Traffic violations involving electric scooters, for which regulations were relaxed under a revised road traffic law in July last year, remain high, raising public concerns over their safety.
In a recent interview with Jiji Press, Daiki Okai, CEO of Luup, a major electric scooter sharing service provider headquartered in Tokyo, said that these high numbers are down to “a small number of users repeatedly committing violations,” emphasizing the need for stricter penalties to curb misconduct.
According to the National Police Agency, there were 25,156 e-scooter traffic violation cases in the year following the revised law's enactment, with 55% involving violations of traffic distribution rules, such as illegally riding on sidewalks. Electric scooters are generally required to operate on roads, though they may be used on sidewalks if maintaining a speed of 6 kilometers per hour or less.
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