South Korea strengthens management of electric scooters

South Korea has recently implemented the newly revised road traffic law to strengthen the management of electric scooters.

The new regulations stipulate that electric scooters can only be driven on the right side of the driveway and in the bicycle lane. The regulations also raise the standard of penalties for a range of violations. For example, driving an electric scooter on the road must hold a second-class motorcycle bicycle or above. The minimum application age for the driver’s license is 16 years old penalty. In addition, drivers must wear safety helmets, otherwise they will be fined 20,000 won; two or more people riding at the same time will be fined 40,000 won; the penalty for drunk driving has been raised from the previous 30,000 won to 100,000 won; Children are prohibited from driving electric scooters, otherwise the guardian will be fined 100,000 won.

In the past two years, electric scooters have become increasingly popular in South Korea. Data shows that the number of shared electric scooters in Seoul has soared from more than 150 in 2018 to more than 100,000 currently. While electric scooters bring convenience to people's lives, they lead to frequent traffic accidents. In 2021, the number of traffic accidents caused by electric scooters in South Korea more than tripled year-on-year, of which 64.2% were caused by unskilled driving or speeding.

There are also risks associated with using e-scooters on campus. The Ministry of Education of South Korea issued the "University Personal Transportation Safety Management Regulations" in December last year, which clarified the code of conduct for the use, parking and charging of electric scooters and other vehicles on university campuses: drivers must wear protective equipment such as helmets; the maximum speed shall not be more than 25 kilometers; each university should set aside a dedicated area for parking personal vehicles around the teaching building to avoid random parking; universities should set up a dedicated lane for personal vehicles on a pilot basis, separate from the sidewalk; In case of fire accidents caused by charging equipment inside, the regulations require schools to set up public charging stations, and schools can charge charging fees according to regulations; schools need to register the personal transportation owned by school members and carry out relevant education.