[Correspondent Diary] China's New Headache, Electric Bicycles

8,639 Traffic Accident Deaths Last Year... 1 Person Dies Every Hour
Need to Strengthen Traffic Laws Including Mandatory Helmet Use

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] Crossing the crosswalk in China requires caution. Even when the light is green, if you do not look left and right, you are likely to get into an accident. Motorcycles and bicycles are tangled together as they cross the crosswalk.

On top of that, cars making unprotected left turns (China’s road traffic law is very lenient on left turns) casually weave through pedestrians. In common terms, once they put their head in first, they do not care about pedestrian safety. Some say that order in chaos is China’s traffic culture, but crossing the street with children is quite nerve-wracking.

There is one more thing to be mindful of going forward: electric bicycles. With advancements in battery technology, the number of electric bicycle users has greatly increased.

Shared electric bicycles in China

According to Chinese media Pengpai, as of last year, the annual production of electric bicycles in China reached 27.07 million units. It is estimated that there are 300 million electric bicycles in use across China.

The problem is accidents. Recently, safety accidents involving electric bicycles have surged, emerging as a new social issue.

Last year, 8,639 people died in traffic accidents involving electric bicycles, and more than 44,700 were injured. Every hour, one electric bicycle rider dies in a traffic accident, and five electric bicycle riders are injured every hour.

The causes of accidents are speeding and violations of traffic laws. China’s Road Traffic Safety Law stipulates that the maximum speed of electric bicycles is 15 km/h. However, the actual speed of electric bicycles on the road is mostly over 30 km/h, and there are quite a few electric bicycles exceeding 40 km/h.

Chinese traffic authorities have finally decided to make helmet-wearing mandatory for electric bicycle riders. Wearing a helmet alone can reduce the number of deaths by more than 5% annually. In 18 provinces including Jiangsu and Zhejiang, fines are imposed if helmets are not worn while riding electric bicycles. Pengpai emphasized the need to promote mandatory helmet use for electric bicycle riders nationwide.

Chinese netizens raised their voices demanding stricter management such as fines, saying that many electric bicycle riders ignore traffic signals and ride against traffic. They also strongly criticized the poor riding culture of electric bicycle riders who ride on sidewalks.

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