Young foreigners on skateboards and souped-up scooters are creating road safety hazards and annoying other residents in Shanghai, according to police.

Young foreigners on skateboards and souped-up scooters are creating road safety hazards and annoying other residents in Shanghai, according to police. [File photo]

Police say they have received complaints about skateboarders and riders zooming around residential complexes and roads.

While no serious accidents have been reported involving this group, officers are now going to international schools to teach road safety.

"It's important to establish such communication," said Cai Xin, director with Changning District immigration police office. "They'll learn basic traffic knowledge in China, which will obviously benefit them."

Cai said a lack of knowledge of China's traffic laws sometimes led to misunderstandings.

Officers already visit complexes to advise skateboarders, and university campuses, following complaints about noisy customized mopeds.

Yesterday, police visited a foreign school in Changning District, home to one of Shanghai's biggest foreign communities.

Staff welcomed the initiative. "In the United States," said Faustina Martinez, principal of the Livingston American School, "police and fire departments go to schools to do this."