The Seoul Metropolitan Police Commission (Chairman Kim Hak-bae) held a meeting to secure safety, judging that it is urgent to prepare measures to prevent traffic accidents of personal mobile devices (PM), which have been increasing in use recently.
In Gangnam-gu, nine out of 13 private mobile device sharing companies that operate actual services in Seoul provide shared services, which is the most among 25 autonomous districts, and the risk of accidents is high. In response, Gangnam Police Station held various discussions with the Korea Transportation Safety Authority, Gangnam-gu Office, and private PM sharing companies on the 20th, including strengthening the △public-private cooperation system △ drinking driving and restricting the use of more than two people.
Since the recent lifting of social distancing related to COVID-19, the number of users who fail to comply with traffic laws such as drunk driving and not wearing protective equipment has increased as well as the number of people returning home at night due to lack of public transportation.
The usage of shared PMs in Seoul continues to increase to 1.19 million in February 2022, 1.42 million in March, and 1.86 million in April.According to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (estimated by Seoul Metropolitan Government), the number of drunk driving crackdowns on personal mobile devices increased 89.8 percent from 49 to 93, respectively, compared with a month before and after April 18, the date of the lifting of distance.
In this regard, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Commission visited the Gangnam Police Station to share collaboration cases, intensive crackdowns, and promotional plans for personal mobile devices with officials from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and discussed future measures.
Gangnam Police Station announced the results of the meeting held with the Korea Transportation Safety Corporation, Gangnam-gu Office, and PM sharing companies. Regarding promotions and campaigns to reduce traffic accidents, it said it will continue to cooperate between institutions. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said it will focus on two-wheeled vehicles* violations, including motorcycles and bicycles, for two months from May 30 to July 31 in line with the low-profile road traffic law (main contents: strengthening the duty of drivers of personal mobility devices).
As compliance with traffic regulations is a matter directly related to citizens’ lives, the Autonomous Police Committee urged crackdowns, education, and public relations to comply with traffic regulations on personal mobile devices, such as mandatory wearing of safety equipment. It also urged the government to actively share excellent crackdowns and improvements with neighboring police stations and local governments, and promised to actively support them at the committee level.
After that, we discussed ways to activate safety measures that actual users can comply with through the experience of shared personal mobile devices. As a way to activate safety measures for users, measures to strengthen night visibility by supplying light-emitting safety helmets and handles, and measures to activate the wearing of protective equipment by supplying disposable safety helmets were discussed.
Kim Sung-sup, a standing member of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Commission, said, “Personal mobile devices such as electric kickboards are convenient but dangerous, so we need to be careful as they can lead to major accidents such as deaths.”