Why is it hard to get rid of electric bicycles that are parked and charged randomly? The parking shed is occupied by debris. Electric cars are parked randomly in the corridor. Various flying cables and charging sockets are old and even have water stains.
■ Investigation motive
In the early morning of February 23, a fire broke out in Building 6, Mingshang Xiyuan, Yuhuatai District, Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province, killing 15 people and injuring 44 people.
The community has 6 high-rise buildings, each with 34 floors and 8 or 6 households on each floor. Many residents rely on electric bicycles to travel, which is convenient but also poses safety risks.
According to the person in charge of the Nanjing Fire Rescue Detachment, preliminary analysis showed that the fire was caused by a fire where electric bicycles were parked on the elevated floors of six buildings. The specific cause is under further investigation.
While people are lamenting this tragedy, they are also reflecting on issues such as random parking of electric bicycles and flying charging cables in the community.
Statistics from the National Fire and Rescue Bureau show that in 2023, a total of 21,000 electric bicycle fires were reported across the country, an increase of 17.4% compared to 2022; 80% of the fires occurred while charging, and 90% of the fires caused casualties. In foyers, hallways and stairwells.
Why are electric bicycles parked illegally and charged with flying cables constantly prohibited?
How to rectify it?
The reporter conducted an investigative interview.
□ Our reporter Zhang Shoukun
□ Ding Yi, our trainee reporter
On February 24, the day after the "Nanjing 2.23 Fire Incident", a reporter from the "Rule of Law Daily" visited many communities near Quanyechang, Chenyang Road in Tianjin and the East Third Ring Road in Beijing and saw that there were many private Pulling wires and charging electric bicycles illegally.
In addition to low-rise residences, some mid- and high-rise buildings also have flying wires hanging down.
On the balcony of the fourth floor of a 6-storey staircase building, a black wire more than ten meters long stretched out from the window, hanging from the security windows on the third and second floors to the mailbox at the entrance of the building. , the bottom of the wire is connected to a plug strip, and the electric bicycle charger is plugged into the plug strip, just like this in the mail box.
"Does this issue only matter if a fire causes casualties?!" A passing community resident complained to the reporter, saying that many residents hate this kind of flying cable charging behavior and know that there are safety risks, but have complained many times The problem has never been solved.
According to statistics from the National Fire and Rescue Bureau, a total of 21,000 electric bicycle fires were reported across the country in 2023, an increase of 17.4% compared to 2022; an increase of 23.4% in 2022 compared with 2021.
80% of e-bike fires occur while charging, and more than half of them occur during charging at night, while 90% of e-bike fires causing casualties occur in foyers, corridors and stairwells.
Experts interviewed pointed out that in recent years, the number of casualties caused by electric bicycle fires has increased compared with express delivery. Illegal parking and charging are important reasons.
It is recommended to reasonably demarcate the parking area to balance traffic order and people's demands for parking convenience; adopt price guidance methods to provide free or discounted charging in dedicated electric vehicle parking and charging areas; promptly investigate and deal with fly-wire charging and other behaviors; property service companies should strengthen corresponding measures management; consumers should also choose regular and well-known electric bicycle brands and accessories to reduce fire hazards.
There are few parking spaces and they are often occupied.
Electric vehicles are difficult to store and charge
In an old community in Tianjin, the reporter saw that there were also wires hanging out of the wall near the inner road to charge the electric bicycles parked there.
In addition, there are three or four companies charging electric bicycles on only one road in the community, and pedestrians pass by from time to time.
Some of the plug strips used for flying cable charging are very old, and some interfaces are even tied directly with tape.
Because it has snowed recently, many exposed power strips have water stains on them, which looks very dangerous.
In addition, some residents will push their electric bicycles into the public space on the first floor of the building to charge, and some residents will push their electric bicycles upstairs through the elevator and then charge them in the corridor.
From February 24 to 26, reporters visited Beijing and Tianjin on the spot and interviewed residents online in many places in Shandong, Anhui, and Shanghai. They found that illegal parking of electric bicycles was equally serious.
Unless it is a community that is completely separated from people and vehicles, there are mostly electric bicycles parked in the corridors of the community. The largest number of buildings has 11 parked in the lobby on the first floor. In some communities, only a few of the dozens of buildings have no electric bicycles parked in the corridors.
