This airport-intended suitcase is capable of a blistering 8.08 miles per hour
July 1, 2024 at 12:41
- Japanese police charged a woman for riding her electric suitcase on the sidewalk without a license.
- The government classifies the suitcase the same way it does 50cc mopeds or motorcycles.
- This is the first time the government has charged a person for this sort of crime.
Electric vehicles are all over the world and sometimes in forms people don’t expect. In this story, one comes in the form of a suitcase meant to regularly go on airline flights.
Evidently, Japanese police view that sort of ‘vehicle’ as though it’s the same as a 50cc moped or motorcycle. When they caught a woman riding one of these suitcases on the sidewalk they charged her for riding it without a license.
More: Electric Bikes And Emissions Kill One Of The World’s Most Loved Motorbikes
The incident happened on March 13 and the bag in question appears to be an Airwheel SE3 Mobility Scooter. Authorities say it has a blistering top speed of 13 km/h. For those in the U.S., that’s a whopping 8.08 mph. Police made clear that everything would’ve been fine had the woman just had a driver’s license.
Somehow, authorities didn’t actually charge the woman until June 25. The next day, they held a press conference to announce the charges and show off the suitcase scooter in question. “I did not recognize it as a vehicle and did not think that a driving license was required,” the woman said according to StraitsTimes.
Interestingly, Japan doesn’t require a license for other electrified vehicles like bicycles. Those are allowed to travel up to 20 km/h.
At the same time, the Japan Traffic Act is clear. “Anything that does not meet the conditions, even if it looks like an electric scooter, is considered a regular moped or car and requires a driver’s license,” it says according to Google Translate. It goes on to clarify further.
“Vehicles that do not meet these standards will not be considered specific small motorized bicycles, even if they have an electric kick scooter or similar shape, and will continue to be subject to the traffic rules according to their vehicle classification,” it says.
Is all of this a bit silly? It sure seems like it. Who knows though, perhaps this woman was wreaking havoc on this mobility scooter suitcase. We just want a video of it if that’s the case.