Shiga: Electric-Powered Kick Scooters Arrive at Police Stations; Officer Kick Off Scooter Experience with Training

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:10 JST, July 13, 2024

OTSU — The Shiga prefectural police have distributed an electric-powered kick scooter to each of the prefecture’s 12 police stations.

As this type of scooter is becoming increasingly popular as a new vehicle, the provision aims to promote understanding of the vehicle among police officers who enforce the laws that regulate their use.

Training sessions were held on May 24 in the main conference room of a mobile police unit and at the driving technique training field in the town of Hino in the prefecture, with about 30 police officers from all the police stations participating.

Police officers from the traffic planning division and traffic guidance division of the prefectural police instructed the participants on basic road rules, such as the area on the street where the scooters are allowed to ride and the obligation to try to wear a helmet.

Additionally, they learned that electric-powered kick scooters with a maximum speed of 20 kph or faster require a driver’s license to operate. They also experienced using a turn signal and other features by actually riding the scooters.

“It was a little difficult to keep my balance at low speeds,” one officer said. “My line of sight also tended to go down, so I felt like I needed to be more careful.”

A prefectural police officer in charge of the training said, “We expect the use of electric-powered kick scooters to increase in the future, so we would like to encourage people to learn the correct traffic rules and use the vehicles safely.”