Road accidents involving personal mobility devices have increased fivefold in the last four years
Government pilot project to limit maximum speed… Strengthening of repression of safety rule violations
Following the accident on the 8th of last month in which a couple in their sixties died after being hit by an electric board while walking in a park, calls for regulation of personal mobility aids (PM), including electric boards, are increasing.
According to the police, on the 16th, at around 7:33 p.m. on the 8th of last month, a couple in their 60s were hit by an electric board running from behind at Ilsan Lake Park in Goyang. -si. The woman, who was taken to hospital, died 9 days later, and the husband is still receiving treatment. Two high school girls were riding the electric scooter, and while riding on the park's bicycle path, it was found that they swerved around the bicycle and hit a couple walking on the right side of the road. The police have launched an investigation by incarcerating the two students who committed the crime for professional negligence resulting in death under the Special Law on Traffic Accidents.
In Chuncheon, Gangwon-do, two teenagers were recently stopped by police while riding an electric board and crossing the center line at night. According to the amendment to the traffic law that went into effect in May 2021, driving a PM requires a license for a motor vehicle or higher, but it is known that not all of them had licenses.
The number of road accidents involving electric boards is increasing rapidly every year. According to the Korea Transportation Safety Authority (TSA), the number of road accidents involving PM increased 5.3 times from a total of 447 in 2019 to 2,389 last year. During the same period, the number of casualties, including deaths and injuries, increased 5.5 times from 481 to 2,646. If we consider the number of deaths alone, it tripled in four years, from 8 to 24.
Some point out that the maximum speed of electric skateboards should be limited to reduce the risk of accidents. According to a 2022 analysis by the Samsung Traffic Safety Culture Research Institute, when a PM traveling at 25 km/h hits a pedestrian, the probability of "serious injury" to the pedestrian can reach 95 %. When the driving speed was lowered to 20 km/h, the amount of impact decreased by 36 %, and when the speed was lowered to 15 km/h, it decreased by 64 %. 15 km/h is the average speed of a bicycle.
PM speed regulations are already known to be heavily enforced abroad. In Germany and Paris, France, the maximum speed is 20 km/h, and Paris designates a separate "slow zone" in the city with a large floating population and regulates the speed to a slower 10 km/h. Some states in the US also limit speeds exceeding 20 km/h, and Washington DC operates at a maximum speed of 16 km/h.
Korea is also considering revising laws regarding the effect of lowering the maximum speed of electric skateboards. To prevent PM accidents, the Ministry of Public Administration and Safety is conducting a pilot project to limit the maximum speed from 25 km/h under the current law to 20 km/h. A total of 10 rental companies will participate in the pilot operation, which will run in major cities across the country, including Seoul and Busan, from this month until the end of this year.
Rep. Hong Ki-won of the Democratic Party of Korea introduced the "Act on Promoting the Safety and Use of Personal Mobility" last month, which aims to establish a management and supervision system for the government and local governments for prime ministers and rental business operators. The bill also includes regulations to prevent accidents caused by indiscriminate rental of devices by introducing a registration system for PM rental companies and establishing a driver qualification system to verify drivers' qualifications at the time of rental.
Reporter Ahn Kyung-jun eyewhere@segye.com
[ⓒ세계일보 & Segye.com, 무단전재및재배포금지]
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