Beginning in July, the Beijing Administration for Industry and Commerce will take tough measures against shops that continue to sell substandard non-motor electric vehicles, and in serious cases, distributors will have their licenses taken away.

This came after local quality watchdogs, police and fire departments sat down with big- and medium-sized electric vehicle distributors and various sales outlets to review their business practices.

Many shops have already received notices, sending the market into shock. People who have immediate plans to buy are warned against buying substandard electric bicycles or tricycles and encouraged to buy ones that live up to national standards. In particular, they are discouraged from buying scooters that run at a speed that exceeds the national speed limit.

Beijing is now home to more than 4 million non-motor electric vehicles. In 2015, there were 31,000 accidents related to two-wheel electric vehicles, leading to 113 deaths and 21,000 injuries. These vehicle drivers were found to speed, retrograde, run red lights, be overloaded and even drive on motorways, posing a threat to themselves and others.

Beijing's effort to step up supervision on scooter production and sales will undoubtedly help to clean up the market. But the issue must go beyond the government to include individuals who need to follow the law, and businesses like take-away restaurants that need to adjust their business mechanism to ensure courier safety.

Moreover, some substandard vehicles on Beijing's roads were bought in other cities or online, making it almost impossible for Beijing to impose relevant regulations. This fact makes it difficult to predict how much the city's new ban and regulations will help to deter substandard and over-the-speed-limit electric vehicles from running on its streets.

Set a standard

Editorial (The Beijing News): In recent years, non-motor electric vehicle users have been recklessly riding on the streets of Beijing, severely disrupting the traffic order. Mounting complaints about this phenomenon has caught the attention of relevant authorities in the capital. Thus, it's no surprise to see Beijing taking severe regulatory measures against the scooter market. This action can no longer be delayed.

The reason behind these vehicles' increasingly unfettered and careless use is the lack of technical standards to rein them in. Currently, there is no national manufacturing standard for non-motor electric vehicles. As a result, when regulating the trade, local authorities have no rules to follow. In addition, for many years, these vehicles have not been defined as motorcycles nor bicycles.

Moreover, many sellers accelerate the speed of these vehicles in order to attract more customers. Some shops are able to update the speed within 10 seconds. There are no speed-limiting capabilities for these vehicles during the production process. As a result, couriers can rush at high speeds on their way to deliver goods despite the fact that thousands of traffic accidents involving couriers take place every year.

Beijing's new policies aim to solve the problems in production, sales and use. They stipulate that scooters can drive no more than 15 km per hour and driving permits and license plates will now be required for riding electric bicycles.

In addition, laws have been put in place to curb illegal selling of these vehicles. Deterred by the threat of being ousted from the market, vehicle dealers will now try to adhere to relevant laws. The combination of laws and implementation should make it easier to regulate these crazy vehicles. Regular inspections should also be included in the regulations, especially for scooters used by seniors.

In fact, scooters for the elderly have become a striking threat to public traffic safety. Statistics show that traffic accidents involving elderly scooters make up a big proportion of the tally. Effective implementation of laws and regulations is expected to lessen or even remove the risks posed by these scooters to the public.

To regulate Beijing's non-motor electric vehicles market will not only benefit local citizens but will also provide valuable experience for other cities.

All parties involved

Tangjiweide (www.gmw.cn): Scooters are becoming increasingly popular among the public because they're fast, cheap and convenient. However, their rising number has also triggered a series of serious traffic problems such as speeding, drunk driving and breaking traffic laws, which are contributing to more and more traffic accidents.

One reason for frequent accidents involving these vehicles is the lack of regulations. Some scooters are also involved in illegal trading and operation. However, it is very hard to tackle the problem since too many parties are involved and some are emboldened by the fact that they doubt that laws will ever be able to punish so many law breakers.

The lack of traffic regulations directing non-motor vehicles makes it even harder to deal with illegal vehicles. Statistics show that it takes only 5 minutes to communicate efficiently with a motor car driver but it takes 20 minutes to instruct an electric bike rider.

The biggest challenge to law enforcement is that there is no other recourse but to educate and fine users. In many cities, the number of illegal non-motor electric vehicles is extremely large, making the issue more difficult to tackle.

To prevent the current situation from getting worse, the most important thing is to control and regulate the production and sales of these vehicles, especially a ban on illegal vehicles. How to properly balance the interests of producers, users and the public will be a hard test for relevant authorities.

Shu Nian (Workers' Daily): Regulating the production and selling of illegal non-motor electric vehicles will result in the reduction of the number of these vehicles on the road, which is crucial to eliminating the threat they pose to public safety.

Most users are couriers, rushing to deliver goods and meals. They drive extremely fast on the roads, sometimes even ignoring traffic rules, increasing the danger of traffic accidents. For this group, it's important to raise its awareness of traffic safety. Besides, the root cause of this problem is that companies, which strive for high profits, require the couriers to deliver as many meals as possible within a certain time frame. This undoubtedly prompts the couriers to drive as quickly as possible, neglecting their own safety.

When customers order meals through their phone apps, they are always promised delivery within 30 minutes by these online platforms, regardless of the actual distance. However, it is almost impossible for couriers to complete the delivery within the allotted time, but they are pushed to do so since they are fined by their employers if they fail. Therefore, when regulating scooters, such businesses should also be targeted.

It's common to see many non-motor driveways occupied by motor cars, but few officials stop the practice; substandard non-motor electric vehicles are produced, sold and sent on the road, but most of them face no penalty; and sometimes police are not strict enough in dealing with accidents involving these vehicles. All of these unpunished practices are encouraging the expansion of illegal scooters.

Therefore, in order to effectively regulate the industry, we need efforts from all parties including riders, law enforcement and businesses. Only when all parties work hand in hand can we make a coordinated effort to maintain traffic order and public safety.

Copyedited by Rebeca Toledo

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