SAFETY CONCERNS OVER ELECTRIC SCOOTERS

[Anchor Lead]

With the rise of motorized kickboards or electric scooters as a means of personal mobility, Korea is seeing a rise in the number of riders and renters of this transportation mode. Although such electric rides may be convenient, their safety is an issue as these personal mobility means can pose danger to both riders and pedestrians.

[Pkg]

Haeundae Beach, late at night. An electric scooter weaves in and out of people walking along the beach. At another beachfront. A couple rides a motorized kickboard designed for one person, on the sidewalk. The Road Traffic Act mandates that a rider wears a helmet, but people rarely follow this rule. It is illegal for electric scooters to use the sidewalks since they are classified as motorized bicycles.

[Soundbite] (NEARBY RESIDENT) : "There are instances when e-scooters almost hit people at the crosswalk. It's dangerous because they move in and out of sidewalks and roads."

How are these kickboards easily rented anywhere being managed? There is no parking space for motorized kickboards, so they are left on the sidewalks, disrupting pedestrian traffic. Many complain it's hard to make their way past these seemingly discarded transport devices.

[Soundbite] (NEARBY MERCHANT) : "They leave the scooters anywhere, casually. Children, especially those in elementary and middle school, try to play with or around it, and that can be dangerous."

Over the past three years, some 480 traffic accidents involving electric scooters occurred nationwide. A revised bill to ensure safety of electric scooter users as well as pedestrians and to oversee them systematically has been pending at the National Assembly for more than a year.