Tap the helmets: Voi introduces world’s first Reaction Test for e-scooters to discourage drunk riding

In-app Reaction Test

Although many people use e-scooters to get to — or home from — a night out, you should not ride an e-scooter while drunk or otherwise intoxicated. Not only is it extremely unsafe for you, other road users, and pedestrians, but you may be prosecuted under drink or drug driving laws. Dangerous and careless driving offences also apply to e-scooter users, and e-scooters are subject to the same drink-drive limits as cars in many countries.

The statistics are sobering: according to a 2019 study by Brussel’s Saint-Pierre Hospital, 35% of e-scooter users admitted to hospital had consumed alcohol.

To quell riding under the influence, Voi developed an in-app Reaction Test, in which players need to tap helmets on the screen as they appear in a random sequence. If a player receives a certain score, they pass the test. Although riders will be able to unlock the scooter regardless of whether or not they pass the test, we hope that it will encourage people to think twice about riding after they’ve had perhaps a few too many drinks. We want to do our part to help prevent drunk riding, while emphasising that the responsibility still lies with the user.

The Voi engineering, product, and design teams came together to create the Reaction Test based on current research that best predicts drunkenness.

“We wanted it to be playful, but still serious,” said Kristoffer Nolgen, Voi’s Senior Product Manager.

The Reaction Test is active in the Voi app on Saturdays and Sundays between 1 and 4 a.m. during a first trial period.

The Reaction Test is currently available in the UK (Birmingham, Coventry, Northampton); Norway (Oslo, Stavanger, Trondheim); Finland (Helsinki, Tampere, Turku); Germany (Munich); Switzerland (Basel, Winterthur, Frauenfeld); and Denmark (Aalborg, Aarhus, Allinge, Copenhagen, Odense).

A full roll-out across the cities in which Voi operates will come in the following weeks.

Enjoy the ride and be safe out there!