According to statistics from relevant Chinese institutions, in one year, more than 520,000 pieces of public opinion information about the consumption of electric balance wheels in China were monitored, of which negative information accounted for 42.48%, and most negative public opinions were about safety accidents. Electric balance wheels rely solely on the movement of the driver’s center of gravity to accelerate, decelerate, and turn. Many people find it exciting and cool, and they have been selling well for several years. On the one hand, it is hot selling, on the other hand, it is risky. Recently, the Shanghai Market Supervision Bureau announced the results of random inspections on the quality of electric balance wheels, and nearly 70% of them were unqualified.
The Shanghai Municipal Market Supervision and Administration Bureau recently announced the results of a spot check on the quality of electric balance wheel products. Among the 20 batches of samples tested, nearly 70% were unqualified.
Lang Minfei, Product Quality Supervision Division of Shanghai Municipal Market Supervision Administration: A total of 20 batches of products were sampled in this random inspection, 13 batches of unqualified products were found after testing, and the overall unqualified detection rate reached 65%.
The reporter learned that the 20 batches of samples checked this time were all from physical stores and e-commerce platforms in Shanghai. Among them, 2 batches were sampled in physical stores and 18 batches were purchased from e-commerce platforms.
Among the 15 items tested, 6 items were found to have quality problems, namely: waterproof performance, salt spray corrosion resistance, overspeed protection, slope standing ability and protection, charging lock, and anti-flying protection. Among the 13 batches of unqualified samples, there were not only products from traditional well-known Chinese brands such as “Forever” (永久) and “Phoenix” (凤凰), but also products of new brands like “Haichezu” (嗨车族), “Maikula” (麦酷拉), “Baoxing” (豹行) and “Bibu” (比步).
Professionals told the reporter that electric balance wheels are also called somatosensory vehicles, which are mainly divided into two categories: one-wheel and two-wheel. According to data, in 2001, the United States launched the world’s first applicable two-wheeled electric balance wheel; in 2009, China began to produce electric balance wheel. Because of its lightweight and mobility, the electric balance wheel has become a trendy product loved by many young people once it was launched.
However, due to the quality problems of some electric balancing vehicles, especially the lack of safety protection functions, safety accidents caused by electric balancing vehicles have occurred frequently in recent years.
At the Suzhou Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Institute, which is responsible for this spot-check, the inspectors said that compared with bicycles and other vehicles, electric balance wheels have no throttle and no brakes. They rely purely on the degree of inclination of the cyclist to control the driving. If you don’t pay attention to the direction and speed, the cyclist will lose control and fall and cause personal safety accidents. Therefore, it is particularly important that the various protection functions related to the safety performance of the electric balance wheel meet the national standards.
Like most types of vehicles, the speed limit is one of the effective methods for electric balance wheels to protect the safety of users. China’s national standard “General Technical Requirements for Electric balance wheels” also specifically sets up an overspeed protection project, which stipulates that electric balance wheels should have continuous safety warnings when the speed limit is exceeded, and continuous rocker functions or similar protection functions to restrict users from continuing to accelerate and protect User safety.
Inspectors told the reporter that there is a very obvious difference between the qualified and unqualified products of the electric balance car overspeed protection project during the riding process.
Yuan Zhihuan, an engineer from Suzhou Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Institute: When a qualified product reaches its limited speed, there will be a very obvious rocker, that is, the rocker will tilt up, and you will be forced to brake, and then there will be An alarm, the sound of Didi. If it fails, it will be a normal ride, and there will be no response.
The reporter has noticed that during the cycling experiment, some vehicles will sound a beep when they accelerate to a limited speed; but for some samples, no matter how much the vehicle accelerates, there will be no response.
Yuan Zhihuan, an engineer of Suzhou Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Institute: In this test, a total of 20 batches were tested, of which two batches were unqualified. It is during the driving process, that is, the driver will continue to maintain a high-speed state. There is no brake and no alarm.
The reporter learned that the two batches of samples that failed the overspeed protection project were self-balancing electric bikes labeled as Haichezu family and electric balance wheels produced by Yongkang Anshang Fitness Equipment Co., Ltd. According to testers, consumers who use electric balance wheels with unqualified speeding protection items are likely to overspeed unknowingly during riding, which brings unnecessary safety hazards.
Yuan Zhihuan, Engineer of Suzhou Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Institute: It will cause drivers to ignore some unexpected situations during the driving process, and there may be some safety hazards.
Like the overspeed protection project, the ability to stand on a slope and protection is another important project for assessing the consumer protection function of the electric balance car. The so-called standing capacity and protection, in layman’s terms, requires that when riding an electric balance wheel on a specified slope, it can be parked on it at any time and can be maintained for 5 minutes, or a safety warning is issued. The setting of this project takes into account the actual conditions of the road surface with flat and sloping roads. However, during the inspection process, the reporter found that some electric balance wheels not only failed to park normally when riding on a prescribed slope, but even slipped backward.
