Beijing: Scooter chaos in the old age is frequent, becoming a "blind spot" in traffic management

  Our reporters Lu Chang, Yang Na, Wu Wenxu, Peng Ziyang

  No driver's license, no license, no annual inspection, no lottery, no purchase, no restrictions, just step on the accelerator and you can walk everywhere...This is the reality of the rapid increase of four-wheel low-speed electric vehicles in the city—the old age scooter.

  On November 1, 2018, the "Regulations of Beijing Municipality on the Administration of Non-motorized Vehicles" was officially implemented. Millions of electric bicycles in Beijing entered the process of standardized management. The relevant departments set a transition period for vehicles exceeding the standard, and carried out centralized road rectification and investigation. Violations of laws and regulations in the sales link have achieved certain results.

  However, a reporter visited a few days ago and found that due to the boom in supply and demand and the lack of clear control measures, the older scooters are getting bigger and running faster, with prominent problems and frequent chaos, which pose severe challenges to urban road traffic safety. At the same time affect social equity.

The front and rear seats share seat belts and run the red light "openly"

  The appearance resembles a small hatchback car, but the hanging license plate often only says the words "old age scooter" or "new energy scooter" and a line of phone numbers... The reporter found that there are both in the streets and alleys, or in residential areas. The figure of the old scooter. "Some old scooters mixed with motor vehicles feel very dangerous." Many motor vehicle drivers have expressed the same concern.

  In the footage taken by a driving recorder provided by a citizen, an old scooter was driving fast on Jingshanqian Street on the north side of the Forbidden City in Beijing. During the period, it changed lanes constantly and shuttled between motor vehicles and bus workshops.

  The citizen said that during the morning and evening peak hours on working days, he had seen old scooters ignoring traffic laws on the main roads of the city many times, some were obviously overloaded, and some were "open and generous" running red lights.

  Some older scooter drivers have been punished by law for their excessive behavior. In May of this year, a 40-year-old man drove an old scooter and posted a video showing off on the auxiliary road of Beijing-Tibet Expressway, which attracted attention. Subsequently, the Haidian Public Security Bureau summoned the driver Feng. Later, Feng was criminally detained by the police on suspicion of endangering public safety in a dangerous manner.

  Traffic accidents caused by old scooters are not rare. The Chaoyang District People’s Court of Beijing Municipality selected 300 randomly selected road traffic cases from 2013 to 2019 and found that there were 40 cases involving old scooters, and a higher proportion of cases involving old scooters were equal , Mainly because traffic violations such as occupying motor lanes, running red lights, and going backwards are more prominent.

  Judge Hao Zhuo of the Asian Games Village Court of the Chaoyang Court said that because the power performance of illegal electric vehicles is significantly higher than that of other non-motor vehicles, they will be judged as motor vehicles in judicial practice, which will make the driver more bearable in terms of accident liability determination and subsequent compensation. Much responsibility.

  Whether it is for other traffic participants or drivers and passengers, the hidden dangers of the old scooters cannot be underestimated.

  A few days ago, the reporter came to an electric car store in the Jiugong area outside the South Fourth Ring Road. A four-wheeled scooter was parked in front of the store. The sales staff confessed that the old scooter was not compliant, so it was not placed in the store showroom. The reporter saw that this old scooter is a four-door hatchback with almost the same size and interior as a motor vehicle, but there is no seat belt in the front row, so it needs to be shared with the rear row.

  According to reports, the old-fashioned scooter of this store is produced in Zhejiang, with a battery voltage of 72 volts, a maximum speed of 60 kilometers per hour, and a price range of 20,000 to 40,000 yuan. Compared with the "national standard" (48V, 25 km/h) requirements of electric bicycles, the battery voltage and top speed of the old scooters are much higher respectively. Within half an hour, three car owners came to the store to inquire about vehicle maintenance and other matters. A car owner told reporters that he ran more than 4,000 kilometers in the past three months after buying the car, during which no one was in charge.

  As early as 2016, the China Consumers Association issued consumer warnings to remind consumers not to blindly buy and ride old scooters, and conducted safety crash tests on three old scooters.

  The results showed that the dummy in a scooter that simulates the driver and occupant suffered serious head injuries, and the front seat was displaced, causing chest injuries; the front battery box motor structure of a scooter invaded the passenger compartment, and the dummy head hit the steering wheel; Not only was the scooter not equipped with a seat belt, the seat was also detached from the body during the collision, the dummy directly hit the steering wheel and windshield, and the front interior was cracked to produce a lot of debris, which may cause a lot of blood loss in actual personnel.

  Many residents are also worried about the risk of electricity consumption of scooters in the old age. Ms. Liu, a resident who lives in a community on the South Third Ring Road in Fengtai District, reported that the old scooter owners in the community have connected long wires from more than a dozen floors of homes to charge their cars. Scooters are sometimes parked by the windows on the first floor, and sometimes parked in motor vehicle spaces. "Once the electrical wiring fails, it is easy to cause a fire." Ms. Liu said with some worry.

