As Sidney and the Union of B.C. Municipalities look to toughening regulations regarding the use of mobility devices, they should look also at how everyone interacts — pedestrians, vehicle drivers and those using scooters.
Even if you teach people on mobility devices to drive perfectly, that will not by itself solve the greater problem, which is the way people move in public. Cars, pedestrians and mobility devices have to pay attention to each other.
Pedestrians have the right to walk on the sidewalks without fear of being hit, frightened or otherwise inconvenienced. They also have the responsibility to look where they’re going. Often, they are moving in a forward direction and looking in windows or using smartphones.
This can be as dangerous as other infractions. When a pedestrian walks into the side of my scooter, they most often blame me, telling me that I should watch where I’m going. That is unfair, since I do all I can to be mindful of how I navigate the streets and sidewalks.
In supermarkets, the same thing happens. Both pedestrians and mobility devices need to watch where they’re going. The people on foot go charging about, darting in and out of aisles, paying no mind to the traffic around them. This makes it difficult for everyone.
The same goes for those on mobility devices. They need to travel at a slow walking speed and stop at the end of aisles to avoid accidents.
Vehicle traffic has the biggest responsibility, since cars can cause the most serious damage, including death. Generally, they are the biggest culprits.
A crosswalk was closed at Sidney’s Seventh Street and Beacon Avenue because drivers were ignoring the “walk” sign when making right turns. They look to the left for cars and start to turn, paying no attention to pedestrians.
So the powers that be took a crosswalk away, instead of addressing the drivers who were breaking the law.
Right on red is a privilege, not a right. It must be executed with care.
Stop signs are also not approached properly. Drivers go right through, often crossing a sidewalk, where I have nearly been hit countless times.
When a vehicle is backing out of a parking spot, the pedestrian has the right of way. That doesn’t mean they should walk behind a backing car with impunity, but they do it all the time.
Mobility devices are a boon to a large disabled population, and it would be sad if that form of transportation were not available. But with it comes responsibly. We must know there rules of the road and be ever mindful about how we move about.
It is not OK to move quickly between pockets of pedestrians. It causes stress and is a violation of both the law and of the people around. I often see them speeding around corners. My bias is that some of them are inebriated. Then there are those who are not even able to pay attention. They speed about looking quite out of it.
My pet peeve is the rule about using a mobility device on a road with no sidewalk. In this case, the mobility device must go against the traffic, just as a person on foot. It is a little-known fact that a mobility device follows the same rules as a pedestrian.
I can’t tell you how often I get drivers honking and shouting: “Get over to the other side.” These people are ignorant of the rules and follow their own brand of common sense. I wouldn’t mind if they didn’t try to shove it down my throat.
The point is that it would be remiss to continue to address the problems with mobility devices without addressing the whole picture. We are in a time of change where people are living longer and have many more supports available. We need to catch up to technology so that our daily lives are better for it, and not worse.
Chumi Goldstein is a Sidney resident who has been using a mobility scooter for 15 years.
