To the Editor,
Re: Scooters an accident-in-waiting, Letters, Oct. 9.
For some time now, I have had the same concerns as C. Pollack regarding these scooters.
I frequently drive in the evening hours and have had some hair-raising incidents with scooters coming toward me, sometimes out of the fog, on the roadway, in comparatively flimsy vehicles when it comes to solid protection. There’s absolutely no lights, helmets, seat belts or identification of any kind.
I too have had them zip across the street in front of me with no warning and it is a frightening experience. One would think they have a death wish, as you cannot see them in the dark, especially when it’s raining. They simply are not made for travelling on the roadway in the middle of traffic.
I contacted ICBC to find out how to handle the situation. According to their spokeswoman, these vehicles are classified as pedestrians and, as such, are supposed to be confined to the sidewalk, not the roadway.
The reason they use the roadway is because the drivers of these vehicles apparently do not like the “ups and downs” of driveways and curbs, preferring the flat surface of the roadway.
I was told that if you come across one of these vehicles on the roadway, you can either stop your car, roll down the window and tell the scooter driver that he/she is in the wrong and should be on the sidewalk (you will get many different answers), or you can call 911 and report them to the police.
ICBC is working on the situation to come up with some sort of control as the older our population becomes and their cars are taken from them, the more scooters will be on the go.
In the meantime, we just have to do as I was advised and hope something is done before someone is killed.
Diana H. Walker
Nanaimo