In some communities, there are clear spaces for parking next to the unit buildings, but some car owners park their cars at the door of the unit building for convenience, which affects the entry and exit of residents.
There are also electric bicycles in the community parked illegally on the fire escape.
The reporter observed that although some electric bicycles were not parked in the corridors, they were parked disorderly on the elevated floors of the buildings (referring to only structural support without enclosures) just like the community in the "Nanjing 2·23 Fire Incident" The open space layer of the structure) and there are no fire protection measures.
"Enhance awareness of safe electricity use... Disconnect the power supply in time before going out, do not overload electricity, and do not charge electric bicycles with wires." At 15:00 on February 24, at the entrance of a community near Tianjin Station, reporters watched There is a "Resident Safety Notice" posted on the bulletin board, and a poster is posted next to it.
However, upon walking into the community, the reporter saw a resident skillfully putting away the power strip extending from inside the house to the outside for charging electric bicycles.
“Why do you need to charge an e-bike like this?”
When asked by reporters, the resident explained that there is no charging station in the community where he lives. He has been charging his electric bicycles this way in recent years. There are people at home when charging, so nothing will happen; the lower floor where he lives is better. Well, it’s difficult to pull the cord if the floor is high, so you can only take the battery off and take it home to charge.
The reporter visited and found that even if there is a place to store and charge cars in the community, some electric bicycles will not "honestly" return to their places.
On February 26, in Hedong District, Tianjin City, the reporter saw that self-charging carports were installed in front of every building in the community, but some people still parked electric bicycles in the corridors.
"The carport is too small. Some people are charging here and some are parking here. It's impossible to tell them apart. If you can't park a few cars, the carport will be full. The remaining people still have to do something." A community resident told reporters Tell me why.
In a community in Heping District, Tianjin, the reporter noticed that although the community has an underground car storage area, it cannot be charged. There is only one charging cabinet in the entire community, and there are a total of 9 charging boxes, 3 of which are broken.
Ms. Zong, who lives in Zaozhuang, Shandong Province, told reporters that some neighbors illegally park and charge electric bicycles in the community to "save money."
“There are many electric bicycle charging piles outside our community, but compared to the number of electric bicycles owned by residents in the community, there are still too few charging piles. Some charging piles are always broken because there are no dedicated personnel to look after them. There is a risk of the bicycle being stolen when charging at a charging pile." Ms. Zong said that perhaps the most important reason is the price. Charging at a charging pile generally costs three or four yuan, but charging at home may only cost one or two yuan.
Because electric bikes need to be charged frequently, they can save a lot of money in the long run.
In addition, the reporter noticed that the paid car storage area in the community is managed by dedicated personnel, so there is no random parking, etc., while the situation in the public free carport in the community is not satisfactory.
In many communities, parking sheds are occupied by a large amount of debris and covered with thick dust.
A community guard told reporters that when some tenants moved out of the community, they could not take away their furniture, so they threw the furniture next to the parking shed and no one cleaned it for a long time.
Property management is not in place yet
Residents lack safety awareness
According to the Ministry of Public Security's "Notice on Regulating the Parking and Charging of Electric Vehicles to Strengthen Fire Prevention", for illegal parking and charging of electric bicycles in residential areas, if there is property, it will be managed by the property management company; if there is no property, it will be managed by the competent unit or village committee, residents The committee governs.
In addition, it also clearly requires the management party to "stop and organize clean-up" if problems are found. "If they refuse to clean up, they must report to the fire department of the public security organ or the police station."
The "Fire Safety Management Regulations for High-Rise Civil Buildings" promulgated by the Ministry of Emergency Management stipulates penalties for electric bicycles entering elevators and going upstairs to charge: Parking electric bicycles in public foyers, evacuation walkways, stairwells, and safety exits of high-rise civil buildings Bicycles or charging electric bicycles will be ordered by the fire rescue agency to make corrections. Business units and individuals who refuse to make corrections may be fined up to 10,000 yuan, and non-business units and individuals may be fined up to 1,000 yuan. Various places have also responded. , issued regulations that strictly prohibit electric vehicles from entering buildings and homes for parking and charging, and prohibiting flying wire charging.
