Should Electric Scooter Users Get Insurance?

GrabWheels User (Irfan Medianto / VOI)

JAKARTA - Regulations on the use of electric scooters in Jakarta are still being discussed. The plan is for the DKI Governor Regulation to be issued and implemented in December.

Due to the absence of a legalized regulation, the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) advised Grab to improve the safety aspects of its electric scooter service tenants. One of the ways is by providing safety insurance guarantees, when using their services.

"Crucial points that need to be regulated include insurance guarantees. YLKI urges the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government and even the Ministry of Transportation to immediately strictly regulate the existence of electric scooters, before they become a new problem," said YLKI Daily Chair Tulus Abadi when confirmed by VOI, Thursday, November 14. .

In addition, said Tulus, the DKI Jakarta Transportation Agency must also tighten licensing requirements for scooter rental service operators and control rental rates.

Grab is the operator most highlighted about the electric scooter collision which resulted in the death of two people. Given, the scooter used by the victim was the result of a GrabWheels rental.

Tulus suspects that Grab management has not provided strong technical instructions and safety aspects to every Grabwheels user, which ones are allowed and which cannot be done.

Therefore, Tulus urges parties who rent electric scooters, especially Grab, to ensure and ensure that electric scooter users who rent GrabWheels understand the safety aspects of use. For example, it can distinguish between allowed and not allowed routes to cross.

This is a consideration of the lack of special infrastructure for scooter lanes, as well as the absence of adequate socialization to its users, which may still lack literacy related to traffic compliance.

"YLKI asked Grab management to stop renting electric scooters, before improving safety aspects for potential users," he said.

For information, on Sunday, November 10 in the morning, two Grabwheels electric scooter users, Wisnu (18) and Ammar (18) died. The reason, because it was hit by a car driver.

The traffic accident occurred in the Gate 3 area of Gelora Bung Karno. Based on the accounts of the survivors, the incident occurred when a sedan was driving fast enough from the direction of Senayan to the FX Sudirman shopping center.

At that time, the driver of the car, who was later found out under the influence of alcohol, tried to avoid the teenagers who were riding on the electric scooter. "When he was about to overtake towards the left lane, he ended up crashing," said Head of Sub-Directorate of Bin Gakkum Traffic Directorate of Polda Metro Jaya, Kompol Fahri Siregar.

According to Fahri, four of them suffered minor injuries because they avoided the collision. Meanwhile, the other two, Ammar and Wisnu, were not helped, even though they were taken to the nearest hospital to be given help.

Regarding regulatory issues for the use of electric scooters, the rules will take effect from December this year. "This week we finalize, then next week we will do it. We hope that the end of November will be signed by the Governor Anies Baswedan," said the Head of DKI Jakarta Transportation Agency, Syafrin Liputo.

Actually, the DKI Provincial Government also does not want to buy time in formulating a Governor Regulation (Pergub) regarding electric scooters. However, it cannot be denied that the rules for using electric scooters must be made comprehensively.

"The study cannot be partially limited to making arrangements for eScooter. But we will examine all the existing elements, so that when we issue the regulations this month they will not be revised intermittently," he explained.