Songpa-gu Expands Electric Scooter Safety Education Visiting Schools

Increasing Electric Scooter Accidents Among Youth: On-Site Safety Education
990 Students from 3 Schools Trained Last Year... Visits to Schools by November This Year
Road Traffic Authority Experts Visit Schools to Teach Proper Use and Safety Rules

Songpa-gu (District Mayor Seo Gang-seok) will expand its on-site safety education program at schools starting this year to ensure that teenagers can use electric kickboards safely.

Currently, personal mobility devices (PM) can only be used by individuals who have obtained a motorized bicycle license or higher. However, since this license can only be acquired from the age of 16, many teenagers use PMs without a license. As a result, there has been a sharp increase in PM-related accidents involving teenagers, making related countermeasures urgently needed.

According to data from the National Police Agency, teenage PM accidents increased dramatically from 12 cases in 2017 to 549 cases in 2021, a 46-fold rise.

In response, the district planned the first-ever “Visiting Electric Kickboard Safety Education” for teenagers last year, visiting three middle schools in December and providing safety education to 990 students.

Reflecting field feedback hoping for expanded education, this year the program will extend from April to November and visit more middle and high schools.

The education is conducted by safety experts from the Seoul branch of the Road Traffic Authority, who visit schools and use various audiovisual materials to teach the correct usage and safety rules of electric kickboards.

Any middle or high school in Songpa-gu can apply, and applications can be submitted via official letter to the Urban Transportation Division of Songpa-gu Office.

Seo Gang-seok, Mayor of Songpa-gu, stated, “Since safety regulations for teenagers using electric kickboards have not yet been established, the way to protect teenagers is through ‘safety education.’ We will actively support teenagers to use electric kickboards correctly and safely through continuous education.”