Who is in charge and how? The relevant documents have clear and detailed regulations. Why are there still a large number of illegal parking of electric bicycles and flying charging cables in the community?
The reporter discovered some clues from many days of field visits and investigations.
At 19:30 on February 25, in an apartment near Chenglin Road, Tianjin, the reporter saw a resident pushing an electric bicycle out of the elevator. The security guard downstairs saw this and instead of reminding or discouraging him, he talked to him. They talked with each other with laughter, and then helped the residents open the door curtain at the entrance to let the electric bicycle pass.
According to a property manager in Chaoyang District, Beijing, the phenomenon of random parking and charging of electric bicycles is long-standing and difficult to solve in a short time.
“Many residents are unwilling to charge at charging piles. First, they find it troublesome and it takes a long distance to reach the charging pile. Second, they are accustomed to charging at home. There was no concept of charging piles many years ago. Everyone charges at home and there are multi-story elevators. The landlord provides convenience for charging at home; thirdly, in order to 'save money', the charging piles in the community charge on a per-use basis. In comparison, it costs less to push the electric car into the building to charge, or to carry the battery home to charge."
"Compared to the huge number of electric bicycles, safety accidents may be a small probability event, so some people think that it will not happen to them, but once it happens, it will be of great significance and very dangerous. The management of electric bicycles is also very troublesome, and some residents have to worry about it when charging. Pull out the cable and connect it, and put it back immediately after charging. When we are caught doing it, we just say a few words, and they will still charge like this next time. It is too tight and annoying." said the above-mentioned property manager. .
According to Dai Xianfeng, senior partner of Beijing Yingke Law Firm and vice president of the Legal Affairs Committee of the China Communications and Transportation Association, electric bicycles, as a convenient travel tool, have a huge base of users, and the consequent problem of parking in the community , charging demand is huge.
When planning and constructing some residential areas, they did not provide reasonable parking and charging facilities for electric bicycles, nor were they equipped with qualified fire-fighting facilities, which could not meet the needs of car owners and also caused dissatisfaction and resistance among car owners.
"There are also some residential property companies and neighborhood committees that do not have adequate management, do not effectively supervise and discourage illegal activities of electric bicycles, and do not clean up and rectify the parking places of electric bicycles in a timely manner, resulting in long-term problems. In addition, some electric bicycle owners lack safety awareness and the concept of the rule of law, do not abide by relevant regulations, park electric bicycles indiscriminately, pull wires without permission, enter buildings and homes, etc., which increases the risk of fires and traffic accidents," said Dai Xianfeng.
Chen Xiaomei, a lawyer at Beijing Yinghe (Guangzhou) Law Firm, believes that fire safety education and safety knowledge promotion are not enough, residents have insufficient awareness of home electricity safety, electric bicycle sales standards and channel management and control mechanisms are imperfect, "three noes" products and unauthorized modifications There are still many factors such as the problem of electric bicycles, which are the reasons for the random parking and charging of electric bicycles.
Strengthen supervision and severely punish violations
Optimize technology incentives and guidance
Can electric bicycles be parked on the elevated floors of residential buildings?
Zheng Xiang, a professor at Beijing Jiaotong University Law School, said that according to the law, it is prohibited to park or charge electric bicycles in public foyers, evacuation walkways, stairwells, and safety exits of high-rise civil buildings. It is not prohibited to park electric vehicles on elevated floors.
And from a practical point of view, one of the design purposes of the overhead layer is to facilitate parking.
"It should be noted that the law stipulates that if the electric bicycle parking spot does need to be placed in a building, it needs to be fire-proof separated from other parts of the building, and it should be equipped with necessary fire-fighting equipment. The charging facility should have an automatic power-off function when the building is full. When there are public foyers, evacuation walkways, stairwells, and safety exits on the ground overhead floor, it is prohibited to park or charge electric bicycles here, and centralized storage and charging places for electric bicycles should not be set up on the ground floor of the building." Zheng Xiang said.
If an accident occurs due to illegal parking or illegal charging of an electric bicycle, who should be held responsible?
Zhao Zhonghua, executive director of the Real Estate Business Center of Beijing Yinghe Law Firm, said that in the event of an electric bicycle fire accident, the owner, user, and manager of the electric bicycle must compensate for the losses, and relevant agencies can also impose administrative penalties on the responsible person in accordance with regulations. punishment.
