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© KYODOTokyo to start flagging electric scooter users for minor offenses
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© KYODO
26 Comments
Mat
Good lets start doing the same for cycles. I constantly see them riding the wrong way on the roads, or going fast on sidewalks and generally ignoring every concept of safety.
BlackFlagCitizen
It's about time. These scooter riders have the same mentality as bicycle riders - ignore all traffic laws. Also, how come these folks don't need to wear a helmet?
jojo_in_japan
The authorities barely stop bicycle violators let alone scooter. They don't even go after ながら運転 ... good grief.
factchecker
Do something about the idiots on bicycles while you're at it.
Michael Machida
I guess the Tokyo Metropolitan Police found yet another way to make money from the citizens. Drive safe everyone!
Ah_so
I was once stopped by a policeman for cycling on the road and told to cycle on the pavement. It confused me for years.
Moderator
Back on topic please.
hooktrunk2
@mat
Many one way streets have the words: 自 転 車 を除く written on a tiny white sign right below red "do not enter" signs. This says "except bicycles". As long as they ride on the left side of the road of a a one way street, it is perfectly legal. Is this the same for e-scooters?
shogun36
No they won’t.
They can’t even handle the bosuzoku and their little boyfriends on their bikes.
What makes them think they can even handle people on toy scooters?
hattorikun
Lots of places/roads/byways here in Japan general traffic rules do not apply to bicycles… so sometimes you might see someone riding toward you on a one way street, s/he probably has the right to do that… Tokyo rules are bicycles keep left, pedestrians keep right. Sometimes we do forget.
hattorikun
@shogun36 I think it’s easier to catch those on toy scooters as they are slower. It can be dangerous to others if the police use hot pursuits against those bozoku riders, which seems frustrating to us but I guess it’s understandable. Besides, what is the odds of seeing those rough riders these days around our neighborhood? I think it’s low.
Sheikh Yerboaby
Gotta give the cops something to do....
aikodesho
Riders of e-scooters, bicycles and alike need to be educated in basic traffic rules and laws, for both the safety of themselves and others.
Just saw the news that a 16 year old teen riding a bicycle last night without any light and had on ear pods, knocking down an elderly who then got knocked by oncoming truck.
Would like go eco and ride a bicycle or an e-scooter, but the risk is just as scary as driving a car. At least car drivers get re-educated each time they renew their driving license, knows the rules and weight of their responsibility to other drivers, passengers and any pedestrians.
stormcrow
Require Japanese scooter drivers to be properly insured. Most of them have basically no coverage and cannot pay for damages to pedestrians they injure on the street.
ElecFixer
I think its silly to make escooters classified the same as small vehicles and require registration. That means you would not be able to ride them around the parks because you would be riding a motor vehicle in the park. There are some huge parks down here in Kyushu and Shikoku. I see people using escooters down here round the big parks perfectly safely. They do not go close to others and I see them carefully slow down and even get off when near any busy area. Its a shame that a few idiots with no sense ruin it for everyone else.
Mocheake
Blowing smoke.
WilliB
These contraptions are annyoing as hell. And dangerous, as every other traffic participant must be in fear of hitting these things, which are tiny, hard to see, fast, and appear out of nowhere everywhere.
yakyak
Never happen, all lip service.
CS
Most of the posters in this topic are either too old and bored or want to take all the joy out of peoples lives because they are scared to death of trying anything new.
WilliB
CS
Err what? I have tried these things, and they are definitely fun. But they are dangerous as hell when let lose in city traffic, especially considering the the types of people who ride them, and Japanese traffic laws that say the bigger vehicle is always wrong, no matter how stupid the rider of the smaller one behaves.