Scooter sharing company Check installing alcohol locks to combat drunk riding

Scooter-sharing provider Check is adding a “Safety Lock” to its app to discourage drunk riding, especially among young people. With this feature, Check users can temporarily block their Check app for reserving vehicles if they plan to go out drinking, for example. “In this way, the user protects themself against (accessible) use of scooters at a later time,” the scooter-sharing company announced.

A recent survey by the youth organization TeamAlert among over a thousand young people showed that nearly a quarter of scooter users up to age 24 sometimes get on a shared scooter under the influence of drugs or alcohol. That, combined with a 37 percent increase in fines for drug or alcohol use in traffic last year, prompted Check to take action, the company said.

According to the company, it developed the Safety Lock in consultation with TeamAlert and scooter-sharing users. “With the lock, every user can temporarily block their own Check app for reserving vehicles,” Check said. “If users want to deactivate the lock, for example, because they are not under the influence, they must first watch a 1-minute video on the consequences of riding under the influence.”

Saar Hadders, a behavioral researcher at TeamAlert, thinks the Safety Lock will be effective. “By coming up with a new feature to prevent drunk riding on shared scooters, Check sends a strong message that this behavior is not okay,” she said. “Young people don’t always intend to ride under the influence after a night out, but that intention can fade due to a combination of impulsiveness and the effect of alcohol. The Safety Lock offers young people the opportunity to protect themselves from an unsafe ride home before they drink their first drink.”