Measures Against Drunk E-Scooter Use Remain Insufficient; Half Measures Fail to Curb Danger from Intoxicated Riders

By Kyosuke Murakami / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

11:35 JST, January 12, 2026

In response to a surge in the reckless operation of electric kick scooters, the police have begun efforts to provide Tokyo-based Luup, Inc., the largest e-scooter sharing service, with information on vehicles known to have violated the law.

These measures meant to help identify reckless drivers and restrict their use of the scooters in accordance with their violations of the law. Yet, their effectiveness remains unclear, particularly against serious offenses such as drunk driving, a fact which has spurred police to call on service providers to take more effective measures of their own, such as suspending the use of scooters during nighttime hours.

Surge in Usage

The use of e-scooters grew rapidly after the revised Road Traffic Law took effect in July 2023, allowing anyone aged 16 or older, even without a driver’s license, to operate these vehicles, which are legally classified as “specified small motorized bicycles [or specified mopeds for short].”

The total number of specified mopeds now in service across two major sharing service companies was approximately 28,000 units as of June 2025, an approximately 3.6-fold increase since 2023. The app for using Luup’s services has been downloaded more than 5 million times in total.

However, accidents and violations involving e-scooters have also become much more frequent. According to the National Police Agency, there were a total of 586 such accidents that resulted in injury or death between the day the revised law took effect and June 2025. Violations recorded by police, such as riding a scooter on the sidewalk or ignoring traffic light signals, numbered approximately 65,000.

One particularly pressing issue is people operating e-scooters while under the influence of alcohol. Of the 163 traffic accidents involving e-scooters recorded from January to June, 2025, 29 — 17.8% of the total — involved operators who had been drinking, the same high level as in 2024. This rate was about 22 times higher than that seen for bicycles, where it sat at 0.8%. Most of these accidents involved e-scooters that were being borrowed from sharing services.

Mobilizing security personnel

Viewing the situation as serious, Luup revised its terms of use in November and built a system for receiving police information on the license plate numbers of vehicles identified as involved in legal violations and the times when such violations occurred. The company has even gone so far as to implement a policy of suspending people from using the service if it comes to light that they have committed violations such as operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

Furthermore, since Dec. 9, 2025, the company, on a trial basis, has mobilizing security personnel at e-scooter rental stations in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, to use breathalyzers to determine if users have consumed alcohol before they are allowed to operate a scooter. This measure is aimed at identifying where and when the rate of drunk riding is higher, thus helping them to develop countermeasures.

However, service providers are still treating the issue of drunk vehicle operation with less urgency than the police.

In July 2025, the NPA made a written request for Tokyo-based business group the Japan Micromobility Association to implement more effective measures such as ceasing to offer their services at night.

The NPA’s analysis of accidents involving e-scooters in the first half of 2025 showed that 60% of accidents in which alcohol was a factor occurred between midnight and 5 a.m., reflecting high demand for these scooters after the last trains of the night have departed.

While some service operators have stopped late-night rentals, the number that have done so remains limited.

The association acknowledges that suspending late-night operations “seems potentially effective to some extent.” But it adds, “There is demand from people who work until late at night, it will be a challenge to balance [reining in intoxicated vehicle use] with convenience for users. We will explore measures from multiple angles.”

‘A Means of Transport in Daily Life’

“Many friends of mine drive it after drinking.” So said a 23-year-old male university student who arrived on an e-scooter in the early hours, one day in November in Kabukicho, an entertainment district in Shinjuku Ward.

Meanwhile, a 22-year-old female freelancer said, “I’ve driven under the influence of alcohol before, but now I won’t drive after drinking. It’s a means of transport for my daily life for commuting to work and going out for fun. And it would be tough if I could no longer use it late at night.”

Service operators have thus far introduced warnings against drunk driving and deployed security personnel at rental locations in entertainment districts during those periods of the year when drinking opportunities increase.

But these measures have not solved the whole problem. A senior police official said, “We will vigorously enforce regulations and persistently continue to educate users. We will also pay close attention to how the service operators respond.”

‘A means of transport for my daily life’

“Many friends of mine use them after drinking,” said a 23-year-old male university student, one day in November in Kabukicho, an entertainment district in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo. He had arrived there on an e-scooter in the early hours of the morning.

Meanwhile, a 22-year-old female freelancer said, “I’ve operated a vehicle under the influence of alcohol before, but I don’t do that anymore. These are a means of transport for my daily life, for commuting to work and going out for fun. And it would be tough if I could no longer use them late at night.”

Service operators have thus far introduced warnings against using their vehicles while drunk and deployed security personnel at rental locations in entertainment districts during those periods of the year when drinking opportunities increase.

But these measures have not solved the whole problem. A senior police official said, “We will vigorously enforce regulations and persistently continue to educate users. We will also pay close attention to how the service operators respond.”

Helmetless riders at greater risk

While e-scooter riders are only obligated by law to “make a sincere effort” to wear a helmet, it is still vital to be prepared in case of an accident.

An experiment by the Japan Automobile Federation looking into the effects of colliding with a curb while riding an e-scooter at a speed of 20 km/h showed that non-helmet wearers suffered approximately 6.3 times more head injuries than helmet wearers, putting them at greater risk of serious injury or even death.

Professor Hajime Tozaki of J.F. Oberlin University, an expert on transportation policy, pointed out: “As many people ride e-scooters without wearing a helmet, accidents have the potential to cause serious consequences. The prevalence of drunk riding cannot be left unchecked. One measure could be to suspend use of these scooters late at night, even if only at some of the rental spots near entertainment districts. Going forward, if service operators fail to take any effective countermeasures on their own, new regulations should be considered.”