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After three electric moped deaths, here are the new safety enforcements Revel is rolling out

Revel, the popular electric moped sharing service, voluntarily suspended its NYC-based operations last month after the deaths of multiple riders. Now Revel is launching a series of new safety updates designed to both educate riders and reinforce the company’s important safety rules for its 30 mph electric mopeds.

Revel to launch helmet selfie requirement

Wearing a helmet on these types of electric scooters and mopeds is both a Revel rule and local law in all of Revel’s areas of operation.

Each Revel scooter can carry up to two riders and comes with two helmets in the rear storage box, complete with disposable hygienic liners that can be changed between each use.

Revel has always required riders to wear a helmet. There are warnings and reminders all over the app and stickers on the vehicle itself. But many riders have still chosen to forego the critical safety device while riding.

Revel’s new solution to enforce riders to wear the damn life-saving helmet is to require a helmet selfie before the scooter can be unlocked for riding. Users must upload a selfie in the app showing a helmet on and properly buckled.

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Completing a 20 minute safety quiz

Revel is also instituting a fairly rigorous safety quiz that tests riders’ awareness of scooter operations and laws of the road.

The quiz is found in the app and is multiple choice format. It must be taken in one sitting, without breaks, and will repeat each question until the user has correctly answered it twice.

Users can already find and access the quiz in the app to take it immediately, but it will be required after September 1st. Users who haven’t successfully passed the quiz by then will be required to take it before being able to unlock a scooter.

We recommend getting an early jump on the quiz now so you aren’t sitting on the sidewalk for 20 minutes trying to complete it on September 1st.

Electrek’s Take

I think it goes without saying that Revel shouldn’t need to do this. We should all understand that banging your head against the street at 30 mph isn’t a good idea. And yet here we are.

So good on Revel for instituting more rigorous safety reinforcements and rider education.

As I’ve repeatedly stated, Revel’s electric mopeds are a huge benefit to cities. Not only are they vastly better for the climate, but they also reduce traffic every time they take an Uber or other car off the road.

Now we just need people to act like responsible adults and use the Revel electric scooters appropriately. Europe and Asia have figured out how to turn scooters and mopeds into solutions instead of problems. I believe in you, America. You can do it too!

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Author

Avatar for Micah Toll Micah Toll

Micah Toll is a personal electric vehicle enthusiast, battery nerd, and author of the Amazon #1 bestselling books DIY Lithium Batteries, DIY Solar Power, The Ultimate DIY Ebike Guide and The Electric Bike Manifesto.

The e-bikes that make up Micah’s current daily drivers are the $999 Lectric XP 2.0, the $1,095 Ride1Up Roadster V2, the $1,199 Rad Power Bikes RadMission, and the $3,299 Priority Current. But it’s a pretty evolving list these days.

You can send Micah tips at Micah@electrek.co, or find him on Twitter, Instagram, or TikTok.