The government, teachers and parents should jointly address the increase in casualties among children riding electrically power-assisted cycles (EPACs), the Jin Chuan Child Safety Foundation said yesterday.
The foundation last year recorded 234 news stories covering accidents involving children and teenagers, 79 of which were traffic accidents.
According to the news reports, 133 children and teenagers died or sustained injuries in the 79 traffic accidents, while a majority of the traffic accidents involved motorcycles.
Photo: Ting Yi, Taipei Times
The foundation compared the number with the data recorded on the Ministry of Transportation and Communications’ road safety information platform and found that from 2020 to last year casualties among children and teenagers who operate EPACs or mini electric two-wheeled vehicles has continued to increase.
EPACs are mainly pedal-powered and supplemented with electricity. Their top speed is 25kph, and users are recommended to wear a safety helmet, based on their definition in the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例).
Mini electric two-wheeled vehicles are mainly powered by electricity, have no pedals and look like an electric motorcycle, and have a top speed of 25kph.
While no driver’s license is required to operate mini electric two-wheeled vehicles, a driver’s license plate, insurance and helmet is required. Except for EPACs, which can be used by people aged 18 or older to carry young children, other slow vehicles cannot be used to carry others, the act states.
Although those under the age of 14 are not allowed to operate or be carried by a mini electric two-wheeled vehicle, nearly 200 children and teenagers sustained injuries while illegally riding such vehicles, foundation executive director Hsu Ya-jen (許雅荏) said.
Those under the age of 14 are legally permitted to operate EPACs, but the number of casualties has doubled in the past three years, with 111 underage people dying or being injured last year, an all-time record, she said.
Hsu urged the government to create designated lanes for EPACs or lanes that can be accessed by pedestrians and EPACs.
Parents and teachers should also educate children about how to safely operate EPACs, including how to ensure that they are safe to ride and the traffic regulations they should follow, she said.
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