Electric Kickboards Occupying Streets... Rapid Increase in Safety Accidents

290 Cases Reported Until Q3 Last Year
Institutional Gaps Despite Increased Use of Electric Kickboards

Reference photo.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-gi] #Office worker Jo Eun-kyung (36, female) was taken to the emergency room on the 24th of last month due to a ridiculous accident. While getting off a taxi, her leg got caught on an electric scooter left on the sidewalk, causing her to fall forward. Unable to use her hands because she was carrying her bag, Jo fell face-first and suffered a large scar on her face.

Electric scooters roaming throughout the city are turning into urban weapons, causing a series of accidents. As of the 15th, the Korea Consumer Agency's Consumer Hazard Monitoring System reported 290 electric scooter-related safety accidents up to the third quarter of last year. The number has been increasing from 14 cases in 2015 to 84 in 2016, 197 in 2017, and 233 in 2018.

This trend is interpreted as the institutional environment ensuring safety not keeping pace with the rapid increase in electric scooter usage. According to the Road Traffic Act, electric scooters are classified as motorized bicycles and are only allowed to operate on the road. Riding on sidewalks is illegal.

The government limits the maximum speed of electric scooters to 25 km/h according to the National Institute of Technology and Standards notification. Since they can disrupt traffic flow, users tend to prefer riding on sidewalks rather than roads. A Road Traffic Act amendment that prohibits electric scooters from operating on roads and allows their use on bicycle lanes has been proposed but is still pending in the National Assembly. The amendment also permits electric scooters to travel on sidewalks but limits the speed to 10 km/h.

Meanwhile, the government has prepared additional measures in anticipation of allowing electric scooters on bicycle lanes, including limiting the maximum weight, including the battery, to 30 kg and mandating the installation of lighting devices and horns. Hwang Hyun-ah, a research fellow at the Korea Insurance Research Institute, suggested in a recently published report that "while maintaining the function as a means of transportation, it is necessary to establish systems related to accident liability and insurance for electric scooters, considering the need to protect both pedestrians and drivers."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.