PROJECT TITLE
The Handy Helmet
A Collapsible, Clean, Customizable Helmet for the University of Maryland
PROJECT GOAL: Students attending the University of Maryland use electric scooters as a primary means of transportation. 52% of University of Maryland students interviewed 14 do not wear helmets, even though helmets “reduce the risk of severe brain injury by 75 percent”16 . With rising e-scooter riders in the U.S., injuries treated in “emergency departments rose... nearly 300% from 2020 to 2024,” 17 creating a community and national issue.
During the process to identify their community challenge, the team noticed students around the University of Maryland riding e-scooters without helmets. One of the most popular e-scooter companies, Veo, recently updated their contract with the university and ridership was “up 62 percent from last year”. College Park Mayor, Fazul Kabir, stated that “with more scooters in the street… it also increases the chance of accidents”. In September of 2025, the city witnessed this first-hand, “when a man lost his life in College Park” while headed towards campus. Even though the university requires “anyone operating a micromobility vehicle…on university property to wear a helmet at all times,” students choose not to wear helmets. The team conducted 25 student interviews. 52% did not/would not wear a helmet. Main reasons that students did not wear helmets included inconvenience when storing, not owning a helmet, and peer pressure.