"If there is an accident, the motor vehicle is recognized, and if there is no accident, the electric vehicle is recognized"

  In order to cooperate with the "Regulations of Beijing Municipality on the Administration of Non-motorized Vehicles" that came into effect on November 1, 2018, in October 2018, the Beijing Municipal Traffic Management Department issued the "Administrative Measures for the Registration and Passage of Electric Bicycles during the Transition Period of Beijing", which stipulates that it does not meet national standards Electric bicycles must apply for a temporary logo and set a 3-year transition period. After the transition period expires, no one can drive on the road. The reporter learned that up to now, Beijing has applied for approximately 2.3 million temporary labels.

  In the process of standardized management of electric bicycles, the traffic control department continued to carry out road rectification in response to road violations. Statistics show that from May to July 2019, Beijing city punished a total of 239,000 electric bicycle violations such as retrograde, running red lights, and walking on motor lanes, with an average of more than 2,900 violations per day. Electric bicycles in the express delivery industry accounted for a large proportion. Form a certain deterrent effect. In May of this year, Beijing launched the "One Helmet and One Belt" safety protection operation, calling on motorcycle and electric bicycle riders to wear safety helmets and launching a safe travel initiative.

  In terms of investigating violations of laws and regulations in the sales link, in 2019, the market supervision departments at all levels in Beijing have inspected more than 4,300 households of relevant entities, and seized 108 illegal electric three-four-wheelers and old scooters.

  Song Yu, an assistant researcher at the Institute of Sociology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believes that Beijing’s standardized management of electric bicycles has achieved certain results. This diversified and multi-path "package" of governance measures should be applied to the management of scooters in the old age as soon as possible. . "The causes of chaos in the old scooters are multifaceted, involving multiple links such as production, quality inspection, sales, and terminal law enforcement. It is not a problem that a single government agency can solve."

  Du Kunzhi, deputy secretary-general of the Rights Protection Committee of the Beijing Chaoyang District Lawyers Association, believes that because the illegal activities of the old scooters and the responsibility for legal disputes are not clearly determined, the illegal cost of drivers is very low.

  The reporter’s investigation found that at present, the “law enforcement standards” of “identification by motor vehicles if accidents and electric vehicles if no accidents” exist. Some interviewees believe that there are difficulties in end-of-end law enforcement, which also contributes to the violation of regulations to a certain extent. The wanton and illegal behavior of electric vehicles on the road.

  The "peek-a-boo" in the sales link also makes it difficult for market management departments to enforce laws. Sun Bing, chief of the Collaboration Section of the Market Supervision Bureau of Fengtai District, Beijing, told reporters that some sales and business entities will place the old-age scooter in a far or hidden location from the store, or even on a non-motorized driveway in the distance. The vehicles in the country are often in an "unclaimed" state, which causes greater difficulties for law enforcement.

  The reporter learned that in 2019, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology publicly solicited opinions on 9 compulsory national standard plan projects. One of the standards for the automotive industry is the "Four-wheel Low-speed Electric Vehicle Technical Requirements", and the completion period is 2021. Industry insiders believe that the promulgation of the national standard may provide guidance and reference for the compliance development of the aging scooter industry.

The necessity of legalization still needs to be demonstrated, and children should not buy them as gifts for the elderly

  Respondents pointed out that the chaos of scooters in the old age and the "semi-underground market" formed by it are in urgent need of the attention of city managers.

  At the source production side, it is necessary to clarify the safety and technical performance of low-speed electric vehicle products as soon as possible, establish and improve the low-speed electric vehicle market access and supervision system, and corresponding use management measures to solve the problem of disorderly production and use of low-speed electric vehicles. For non-compliant products, it is strictly forbidden to go on the road again, and illegal production companies are ordered to take recall or replacement measures, and consumers are guided to return and replace the products through legal channels to protect their rights.

  At the same time, carry out centralized rectification work, resolutely ban and eliminate low-speed electric vehicle manufacturers and products that do not meet the requirements in accordance with laws and regulations, and purify the market environment.

  Song Yu believes that although the old age scooters are reasonable, their disorderly development runs counter to the masses’ demand for refined city management. It is necessary to study and demonstrate the necessity and feasibility of the old age scooters legalization, and pass legislation. The method should be clarified, and the standards and management methods of each link should be clarified, so as to provide legal system support for the corresponding management work, so that the management of the old scooter can be truly implemented.

  Qiu Baochang, an expert of the Expert Committee of the China Consumers Association, believes that in terms of management methods, it is necessary to comprehensively manage production, sales, and use, control production problems from the source, and grasp sales and circulation problems through various channels such as market inspections and public reports. Use the end to catch on the road, and take temporary detention, fines and confiscations for those who violate the rules on the road. "Relevant law enforcement agencies need to cooperate and systematically manage." Qiu Baochang said. At the same time, we can also consider whether we can produce some safe transportation tools specially for the elderly, improve their standards, reduce speed, and increase vehicle safety. "It is important to consider not only the'last mile' travel needs of the elderly, but also the urban traffic and transportation conditions and social safety. It is very important to find a balance."

  The China Consumers Association reminds that consumers are expected to increase their safety awareness, consciously abide by traffic laws, choose legal vehicles to travel, and do not buy, drive, modify, or take a scooter. At the same time, children should not give old scooter as a gift to the elderly. The physical condition of the elderly is not as good as that of the young, their reaction is slower, and they are more likely to be injured. Acts of filial piety actually put their parents at risk.