Nowadays, many communities will explicitly prohibit electric bicycles from being parked in corridors for charging, and will also publicize the possible harm caused by parking electric bicycles indoors.
Therefore, the owner of an electric bicycle should foresee the possible harm caused by storing it indoors such as a corridor. If he still insists on parking the bicycle, he may bear criminal liability for the consequences of a fire on the electric bicycle.
"For property service companies, if an electric bicycle catches fire and explodes, causing damage to other owners or a fire accident occurs due to other reasons, and the property service company fails to fulfill its corresponding management and prompt obligations, it shall bear supplementary civil liability. According to It stipulates that property service companies should discourage or report the behavior of electric bicycles occupying, blocking passages, and other behaviors that may cause fire safety accidents, otherwise the relevant departments can impose fines on them. In addition, community residents' committees prohibit the indoor parking of electric bicycles. Charging and other safety hazards, we have the obligation to conduct timely inspections, strengthen publicity and education, and assist in fire fighting." Zhao Zhonghua said.
How to rectify the problems of random parking and illegal charging of electric bicycles in the community, and reduce and eliminate related accidents?
Zheng Xiang said that this is a comprehensive management issue. First, the parking range should be reasonably demarcated to balance traffic order and people's demands for parking convenience.
Specific parking and charging locations for electric bicycles can be installed between high-rise buildings in the community, and corresponding fire protection facilities can be equipped.
"Price guidance can be adopted, such as free or discounted charging in dedicated electric bicycle parking and charging areas. If it is cheaper than charging at home, residents will be more willing to park their cars in dedicated locations. The related costs can be determined by Manufacturers who produce and sell electric bicycles should bear the responsibility. Manufacturers can consider converting advertising costs into electricity subsidies, or they can rent out the space in specific parking areas as advertising space and use advertising costs to subsidize the difference in electricity bills." Zheng Xiang said that appropriate profit incentives It is better to achieve the purpose of standardized management than to blindly punish.
He pointed out that it should be noted that in practice, property management companies often have tight staff and it is difficult to promptly clean up electric bicycles parked in the community in a timely manner. Therefore, relevant technical means can be considered. For example, many shared bicycles are currently equipped with electronic fences. If you park in a designated parking space, the lock cannot be locked. You can consider using similar electronic fence technology on electric bicycles, and have the manufacturer install relevant facilities.
Some communities have installed monitoring equipment in the elevator. Once an electric bicycle is discovered pushing the elevator, the elevator cannot be closed.
The use of technical means can save labor and management costs and reduce direct conflicts between property companies and owners.
In addition to external reasons, the hidden dangers of electric bicycles themselves should also be taken seriously.
In order to effectively strengthen the safety supervision of the entire chain of electric bicycles and reduce safety accidents caused by electric bicycles, in 2022 the State Council Safety Committee issued a notice on the "Key Tasks and Division of Labor Plan for Strengthening the Safety Supervision of the Whole Chain of Electric Bicycles", requiring the strengthening of the production sources of electric bicycles. Link safety and quality.
Further accelerate the development of mandatory national standards for key core components such as lithium-ion batteries and chargers; study and formulate industrial policies related to electric bicycles and batteries, and add relevant regulations involving strengthening product quality and safety and improving source safety levels.
Chen Xiaomei suggested that consumers should choose regular and well-known electric bicycle brands and accessories to reduce fire hazards; relevant departments should strengthen supervision and inspection of electric bicycle sales and severely crack down on unqualified or unknown electric bicycles to prevent their inflow market.
In Zheng Xiang’s view, it is necessary to improve residents’ awareness of the rule of law and clarify the consequences of actions.
"On the one hand, we must vigorously publicize so that residents understand the necessity and importance of regulated parking and charging of electric bicycles, and realize that maintaining fire safety is their legal obligation. On the other hand, we must strictly enforce the law and punish those who do not park and charge in a regulated manner. Strict penalties will be imposed for any behavior, the basis and standards for law enforcement will be clarified, law enforcement behavior will be standardized, and training for property service personnel and related management personnel will be strengthened to jointly protect the personal and property safety of the people."