Michael Moynihan: E-scooters drive demand for better legislation to protect public

They are now being used by cyclists of all sizes and stripes, whether it’s to duck around traffic lights or simply as an alternative to the roads themselves on the basis of ... well, the basis doesn’t matter. The actuality does. And the actuality is that our footpaths have actually become cycle tracks.

The one problem with this is that the cyclists are not alone in commandeering these narrow slices of real estate for their own purposes.

Car drivers have colonised the pavements of the city for beaching purposes, heaving their vehicles crossways, athwart, upon, and along every inch of footpath that isn’t occupied by a person (and will annex inches occupied by a person too, if they feel like it).

No matter where you go in Cork you’ll do well to find a stretch of footpath that hasn’t been converted into a car park, temporary or permanent, by the I’ll-only-be-a-second crowd, or the sure-I’m-there-now crowd, or the increasingly numerous eff-off-what-business-it-is-of-yours crowd, all of whom are driven in equal parts by horsepower and an unflagging sense of their own importance.

The one group which is not represented, as we’ve pointed out here before, is the pedestrian. 

Ironically, the person for whom the footpath was originally intended is the forgotten element in the equation. Able-bodied or not, navigating one’s way through the cycle tracks and car parks masquerading as Cork’s footpaths has become more and more difficult, and is now verging into dangerous.

This is because, in addition to the above, we now have another operator in the mix: the e-scooter, those electronic whizzers becoming more and more familiar around the city.

These are now becoming more and more prevalent not just on the roads themselves, but on the parallel stretches of pavement which offer the e-scooter user some shelter from the storm of real traffic.

Don't reach for the anger tablets

Before everyone reaches for their anger tablets, I have facts to back me up.

A week or two ago, National Council for the Blind in Ireland (NCBI) spokesperson June Tinsley appeared on national radio and pointed out that there is no legislation governing the operation of e-scooters in Ireland.

The NCBI, Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind (IGDB) and the Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA) have all come together to ask the Government to “protect pedestrians with access needs before it is too late” — in short, those groups are asking the Transport Minister Eamon Ryan to ban e-scooters on footpaths, to reduce the maximum speed limit and to introduce age restrictions and insurance requirements.

First things first: the fact that there isn’t an existing ban on these vehicles using footpaths is both puzzling and unsurprising at the same time. Puzzling, because something capable of being propelled at that speed shouldn’t be allowed on footpaths.

Unsurprising because while legislation is needed in this area, the minister responsible, Eamon Ryan, was not available to meet those groups to discuss those matters before June Tinsley went on the radio.

The point about insurance made by the NCBI and the other groups is also important: it seems strange that there has been no move to legislate in this area because it’s certainly needed. As we have seen with cyclists and car users, relying on people to use good manners and common sense is a losing proposition when it comes to footpaths.

For many people, however, the e-scooter presents a new form of risk: June Tinsley reported that almost eight in 10 people participating in an NCBI survey said that they had experienced a collision or near-miss on the pavement, adding:

People who are blind or vision impaired can’t see the e-scooters approaching, so we would certainly like an audio sound attached to e-scooters to assist in this.

“For people who are guide-dog users, the fast-approaching e-scooters can certainly startle guide dogs who can then get a little disorientated and as a result, their owners are unsure of exactly what’s happening.

“Any individual with an access need, whether they are a wheelchair user or even parents with small children in buggies, when the e-scooters are going past so fast, it certainly has led to collisions and incidents.”

She also pointed out that Garda figures suggest there have been 1,300 traffic incidents involving e-scooters in the last three years, leading to various injuries and two deaths.

Here we have the sudden collision of reality with urbanist aspiration.

Opposite of accessible

When we talk about our dreams of a city that is accessible to children and the elderly and to the disabled being, by definition, accessible to all and easy to use, this is the exact opposite. 

It’s a case study of how the city is rendered unsafe for all of those groups because they are particularly vulnerable to one group, those using the zooming scooter — and all the more vulnerable because of the lack of legislation covering the area.

We are not alone, by the way. In Paris, citizens are to vote in the coming weeks on whether or not to allow electric scooter rental services to continue operating in the city.

Crucially, one of the main features of the charge sheet against the vehicles is a familiar set of offences to Corkonians. 

The Guardian reported that users “often defy bans on riding on pavements, or park without consideration, while some abandon the scooters in parks or even toss them into the Seine river.

“In September, the capital already threatened the three operators with non-renewal of their licences, which expire in March, if they failed to limit reckless riding and other “misuses”.

“The operators in November came up with a number of suggested improvements, including equipping the scooters with licence plates that would allow easier tracking of riders running a red light, or travelling in pairs on the single-person vehicles — both common violations.”

The Mayor of Paris’s own views were described in the report as “leaning towards a ban but (she) would respect Parisians’ vote”, which sounds like a classic political fudge, but no matter. At least that city is taking action.

The streets are busy and getting busier. The traffic looks — to this untutored eye — to be at least at pre-pandemic levels most days of the week. As a consequence, travelling around Cork is a challenge unless you are on a casual stroll along the riverside, admiring the otters.

Even then you’ll need to keep an eye out for vehicles approaching at 25kph with drivers who have passed no tests and have no insurance.

What could possibly go wrong?