Universities In South Korea Ban The Use Of Electric Scooters On Campus

The use of electric scooters in the campus environment is considered accident-prone. (Wikimedia Commons/Sonia Medina)

JAKARTA - A number of universities in South Korea have banned the use of electric scooters on campus, citing safety reasons. Meanwhile, the police cannot reach out to incidents related to electric scooters on campus, unless they cause death or serious injury.

The topography of several campuses which consists of hilly areas, to relatively narrow roads, makes the use of personal mobility devices such as electric scooters prohibited by campus authorities.

Meanwhile, some other campuses choose to place electric scooters in separate parking locations, not blocking roads and creating inconvenience to pedestrians. Users will walk after parking their electric scooter at the specified location.

The student dean of Hanyang University recently issued a letter to students not to use electric scooters on campus. In the letter, the dean said, "We have decided to limit electric scooters on our campus. We are currently planning to create safety guidelines which will be announced soon."

Illustration of an electric scooter (Wikimedia Commons/Ɱ)

According to an official from Hanyang University, the restrictions came after accidents large and small involving electric scooters occurred on campus, including a fire that broke out from an electric scooter battery that overheated and exploded in May last year.

There was also an incident of a wheelchair overturning caused by an electric scooter that stood up randomly in April this year, until the car collided with the e-scooter in May and July, respectively.

In particular, in the case of the July accident, a student was seriously injured which resulted in hospitalization in the intensive care unit, university officials said.

"We recently decided on restrictions, but if students express great discomfort over this, we will make another action with the student council," the university said, citing the Korea Times Friday, July 23.

In addition to Hanyang University, Ewha Womans University, Sungshin Women's, Dongguk and Soongsil in Seoul have previously banned electric scooters. All these universities have many hills and narrow alleys on their campuses.

Thus, there is a risk of accidents, but it is difficult to supervise them as university campuses are not categorized as public roads under the current Traffic Act.

Illustration of an electric scooter (Wikimedia Commons/Arto Alanenpää)

Since they are on private land, the management responsibility rests with the university, not the police. Even if an accident occurs, the police will not investigate unless it results in death or serious injury.

"The police have no authority over electric scooter users on campus, as they are not included in the Traffic Act. So we have been trying to raise awareness of safety measures for students," said an official from South Korea's National Police Agency.

Previously, from May 13, drivers of unlicensed electric scooters and other personal mobility devices would be charged 100,000 Korean won, or about 89 US dollars, often raising safety concerns.

"Under the amended Road Traffic Act, which came into effect Thursday, motorists will be required to have at least a motorcycle license with a minimum age of 16," the National Police Agency said, citing Yonhap May 11. Previously, anyone aged 13 and over could ride an e-scooter without a license.

The revised law will also impose a fine of 20,000 won for riding without a helmet and other protective equipment, and 40,000 won for riding with one or more people.

Meanwhile, if children under the age of 13 are found using the device, their guardian will be fined 100,000 won. The new rules apply to both own and rented personal mobility devices.

To note, the use of personal mobility devices has increased sharply in recent years from 98,000 units in 2017 to 196,000 units in 2019, according to the police. The number of accidents involving devices also increased from 225 in 2018, including four deaths, to 897 last year, including 10 deaths.