[2022 National Audit] "1 in 10 Elderly Pedestrian Mobility Scooter Accidents Results in Death"

Assemblyman Kim Won-i, "Authorities Must Devise Safety Measures"

[Office of Representative Kim Won-i]

Among elderly or disabled individuals who use walking aid chair scooters, 1 out of 10 traffic accidents results in fatality, raising calls for the implementation of safety measures.

According to data submitted by the National Health Insurance Service to Kim Won-i, a member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, the number of supported purchases of walking aid chair scooters, also known as "electric scooters for the elderly," totaled 33,317 from 2018 through August of this year. The National Health Insurance Service provides 90% of the purchase cost for walking aid chair scooters to registered disabled persons with physical disabilities, brain lesions, heart disabilities, and their dependents. It is estimated that currently tens of thousands of people nationwide use walking aid chair scooters.

Walking aid chair scooters have a narrow width relative to their height and are lightweight, making them prone to tipping over easily even with minor impacts. Since most victims are elderly, traffic accidents involving these scooters can lead to severe consequences. According to the Jeonnam Provincial Police Agency, from last year through August this year, there were a total of 86 traffic accidents involving walking aid chair scooters in Jeonnam alone, resulting in 9 deaths (10.5%), 27 serious injuries (31.4%), and 50 minor injuries (58.1%). This means that 1 out of every 10 traffic accidents resulted in death. The age distribution of victims was 45 people (52.3%) aged 80 or older, 30 people (34.9%) in their 70s, and 4 people (4.7%) in their 60s.

Assemblyman Kim stated, “Although walking aid chair scooters are only allowed on sidewalks, many elderly people use scooters on roadways in rural and suburban areas where sidewalks are absent or narrow, or because using sidewalks is inconvenient.” In fact, 81 cases (94.2%) of accidents involved collisions or rear-end crashes with vehicles.

Kim emphasized, “To enable elderly and vulnerable individuals to use medical device scooters safely on sidewalks, sidewalks should be secured with a minimum width of 1.5 to 2 meters as stipulated by the Road Act, and sidewalk environments should be improved by removing uneven surfaces and signboards.” He added, “Although the maximum speed of medical scooters is 15 km/h when carrying a person weighing up to 100 kg, it is necessary to reasonably review and possibly lower the current maximum speed standards considering the elderly users.”

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