A new system for electric scooters began on the 1st, and those that meet certain criteria such as maximum speed can be used without a driver's license. In Tokyo, people in charge of sharing businesses and dealers called for use in accordance with the rules.
Under the new electric kickboard system that began on January 1, if the maximum speed is 20 km / h or less and meets criteria such as body size, it can be used without a driver's license if you are 16 years old or older.
In Shibuya, Tokyo, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and electric scooter sharing companies compiled traffic rules and handed out handouts to users to drive on the left edge of the roadway and to make "two-step right turns" at intersections.
On the other hand, at electronics retailers in Shinjuku, electric kickboards that met the new standards were sold, and customers immediately visited.
According to the law, when selling electric kickboards, businesses must make efforts to provide traffic safety education to customers, and dealers showed videos summarizing traffic rules and verbally conveyed precautions to encourage customers to use the scooters in accordance with the rules.
A man in his 30s who purchased it said, "I bought it because I thought it would be convenient as an easy means of transportation, such as when going out to eat, and I would like to be especially careful about safety when running on the sidewalk."
A person in charge of an electronics retailer said, "We are expecting an increase in demand, especially among the younger generation, and we hope that people will use it safely by watching videos on traffic rules."
What are the new rules for electric kickboards?
With the enforcement of the revised Road Traffic Act, new rules will be applied to electric scooters from the 1st.
Those that meet certain criteria such as maximum speed and body size fall under the new category of "specified small motorized bicycles", and those over 16 years old can ride without a driver's license.
Wearing a helmet is just as compulsory as a bicycle.
In addition, if you can control the maximum speed to 6 km / h or less, you can also ride on sidewalks where bicycles are allowed.
On the other hand, traffic violations are subject to the so-called "blue ticket" and require the payment of a penalty.
If you repeat the 17 violations specified by the National Police Agency, such as ignoring traffic lights or running while using a mobile phone, you will receive a special course.
According to the National Police Agency, from September to the end of May, there were 9,5 arrests nationwide for traffic violations using electric kickboards, many of which were violations of traffic classifications such as driving on sidewalks.
As the number of users is expected to increase, police forces nationwide are strengthening their awareness of the rules and enforcement.
250 municipalities "not scheduled to be granted until 3 days"
To drive on public roads with an electric kickboard, you need a license plate.
The size of the plate is smaller than that for mopeds to fit within the width of the car body for safety reasons.
License plates are supposed to be issued by municipalities, and the national government has called on local governments nationwide to prepare to start issuing license plates by the third weekday, the first weekday after the law goes into effect.
However, when we checked the status of preparations by municipalities nationwide, as of May, 3 local governments, or more than 5% of the total, responded that they did not plan to issue the grants by the 14rd.
Of these, 250 municipalities plan to start issuing them in July, and some of them are scheduled to start next year or later.
Most of the areas are expected to have few users, but there are also places where plate manufacturing is delayed and early issuance is not possible.
In Chiba Prefecture, some cities are delayed until mid-July.
In Chiba Prefecture, in a national survey in early June, 6 out of 54 municipalities said they would not be able to start issuing grants by the 10rd, the first weekday in July.
In Urayasu City, the start of issuance is scheduled to be delayed until mid-July.
In April, the city placed an order for 7 license plates from a manufacturer, but received a notification from other municipalities that the delivery date would be delayed to the middle of this month because the order could not be placed in time.
For this reason, the city decided to substitute large license plates for moped bikes as an interim measure until a special plate could be issued.
According to Urayasu City, new traffic rules will be applied to this license plate as well.
Hajime Ikeda, manager of the Urayasu City Citizens' Tax Division, said, "We ordered plates immediately from the beginning of this fiscal year, but we could not make them in time.