Regulating low-speed EVs for road safety

Starting from Monday, the first day of 2024, the Beijing government has banned illegal electric three-wheelers and four-wheelers in the capital city.

For long there were loopholes in the regulatory mechanism of such vehicles. Most of these vehicles are of lower safety standards, making them vulnerable in accidents.

To make matters worse, because of ambiguities in the regulatory mechanism, many users of such vehicles simply drive them on the road without applying for registration. That means the law enforcement departments have little means to regulate these vehicles when they break traffic rules. And these vehicles were even exempted from paying parking fees.

In 2022 alone, such vehicles were involved in 131 fatal accidents in Beijing, claiming 138 lives.

That's why the traffic regulatory departments in Beijing issued a directive last year that has finally come into effect after a transition period. Those meeting safety and technology standards can still be used after registration.

In other words, the earlier ambiguity about their regulation has been removed. That should prompt manufacturers to follow safety standards more strictly in the design of such vehicles.

According to the official news release, any person over 16 years of age with limb disability can register for an electric vehicle that meets certain standards, while the transportation regulatory departments have set up over 430 taxi-hailing stations from where senior citizens can call a cab by just scanning a code. These measures serve to fill the vacancy left by the ban.

The Beijing authorities not only set a buffer period of half a year for owners to prepare for the ban, they have also provided subsidies for the owners of the banned vehicles to reduce their loss.