• About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Cookie Policy (EU)
Saturday, February 4, 2023
  • Login
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
Tipperary Times - Tipperary News as it Happens
  • Local News
  • Community
  • Business
  • Farming
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Life Style
  • Jobs
  • Sport
  • Local News
  • Community
  • Business
  • Farming
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Life Style
  • Jobs
  • Sport
No Result
View All Result
Tipperary Times - Tipperary News as it Happens
No Result
View All Result
Home Community

Recommendations following the review of current practice and safety implications of electric mobility devices

by Ger Ryan
August 29, 2019
in Community
1
0
SHARES
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

 

  • Electric personal mobility devices, including e-scooters, should be defined in legislation, and any such definition should be sufficiently broad to future-proof the legislation to account for the pace of development of this technology.  Consideration could be given to revising the classification of a mechanically propelled vehicle (MPV), or indeed the creation of a new category of electric MPV (eMPV)
  • Devices permitted on Irish roads should adhere to minimum safety standards e.g. maximum speed of 20km/h.  In addition, design features for devices permitted on Irish roads should prioritise safety features, such as brakes, lighting and audible warning mechanisms. A review of the draft EU standard, CEN, could be considered in this context.
  • Some jurisdictions allow such devices on footpaths provided they do not exceed a speed of 6km/h.  From a practical perspective this would be very difficult to enforce, and therefore because of the risk which the use of these devices would pose to pedestrians if travelling at higher speeds, I recommend that they should not be used on footpaths.
  • I believe there is merit, also on safety grounds, to limit their use to roads with a speed limit of 50km/h or less. Ideally, their use should be curtailed to 30km/h zones. They could be used in cycle lanes, where available.
  • A system should be put in place whereby device operators must seek a permit for the leasing of these devices, either from a national authority, or from a local authority. They must adhere to specific guidelines (e.g. safety features of devices, parking of devices while not in use, proposals to avoid congestion) for the granting of a permit. Each relevant Local Authority should oversee compliance with these guidelines, and mandate training as part of the permit approval process.   They could also limit the number of permits to ensure an over proliferation of these devices does not occur.
  • In some countries an age restriction applies to the user, depending on the power of the device. This is a pragmatic approach that should be considered e.g. minimum age of 16 for use of a device with a maximum speed of 20km/h. While I do not propose making PPE mandatory, users should be encouraged to wear helmets and high visibility clothing, as per our recommendation for cyclists.
  • Rather than regulating for the use of these devices at national level, it may be appropriate for Local Authorities to pass bye-laws to regulate for these,depending on the suitability of local infrastructure. Local Authorities will need to give consideration to the future-proofing of infrastructure to account for the growth in popularity of these devices.   Overall, from a safety perspective, it is critical that Ireland’s infrastructure is fit for purpose to accommodate the safe use of these devices, and that dedicated parking spaces are provided, or adequate collection measures are implemented, to avoid a proliferation of hazards on pavements or roads / cycle lanes.  The Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area 2016 – 2035 calls out the inadequacy of the current infrastructure (Section 3.2), and consideration must be given by transport planners to ensure the current infrastructure in enhanced for all vulnerable road users, and capable of accommodating electronic personal mobility devices.

Finally, legislation will also need to be considered to give An Garda Síochána the necessary powers to enforce the safe and legal use of electric personal mobility devices.

To review the review of current practice and safety implications of electric mobility devices see here

Also read

Tipp GAA Scene 28/08/19

Tags: best top 10 NEWSNew posts 2019Recommendations following the review of current practice and safety implications of electric mobility devicesTipperary NewsTipperary Timesworld's best news
Next Post
MINISTER'S DECISION TO HOLD BACK 15% OF ANC PAYMENT A BLOW TO FARMERS

MINISTER'S DECISION TO HOLD BACK 15% OF ANC PAYMENT A BLOW TO FARMERS

Comments 1

  1. Pingback: MINISTER’S DECISION TO HOLD BACK 15% OF ANC PAYMENT A BLOW TO FARMERS | Tipperary Times

© 2021 An AMV Publication - Agency Partner Trigger Media.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Community
  • Local News
  • Business
  • Tipperary Sport
  • Farming
  • Obituaries
  • Education
  • Entertainment
  • Health
  • Life Style
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Contact

© 2021 An AMV Publication - Agency Partner Trigger Media.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Manage Cookie Consent
We use cookies to optimize our website and our service.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
Preferences
{title} {title} {title}