Yuan Zhihuan, Engineer of Suzhou Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Institute: Now it is on a slope of fifteen degrees. This product cannot be parked on it, and there is no safety warning. It has been declining. Can’t park on it.
According to the inspector, the electric balance wheel cannot be parked on a prescribed slope, which means a risk to consumers.
Yuan Zhihuan, Engineer of Suzhou Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Institute: If a driver wants to stop on a slope and want to do something else, there is a risk of falling down.
The reporter learned that in this test, three batches of samples were included, including the electric balance wheel labeled as Maikula brand, and the electric balance wheel produced by Yongkang Tianben Industry and Trade Co., Ltd. and Yongkang Jiuduan Industry and Trade Co., Ltd., The ability to stand on slopes and the inspection of protection items are unqualified.
During the investigation, the inspectors told the reporter that although the electric balance wheel is very convenient to use, it also has its inherent disadvantages, that is, once it encounters steep slopes, steps or large potholes and other roads, it cannot be ridden at all. The cyclist had to pick it up and walk past it before continuing.
Liu Hao, Engineer of Suzhou Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Institute: At this time, if we keep rotating the balance bike during this process, it will hurt our human body. It may accidentally scratch ourselves, or it may be possible for others.
A moving vehicle is picked up, and if the wheels continue to spin, it is likely to cause injury to cyclists or other passers-by. Based on this reality, the national standard stipulates that after the electric balance car is picked up, the wheel anti-rotation protection becomes one of the important indicators for assessing the safety performance of the electric balance car.
Liu Hao, Engineer of Suzhou Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Institute: The standard stipulates that our balance scooter, we lift it up, and its wheels can stop rotating within five seconds, and will not continue to rotate.
However, during the inspection process, the self-balancing electric vehicle, which is known as the Haichezu brand, was picked up for five seconds, and the wheels were still spinning rapidly. According to the inspector, from a technical point of view, it is not difficult to achieve anti-spinning of the electric balance car wheels. This situation shows that the manufacturer does not pay enough attention to product quality.
Liu Hao, Engineer of Suzhou Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Institute: One possibility is that the designers of their manufacturing companies did not have a thorough understanding of our national standards when designing this product. They did not include this feature when designing the product. There is another possibility that they know that there is such a requirement in the national standard, but in order to save costs, he omitted this function.
During further investigation, the reporter learned that the electric balance car needs anti-flying protection when it is picked up, and it must have a charging lock function when it is placed at home for charging.
Yuan Zhihuan, Engineer of Suzhou Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Institute: The main assessment of the charging lock is the protection function of the electric balance car in the charging state. National standards require that the electric balance car cannot be turned on normally when it is charging, or it cannot drive normally when it is turned on.
Inspectors told the reporter that China’s national standards stipulate that electric balance wheels cannot be turned on during charging, or even if they are turned on, they cannot be driven. The purpose is to prevent consumers from forgetting to unplug the power source and start riding while charging. You may trip over the power cord and cause undue injury. However, in this test, there are still two batches of samples that can be turned on and driven under the condition of plugging in and charging.
The two batches of samples that failed to pass the charging lock project are the Haichezu brand and the Maikula brand electric balance wheel.
The speed limit is exceeded but the alarm is not continuously issued; the vehicle cannot be parked at any time when riding on the slope; the wheels are still spinning rapidly after 5 seconds of picking up the vehicle body; the vehicle can be turned on and driven normally during the charging process. According to the inspectors, the functions of overspeed protection, standing capacity and protection, anti-flying protection, and charging lock protection stipulated by Chinese national standards are all based on the experience of the actual application scenarios of electric balance wheels. It is closely related to the personal safety of cyclists.
During the further investigation, the reporter learned that in addition to the safety performance, the performance problems of the electric balance wheel were also very prominent in this spot check. Among the 20 batches of samples tested, there were 10 batches of anti-corrosion resistance such as well-known brands such as Forever and Phoenix. The salt spray corrosion item was unqualified, and another 8 batches of waterproof performance items were unqualified.
The reporter noticed that during the testing process, some samples were judged to be unqualified for multiple items. Among them, there are four batches of samples, which are labeled as Baoxing and Maikula, as well as products produced by Yongkang Anshang Fitness Equipment Co., Ltd. and Yongkang Tianben Industry and Trade Co., Ltd., and all three items have problems.
There are special national standards for electric balance wheels, which require enterprises to produce according to the standard, which is equivalent to setting up individual protection projects for consumers. Among the unqualified electric balance wheels in the spot check, the speed limit was exceeded but no warning was issued; the problems such as the inability to park at any time while riding on the slope seriously threatened the safety of consumers. Unqualified have hidden dangers, and qualified electric balance wheels are also a little disturbing, which is that it should not be promoted as a means of transportation.
