At least it’s a little cooler than recumbent bikes.
In recent years, a wide variety of urban transportation methods have sprung up on the scene, from go-karts to rideable suitcases, and it’s making already chaotic traffic situations in major cities just that much more chaotic. One mode of transport that has really been catching on is the motorized kick scooter, which can be rented all over cities and doesn’t require a license.
But, with the moderate amount of power these scooters have comes a moderate amount of responsibility. With no license requirement, there’s no guarantee that the person you see riding a scooter really understands the rules of the road. So, the Osaka Prefectural Police have taken it upon themselves to show everyone, literally.
From 19 September, a team of six specially trained traffic cops from the Higashi, Tenma, and Minami Police Departments will be cruising major roads on their own motorized kick scooters and showing everyone just how it’s done. This isn’t simply a demo, however; they’ll actually be performing their regular duties and using the scooters to get around.
In Osaka Prefecture alone, there were 4,540 traffic violations involving motorized scooters last year, along with 59 accidents resulting in 62 injuries but luckily, no fatalities. According to the police, the biggest problem by far has been switching the scooters between 20-kilometer-per-hour (12.4-mile-per-hour) mode on streets and six-kilometer-per-hour (3.7-mile-per-hour) mode on sidewalks. It is very easy to notice because in six-kilometer-per-hour mode, the scooters’ lights flash.
A spokesperson for the police said that this is the first time police officers were issued scooters and encouraged people on the street to take videos of the unusual sight and spread the word on social media. Online comments about the program, however, were not as amused and largely felt that this wasn’t doing enough to stop the problem of motorized scooters. Several people even called for a flat-out ban on them.
“Great. More scooters on the road.”
“Clearly a waste of money. There’s no way that junk can be used in the field.”
“Isn’t that dangerous for the officers? Someone could easily just tip them over.”
“They should crack down on illegal parking and stopping. It hurts the flow of traffic and reduces visibility of cyclists and scooters.”
“These things should all just be banned.”
“No matter how safely they ‘model’ them, I just don’t think it’s a good idea to ride those things.”
“Even when riding safely, their wheels are too small and a stone can cause them to tip over.”
“About 30 percent of the time I see one, it’s breaking the law somehow.”
“These scooters are banned in other countries, but there’s hardly even regulation here.”
“Part of the problem is just the way the streets are designed, but they don’t belong on the roads here.”
“They’re trying to push cyclists to wear helmets, but not these people for some reason.”
While the rules for bicycle helmets aren’t actually changing, it is true that Japan is currently implementing a wide-ranging cracking down on a number of problematic behaviors when riding bicycles, but none of these rules apply to the class of vehicle kick scooters belong to. Some blame this on companies appointing former high-ranking law enforcement members to executive roles, similar to what pachinko parlors do to allow them to operate quasi-legal gambling businesses.
However things do play out, it would be nice to see these scooters used in a more responsible way, since they are pretty convenient and could help reduce congestion on the roads if done right.
Source: Asahi Shimbun, YouTube/The Asahi Shimbun Company, Bunshun Online
Featured image: ©SoraNews24
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