Survey Conducted with 1,000 Citizens
79.2% "Experienced Inconvenience Due to Electric Kickboards"
Measures Strengthened Including Immediate Towing of Kickboards
Seoul City will be the first in the nation to designate and operate roads where electric kickboard traffic is prohibited. When reports of illegal parking of electric kickboards are received, authorized officials will take strengthened measures such as directly towing the vehicles if necessary.
On the 5th, Seoul City announced that it will implement these strong countermeasures in response to the rapid increase of personal mobility devices (PM) such as kickboards, and the rising cases of speeding and unauthorized abandonment that threaten pedestrian safety.
In May 2022, a citizen was riding without a helmet on a road near Gongdeok Station in Mapo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung
The city will designate road sections with accident risks caused by electric kickboard traffic as electric kickboard traffic prohibition zones. The first zone will be designated within this year, followed by a pilot operation and gradual expansion. Using Article 6 of the Road Traffic Act, which contains regulations on prohibition and restriction of traffic, related provisions will be included in the Seoul City Personal Mobility Device Safety Promotion Ordinance, and the pilot operation will be conducted in consultation with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.
In addition, when reports of illegal parking of electric kickboards are received, towing will be carried out immediately without any grace period. Currently, a 3-hour towing grace period is given for voluntary collection by private operators, but considering pedestrian inconvenience, after an educational period this month, the policy will be officially implemented next month.
The 'direct towing' by officials of the relevant autonomous districts will also be expanded. In September, Gangnam-gu hired dedicated towing officials and switched to a direct towing system, which was found to enable more efficient handling. The city plans to expand this to other districts after sufficient consultation with the autonomous districts.
This measure takes into account that the majority of citizens complain of inconvenience caused by electric kickboards running on roads. According to a PM public perception survey conducted by the city from September 27 to 30 targeting 1,000 Seoul citizens aged 15 to 59, 79.2% responded that they had experienced inconvenience caused by electric kickboards. Among them, 75.5% reported experiencing 'collision risks,' the highest response.
A large number of citizens, 75.6%, also agreed with the claim that private rental electric kickboards in the city should be completely banned. Recently, overseas cities such as Paris and Melbourne have been expanding electric kickboard ban measures. Supporters of strengthening the electric kickboard towing system accounted for an overwhelming 93.5% of respondents.
The city plans to deliver the results of this survey to the National Assembly and relevant ministries to urge the passage of the 'Act on the Safety and Promotion of Personal Mobility Devices' and the 'Road Traffic Act Amendment Bill.'
Yoon Jong-jang, Director of the Seoul City Transportation Office, said, "We will do our best to create a safe pedestrian environment by systematically operating everything from improving laws and systems related to electric kickboard operation to management and response measures, so that citizens do not feel threatened while walking due to illegal operation and illegal parking of electric kickboards."
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