Electric Kickboards "Racing on Indian Roads"... Kwonikwi Calls for Speed Limits and Other Measures

Collecting Public Opinions on Driving Qualification Restrictions, Strengthened Enforcement, and Age Limit Increase

On the 13th, a citizen wearing no protective gear was riding an electric scooter weaving through cars on the Namsan Circular Road in Seoul. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Measures to ensure pedestrian safety, such as limiting the maximum speed of electric kickboards, have been found necessary.

On the 15th, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission analyzed and announced the results of 6,735 complaints collected in the complaint analysis system over the past three years and opinions from 884 citizens to prepare safe usage measures for electric kickboards.

Complaints related to electric kickboards have more than doubled each year over the past three years. They surged starting last year when electric kickboard sharing services began to spread in earnest. As of last month, complaints increased 8.4 times compared to 2018.

Among the complaints, 71.5% were related to places where electric kickboards are mainly operated, such as sidewalks and parks. Complaints related to electric kickboard drivers, such as poor driving skills and dangerous driving attitudes, accounted for 14.9%, followed by complaints about electric kickboard products (9.7%) and safety accidents caused by electric kickboards (3.9%).

There were also complaints expressing anxiety due to the high perceived speed of electric kickboards. These included sudden acceleration, silently overtaking pedestrians from behind, and inexperienced drivers riding at high speeds.

Since the revised Road Traffic Act came into effect on the 10th, allowing electric kickboards to travel on bicycle and pedestrian shared roads, some expressed concerns that riding on sidewalks would increase further.

Complaints about electric kickboards left unattended on the streets have also increased. These include unauthorized parking on braille blocks, bus stops, children's school routes, crosswalk entrances, and entrances to buildings or houses, causing inconvenience and requests to resolve reckless parking.

Complaints related to drivers included concerns about the dangerous appearance of inexperienced young riders such as middle school students operating electric kickboards, calls for strict enforcement, and worries about safety accidents due to risky behaviors like not wearing helmets or riding two to three people at once.

Recently, there have been opposing opinions regarding the revised Road Traffic Act that allows driving without a license, due to concerns about increasing collisions with pedestrians.

Complaints related to safety accidents also included demands for environmental improvements that hinder safe driving, such as road cracks and sinkholes, and dissatisfaction with difficulties in reporting or punishing hit-and-run incidents due to the difficulty in identifying electric kickboard drivers.

According to the public opinion survey on electric kickboard safety conducted through the policy participation platform 'Gukmin Saenggakham,' 41.1% of respondents said the most urgent improvement is 'strengthening qualifications for electric kickboard operation,' such as minimum operating age and driver's license, and 22.3% chose 'strengthening crackdowns on dangerous electric kickboard operation.'

Regarding the operating age and qualifications for electric kickboards, 87.4% responded that it should be raised above 13 years old, 90.7% said certain qualifications such as licenses or training completion are necessary, and 88.3% said identification numbers such as license plates are needed for safe driving and parking enforcement.

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission proposed and requested related agencies to improve and address the necessary measures based on this analysis to lead to supplementary countermeasures.

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