A CAMPAIGN group which promotes improved access in public places for people with disabilities has called for strong enforcement of new laws governing use of e-scooters.
The use of electric scooters by children under the age of 16 in a public place is now prohibited under regulations signed by Transport Minister Eamon Ryan. The regulations also tighten up safety requirements around the scooters’ use, including braking and lighting.
Clonakilty Access Group, which campaigns for improvements in access in public places for people with disabilities, including sight loss and child carers with prams and buggies in the town, welcomed the new regulations.
The Access Group has previously highlighted the dangers of e-scooter misuse and in particular the illegal use of them on footpaths in Clonakilty, which they say has resulted in several ‘near misses’ by people using them illegally with no regard for pedestrians. It has called for ‘vigorous and regular enforcement by gardaí of e-scooters’ to enforce the new regulations. It has always been illegal to ride them in any public place up to now, but using them on footpaths, endangering the elderly, disabled as well as pedestrians generally, just like some cyclists are regularly doing the same, should be stopped now by detection and enforcement of the law,’ the spokesperson said.
The new rules also mean that like cyclists, e-scooter users should be apprehended if they drive down the wrong way on one-way streets or break traffic lights or pedestrian crossings.
