Major European countries and cities are tightening regulations to reduce accidents related to personal mobility (PM) such as electric scooters. The trend is to broaden the scope of oversight to include not only wearing helmets and reflective gear but also device registration, license plates, and mandatory insurance. By contrast, Korea also requires a driver's license and helmet use, but a comprehensive management system that covers device registration and license plates and lending operator registration and insurance remains far off. Related bills to address this are still pending in the National Assembly.
According to the city of Paris on the 24th, the Paris police made it mandatory as of the 7th to wear helmets and high-visibility and reflective gear when using PM such as electric scooters or Segways on public roads. Under the measure, users must wear reflective gear such as a high-visibility vest at all times of day when using PM.
◇ Paris, which ousted shared scooters, also tightens rules for personal use
The regulation applies to users of personally owned PM. If a helmet is not worn, a fine of 135 euros (about 220,000 won) is imposed, and if a high-visibility vest or reflective gear is not worn, a fine of 35 euros (about 60,000 won) is imposed.
Paris had already been ratcheting up PM regulations. In 2023, it held a referendum on whether to oust shared PM, and with 89.03% of voters favoring a halt, the service was fully suspended. As a result, 15,000 shared electric scooters operated by three companies—Lime, Dott, and Tier—were completely withdrawn. After removing shared PM, the city has now made it mandatory for users of personally owned PM to wear safety gear.
The reason for such stringent regulations is a surge in related accidents. According to the French National Interministerial Observatory of Road Safety (ONISR), there were 79 deaths from PM accidents last year, up 34 from the previous year. The seriously injured numbered 1,200, a 38% increase over the same period.
◇ Europe expands to device registration and insurance
Spain and Italy are building management systems by registering PM with authorities. In Spain, all PM owners must register their devices with the Directorate-General for Traffic (DGT) to receive a unique number and registration certificate, and they must attach an identification label to the device. As with cars, changes in ownership or device disposal must also be reported.
Along with the registration system, insurance is also mandatory. PM owners must purchase liability insurance, and failure to do so can result in fines of up to 610 euros (about 1,000,000 won). The scope of management has been broadened so that, in the event of an accident, the device and owner can be identified and victims can be compensated.
Italy likewise made it mandatory starting in May this year to attach a unique identification label to PM that can verify the device and owner. According to the Italian Ministry of Transport, as of the end of June, no fewer than 133,135 identification labels for electric scooters had been issued nationwide.
◇ In Korea, related bills are "at a standstill" in the National Assembly
Korea also has PM-related rules in place, but the focus of regulation is largely on users. Under the current Road Traffic Act, to operate an electric scooter, a driver's license equal to or higher than a moped license is required. A moped license can be obtained from age 16, so those under 16 cannot operate electric scooters. Wearing a helmet is also mandatory.
By contrast, there is no system like in Spain or Italy to register individual PM and attach an identification number or license plate. In addition, a separate registration or permitting system for shared PM lending operators is likewise absent.
Bills to address this have been introduced in the National Assembly. Lee Yeon-hee of the Democratic Party of Korea introduced the Act on the Safety and Promotion of Use of Personal Mobility Devices in February. Its core is to require owners of personal PM to report them to local governments and attach license plates, while requiring lending operators to meet certain conditions such as purchasing insurance and register with provincial governors and mayors. Kim Jeong-ho of the Democratic Party also introduced an amendment to the Motor Vehicle Management Act in November last year to assign unique numbers to electric scooters owned and managed by shared PM companies and to require license plates that can identify them.
But both bills have yet to clear the National Assembly. Lee's bill was referred to the Land Infrastructure and Transport Committee in February and was reviewed twice by the subcommittee on traffic legislation screening in April, but it has not yet passed the subcommittee. Kim's bill was also referred to the committee in November last year, placed on the agenda at a full committee meeting on Feb. 10 this year, and then sent to the subcommittee on bill screening, but no further review has taken place since.
As the establishment of a system is delayed, shared PM companies are independently strengthening safety measures. GBike, which operates the shared mobility platform GCOO, has been blocking the lending of electric scooters to users under age 16 in the app since last month. It also developed an "electronic locking helmet" that unlocks through the app and is resecured to the device upon return to encourage helmet use, and it is operating the system in Uijeongbu and Busan.