E-scooters must make warning sound in order to protect pedestrians, the National Council for the Blind of Ireland has said. 

Global sales of e-scooters have surged in recent years and in 2022 a Joint Oireachtas Committee examined whether regulations governing their use need to be updated. 

The NCBI has received numerous complaints about e-scooters over the years and drew up a number of proposals for the committee. 

“We were keen to introduce a suite of minimum standards to make sure that people who are blind and visually impaired can navigate the world around them safely,” Head of Communications and Advocacy June Tinsley told The Pat Kenny Show. 

“That included a ban on [e-scooters using] footpaths, insertion of a sound, designated parking bays and reducing the speed limit. 

“As you rightly said, the use of e-scooters is becoming more and more popular and yet the legal framework around their usage is non-existent.” 

2A38R48 A man with electric scooter on the street

Ms Tinsley said that TDs and Senators on the committee seemed receptive to the council’s ideas but none have made it into the legislation. 

“We got kind of a nod in agreement but we haven’t seen them in law,” she said.  

“The legislation is now at its final stages and [none] of our proposals have… been incorporated. 

“We have been told that they will be considered at the regulation stage but, certainly, we believe the ban [using e-scooters] on footpaths is a very common sense one. 

“It will benefit individuals who are not only blind but visually impaired but also anyone with a mobility issue or any pedestrian, for that matter, because these e-scooters do go at a fair speed. 

“The issue of sound is certainly very relevant to those with sight loss because they can’t see the e-scooters approach. 

“We know from the survey we did that 77% of the respondents reported having had an incident with an e-scooter on a footpath. 

“We also know that anybody who uses a guide dog gets totally startled by e-scooters because they approach with speed and can’t be seen.

“It’s a shout out to put a plea in for basic standards to be introduced for the protection of riders but also pedestrians on footpaths.” 

Noise

Since 2019, all new electric cars sold in the EU have been obliged by law to have a noise-emitting device to ensure that they can be heard when moving. 

It is a requirement that Fine Gael’s Alan Farrell said he was “open-minded” about supporting for e-scooters as well. 

“I don’t think there’s anybody in the Department of Transport that wouldn’t consider it,” he said. 

“They are the people that are responsible for the regulations that will flow from the legislation once it gets out of committee.”

Main image: An e-scooter. Picture by: Alamy.com