With a growing number of teenagers performing dangerous maneuvers on brakeless "fixie" bicycles, police are launching an intensive crackdown. Concern is mounting in particular as authorities consider holding guardians responsible for child neglect in cases of repeated traffic law violations.
The Chungnam Provincial Police Agency and the Chungnam Autonomous Police Committee announced on the 29th that they will conduct an intensive crackdown on disorderly two-wheeled vehicle behavior over the two-month period of June and July.
Police plan to focus on offenses such as failure to wear helmets, signal violations, riding on sidewalks, and unlicensed driving. In addition to Chungnam, the National Police Agency is also conducting a nationwide intensive crackdown on two-wheeled vehicle traffic violations through July 31.
Police intend to focus their inspections on failure to wear helmets among utility motorcycles and elderly drivers aged 65 and over, as well as unlicensed driving and passenger capacity violations involving personal mobility devices (PM) such as electric scooters, and riding on crosswalks and sidewalks. Enforcement using equipment such as camcorders and unmarked patrol cars will also be carried out in parallel.
The most notable target of this crackdown is fixie bicycles, which either lack brakes or are not properly equipped with braking devices.
A fixie bicycle has a structure in which the pedals and wheels are fixed, so that when the rider stops moving their feet, the wheels also stop. Some users remove the brakes and use techniques such as "foot braking," which involves pedaling backward, or "skidding," which involves sliding the rear wheel, to slow down or perform stunts.
Police plan to focus their guidance and enforcement on cases of riding without brakes, fitting fake brakes, and dangerous skidding maneuvers. In the case of teenagers who violate the rules multiple times, authorities plan to consider applying neglect charges against their guardians under the Child Welfare Act.
In fact, according to survey results released by the Korea Consumer Agency in March, 75% of the 20 fixie bicycles sold on the market were not properly equipped with brakes. Of these, 20% had neither front nor rear brakes, and 55% had only a front brake.
In a survey of 400 people with experience using fixie bicycles, 42.8% answered that they had "had an accident or nearly had an accident." The proportion who experienced an actual accident reached 13.8%.
All 24 fixie bicycle users that the Consumer Agency observed in the field were not wearing helmets, and a significant number were found not to be following traffic laws, such as riding on sidewalks or crosswalks.
Police also plan to carry out prevention activities related to bicycle operation in child protection zones and at crosswalks. Under current law, bicycle users must dismount and walk their bicycles when crossing a crosswalk.
"Because two-wheeled vehicles leave the driver's body completely exposed, there is a high risk of serious injury or death in the event of an accident," an official at the Chungnam Provincial Police Agency said. "Please be sure to wear protective equipment such as a helmet and observe traffic laws while riding."
The National Police Agency also called for special caution, noting that "in summer, as the use of two-wheeled vehicles increases, the rate of traffic fatalities is 44.2% higher than in other seasons."
