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.
A string of violators, however, ignore these conditions, endangering pedestrians.
“The repeat offenders truly represent only a small fraction of users. We can eliminate this behavior,” Okai said.
Since late June, Luup has intensified preventative measures in collaboration with law enforcement, immediately freezing the accounts of users found guilty of severe offenses like drunk driving or hit-and-runs.
For minor infractions, the company employs a proprietary point-based system, suspending accounts indefinitely if multiple violations are recorded within a set period.
“Assigning penalties even for minor infractions ensures users take riding seriously,” Okai explained, underscoring the importance of stricter enforcement.
“We don't need revenue from a handful of malicious violators. There's no room for leniency here,” he added.
Okai also argued that misunderstandings about the status of electric scooters contribute to violations. “Are they toys, similar to bicycles, or akin to cars? Because they’re new, people don’t understand the rules.
“If everyone recognized them as vehicles, no one would drink and ride, nor would they speed onto sidewalks,” he added.
Luup mandates that all users pass a comprehensive traffic rules test and plans to enhance awareness by revising test content and reviewing the number of questions in the future.
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