Japan sees sharp rise in drunken driving cases linked to e-scooters

8T, I really admire your passion for this issue. But I think the idea of bringing attention to the dangers of drunk driving a scooter without a helmet is probably more about safety than oppression. Call me old fashioned but I'm a sucker for the old fashioned bicycle! The ultimate freedom ride!

Drinking while operating a bicycle is technically a punishable offense as far as I know

what's next, banning drunk cycling?

It has been banned for a long time now.

Scooters are convenient and extremely useful when used by the right riders, they were not made or meant for DRUNKS and that is the problem.

Don't blame this business go after the drunks.

Japan revised its traffic law in April, scrapping the need for a license to ride e-scooters with a maximum speed of 20 kilometers per hour as well as the requirement for users to wear helmets.

I've never seen anyone wearing a helmet using these things.

When we see e-scooter users at nighttime in downtown areas, the first thing we suspect is drunken driving,

Well that explains it. Stop the bicycles and you'll find equivalent numbers of drunken riders. How about providing 24h public transit like any proper metropolis of this size?

Just give us some freedom so many rules In everything

Not so sure anyone that's lost a loved one to a drunk in charge of a motor vehicle would support you there, comrade.

TT

These things are a menace! Traffic is bad enough without having to contend with these things in front of you causing traffic jams

Yeah, they are easier to catch than vehicles.

Japan just needs to implement 24/7 public transit, or at least on weekends. I come from a really small town in Sweden and even there we had around the clock busses on weekends just for this purpose. This is going to become an even bigger problem when the average Japanese wallet shrinks.

Of course it doesn't excuse drunk driving, but the same problem on bicycles have been largely ignored, so not really a new problem, if anything they are smaller and slower then a bicycle as they have a cap.

JRO, there are buses that ride all night, at least in Tokyo. Or they used to be a few years ago when I was younger and drinking until late :)

I used to live in Tokyo but never saw this, except for some clubs doing this to bring people to and from their place. If they do have this on a larger scale I'd say it's heavily unknown and need to be better marketed. But also big cities such as Tokyo and Osaka should be able to run their subway 24/7, even if just a train every other hour.

This country does everything in its power to eliminate people's freedom unless you pay them to get somewhere.

It is not cutting freedoms, it is preventing accidents, you cannot drive a vehicle while intoxicated.. facepalm !!..

Those e scooters are a nightmare. Dangerous to use, and dangerous for any pedestrian they hit. They are a scourge in London.

Visited San Jose, CA recently where drunk young men go wild on e-scooters, doing amazing acrobatics with them, totally trashing them and then abandoning them on the spot when they break. At least Tokyo hasn't sunk that far.

I don't think the operators expected this many cases of drunken driving. We can only spread awareness and strengthen efforts to clamp down on it," said the senior police officer.

Hmm. Same old comment by the Police. Always ATARAZU SAWARAZU.... reply. No commitment or responsibility.

"Why are you just stopping me? Everyone rides them after drinking," exclaimed a man in his 40s when he was stopped by a police officer near Tokyo's Shibuya Station… 

Is this supposed to be journalism?

[sigh]

TT

When we see e-scooter users at nighttime in downtown areas, the first thing we suspect is drunken driving,

If they're trying to get home, then it's suburban or residential areas you should be looking at. Duh! In Shibuya, where I pass thru while commuting, I always see them used by people who need to get quickly from one part of the sprawling district to another.

These things are a menace!

They are also a lot more eco-friendly than most of the other vehicles on the road. They're also space saving and produce no noise pollution.

Simple, stop this service after 9 or 10pm when most drunks try to go home after few drinks.

Just give us some freedom so many rules In everything

no just dont get drunk then ride a bike or scooter, your freedoms dont give you the right to put others in danger for your stupidity. take a taxi , rent a hotel room or sleep under a bridge

In 2014, Tokyo's government had the spectacularly innovative idea of introducing "late-night bus lines". And as a trial to gauge interest, they had one line installed between Shibuya and Roppongi -- a distance you can walk in about 30 minutes. When, unsurprisingly, virtually noone used that bus line it was shut down end of October 2014 and the trial run was declared a failure. And it probably still stands as justification not to do late-night buses.

Haha yeah nice party bus, that will help all those poor people living in Shibuya or Roppongi to get home.

Riding a scooter under the influence does not have quite the same ring to it that drunken driving does.

New vehicles come with people using them while drunk, not exactly a surprise.

And what is the difference, between driving a motor scooter or an electric scooter when you are under the influence of alcohol?

The e-Scooters are supposed to have license plates, and riders are supposed to wear helmets. The Former has been followed, though the latter has not, and just like the rentable e-bikes, putting someone onto such a contraption without any prior experience, places the rest of us at risk.

I fell off mine last month and i was only half drunk.

Here in my state of Minnesota USA, people are routinely arrested for DWI for driving all manner of vehicles while drunk: ATV's, scooters, lawn mowers, golf carts, snowmobiles, bicycles, boats, and even a stolen forklift recently.

Where there's a will, there's a way! Alcoholics need alcohol.

JRO, I stand corrected, not all nite buses, but late-nite buses, usually a few around 1 pm. I used the 1:20 from Ikebukuro a few times, but there were quite a few. It seems that covid stopped them for the time being.

https://5931bus.com/midnightbus/departure/

There has to be a way... a way were drunk people can get home fast, cheap and in a safe manner. Uber helps massively in the USA but Japan won't allow it.

I've seen a lot o people riding around on e-Scooters ... no helmets being worn.

They ride around, without purpose, other than to draw attention to themselves, just as the Mario-Carts did before them - exhibitionists. So I guess it's a "Fad", that will eventually go away.

Simple, stop this service after 9 or 10pm when most drunks try to go home after few drinks.

9 or 10pm? Most of us are just getting started at that time, buddy.

TT

wonder how the inebriates were getting around before the introduction of e-scooters......

I get the restrictions on not being allowed to operate a car or motorcycle when you've taken alcohol, but I think banning e-scooters seem like overkill. sure, they're a traffic nuisance, but hey, everyone's just trying to live. what's next, banning drunk cycling?

JRO, there are buses that ride all night, at least in Tokyo. Or they used to be a few years ago when I was younger and drinking until late :)

Japan is the ultimate definition of a party pooper. Anything new and modern and they have a conniption. Are they also going to take away bicycles because i just bet people drink-cycle their way home. OR perhaps they could do something like gasp 24/7 transport! Night trains and buses! Oh wow what a novel idea that would be!

Best solution is to make it illegal to have alcohol and turn it into a controlle subtances like narcotics are handled. If caught drinking face 3 years in prison with 20 dollar fine. and if repeat offense then 8 years in prison and if you repeat the offense again life without parole. Why?? Because that stuff is POISON.

Just give us some freedom so many rules In everything

I'd sick of drunk (and sober) driver's killing innocent pedestrians even in broad daylight. It's cars that need banning not 20km pollution free scooters. Grip on reality everyone?

This country does everything in its power to eliminate people's freedom unless you pay them to get somewhere.

Instead of taking away the scooters, how about taking away the alcohol?