastle and Sunderland rank in e-scooter safety poll

Whether cycling or scooting, wearing a helmet could be the difference between a minor and major injury.

As more people use e-scooters, the number of accidents involving the vehicles is expected to rise. So, scooter provider Neuron are celebrating a Safety Awareness week with the aim of keeping you and those around you as safe as possible.

And while their latest poll has revealed that eight out of 10 people in the UK think more needs to be done to encourage helmet use, Newcastle and Sunderland rank as some of the best cities nationwide in this regard.

The polling has been commissioned by leading e-scooter operator, Neuron Mobility, to coincide with its first annual Helmet Safety Awareness Week - which started on October 1 - to educate riders on the benefits of helmets and encourage their use when riding e-scooters.

Polling found 83% of people think it’s important e-scooter riders use a helmet. Seven out of 10 people claim they would regularly choose to wear one, if provided by an e-scooter company.

The findings also highlighted Newcastle and Sunderland are the most safety conscious in the UK with 94% believing it’s important for e-scooter riders to wear a helmet, compared to the UK as a whole (83%).

Geordies and Mackems were also more likely to wear a helmet if provided by an e-scooter operator, with 84% saying they would, compared to just 68% of the UK as a whole.

Newcastle and Sunderland have both seen e-scooter trials operated by Neuron running in the cities since the spring, with helmets provided as standard through the world’s first app- controlled Helmet Lock which secures a safety helmet to the e-scooter, electronically releasing it to use at the start of the booking.

Neuron recognises that greater education and incentives to increase helmet use should be the responsibility of every operator.

To encourage this, Neuron has allocated £100,000 to incentivise helmet use and safe riding as part of Helmet Safety Awareness Week. Neuron will be tripling the incentive offered to users for putting on a helmet before their ride by taking an in-app ‘Helmet Selfie’. The company is also organising a ‘Wear a Helmet’ Challenge on Instagram (@rideneuron.uk) to promote helmet use. Participants with the best photo submission of themselves wearing Neuron‘s helmet stand to win a 12-month pass which gives free rides.

Neuron will also be holding a series of ScootSafe events across the country, including in Newcastle and Sunderland. During the events, members of the public will have the opportunity to take photos with a range of fun props and Neuron helmets which can also be uploaded to Instagram as part of the ‘Wear a Helmet Challenge’, and they can earn free credits by completing a Safe Rider Quiz.

George Symes, UK Regional Manager at Neuron Mobility, said: “It’s great to be launching our first ever Helmet Safety Awareness Week in the UK. As the polling shows, people want to see e-scooter operators doing more to promote safe riding and helmet use, and as a responsible operator we agree. That’s why we’ve committed over £100,000 towards activities and incentives during Helmet Safety Awareness Week as well as re-doubling our efforts on the ground to educate riders directly.”