At a press conference on Wednesday, representatives of the Union of the Blind and Visually Impaired of Slovakia (ÚNSS) spoke about the dangers of scooters and their riders. "The problem is fast driving, which often endangers all pedestrians, not only people with visual impairments. However, the visually impaired cannot react quickly to an oncoming scooterist. In addition, the movement of electric scooters is very quiet, which again worsens the identification of a potential threat," explained the ÚNSS representative Pavol Korček.
The group also pointed to the improper parking of scooters, which can present an additional hazard to those relying on canes, curbs, and walls to guide them down sidewalks. “Therefore, I would like to appeal to competent and ordinary citizens to park their scooters in another place, ideally in a parking lot or on the lawn," stated Korček . According to him, the scooter-riding public should think about the fact that there are people for whom a carelessly stored scooter can mean the risk of falling, injury and, consequently, the fear of traversing sidewalks. "It would help us a lot if the scooters had a bell so that riders could notify us that they are going, or an application where parking lots would be drawn and we would know to avoid them," said Vanesa Richterová, who is almost blind. The ÚNSS plans to contact the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Transport in order to create spaces for storing scooters off the sidewalk.
Source: TASR