The reporter learned during the interview that after more than ten years of development, there are currently nearly 1,000 companies producing electric balance wheels in China, mainly in the three provinces of Zhejiang, Guangdong and Jiangsu.
Liu Lixia, Director of the Material Inspection Department of Suzhou Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Institute: At present, China is a major manufacturer of electric balance wheels. The annual output of electric balance wheels reached nearly 4 million units in 2019. Then in the past few years, The industry as a whole is showing a gradual increase trend, so the market prospects are still relatively good.
According to professionals, although the annual output of China’s electric balance wheels is as high as about 4 million, the overall quality level is average, and the unevenness of good and bad is prominent. This is reflected in the price, and the difference is also very obvious. The reporter noticed that the electric balance wheels are sold on some e-commerce platforms, the lowest price is only two to three hundred yuan, and the highest is tens of thousands yuan.
Liu Lixia, Director of the Material Inspection Department of Suzhou Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Institute: The main reason for the price disparity is mainly reflected in the quality of its parts, especially the quality of key parts, as well as the production process, and some gaps in this product standard. . Its key components include batteries, motors, main controllers, etc., so if a battery made of a lithium battery cell with relatively good quality, its cost price will be about 500 yuan.
Professionals told the reporter that the key components of an electric balance car are mainly batteries, controllers, motors and chargers. The prices of various suppliers vary greatly. For example, batteries are only ten yuan cheaper, and the high price can reach 500 yuan. Around yuan. The price difference of key components often has a direct impact on the quality of the finished product for the electric balance car whose production process is not complicated. The results of the spot check of the electric balance wheel organized by the Shanghai market supervision department confirmed the opinions of the experts.
Among the 20 batches of samples inspected, only 1 batch of 10 batches below 600 yuan was qualified, with a pass rate of 10%; 6 batches from 600 to 1500 yuan, and 2 batches were qualified, with a qualification rate of 33%; above 1,500 yuan All the 4 batches were qualified, with a pass rate of 100%.
Professionals believe that uneven product quality is the primary problem that needs to be solved urgently for electric balance wheels that directly involve the personal safety of consumers. For this product, there is still a big problem that needs to be solved urgently, that is, how to guide consumers to correctly recognize its product attributes, so as to use it in suitable application scenarios.
Liu Lixia, Director of the Material Inspection Department of Suzhou Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Institute: The electric balance wheel is actually similar in attributes to this electric scooter and roller skates. It has a sliding function, so according to China’s road traffic safety law, it does not have it. Right of way.
Article 74 of China’s “Implementation Regulations on Road Traffic Safety Law” stipulates that pedestrians are not allowed to use skateboards, roller skates and other sliding tools on the road. This means that electric balance wheels that are neither motorized nor non-motorized, and do not have the nature of transportation, can only be used in application scenarios other than roads such as motorized vehicle lanes, non-motorized vehicle lanes, and crosswalks.
Yuan Zhihuan, Engineer of Suzhou Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Institute: When using it, consumers must be clear that the electric balance wheel is only a kind of sports and entertainment equipment, not a means of transportation. Do not ride on the motorway.
Although the electric balance wheel does not have the right of way and can only be used in environments other than the road, the reporter found in the investigation that some brands of electric balance wheel manufacturers use words like “transportation” and “travel” in the process of operation to promote the use of products.
Yuan Zhihuan, an engineer from Suzhou Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Institute: They are very unclear about the product positioning. We can see that there are several products here. It says travel, travel, travel, and travel here. These slogans are important for consumption. The author has an obvious misleading effect. It will make consumers think that the electric balance car is a kind of travel tool, a means of transportation.
Professionals believe that the misleading of businesses has to some extent prompted many unsuspecting consumers to use electric balance wheels as a means of transportation, which has led to undesirable traffic accidents.
Liu Lixia, Director of the Material Inspection Department of Suzhou Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Institute: Actually, we still see many people who use it as a means of transportation, so this will increase their own safety risk. In recent years, such complaints about accidents that occurred during the use of the electric balance wheel have also occurred from time to time. What is more serious is that young people drive the electric balance wheel into the motorway, causing very serious traffic accidents.
In fact, last year, the China Consumers Association issued the same consumer warning: the attributes of electric balance wheels are not clear, and there is a high risk of improper use. To be clear, it is neither a toy nor a vehicle. But now when I search on the sales platform, I still see misleading words such as “travel” and “move”. In view of the particularity of this hot-selling product, can companies be required to mark the use risk in a prominent position in a prominent way in the production and sales process to remind consumers that if they mislead consumers, they should be severely punished, because such misleading may cost life and health.
Source: CCTV News