Traffic Conflicts Involving E-micromobility Devices: Insights from a Quasi-Naturalistic Data Collection in Montreal and Sherbrooke (Quebec, Canada)

During the pre-pandemic expansion of e-micromobility, only a few cities in Quebec permitted shared e-scooters, which were subsequently banned in 2020 due to road safety concerns. Building on this experience, the provincial government introduced pilot legislation in 2023 to legalize and regulate personal mobility devices (PMDs), including privately owned e-scooters. This study evaluates the objective road safety of e-scooters by using traffic conflicts as a surrogate measure of safety in Montreal and Sherbrooke (Quebec, Canada). A quasi-naturalistic approach was employed, with 967 km of travel recorded using e-scooters equipped with GPS sensors and handlebar-mounted cameras. Video data were analyzed to identify traffic conflicts, which were then geocoded and integrated into GIS software to assess how street network characteristics influence the occurrence of conflicts.