The death of a man three years ago has resulted in the B.C. coroner's service making some recommendations.
Recommendations resulting from a coroner's report are not unusual, but this particular case involves a 74-year-old man who drove his motorized scooter off the curb and into the path of a truck.
The investigation determined the driver of the scooter had been driving erratically at the machine's maximum speed when he was killed.
So, what the coroner is recommending is a maximum speed of 12 kilometres per hour for motorized scooters that are being used on a sidewalk.
Now, tragic as this situation is, it doesn't say if the driver of the scooter was intoxicated, had an adverse effect from medication, had a mechanical problem with the scooter, or just had no respect for others on the sidewalk, so the recommendation of a speed limit seems a bit silly.
The erratic driving is more of a concern because it may not really matter what speed you pass in front of an oncoming truck, what matters more is the speed of the oncoming truck.
If the scooter is only allowed to go 12 kilometres per hour on the sidewalk, who on earth is going to police that, and how?
Are we now going to have scooter cops?
You can just hear the conversation:
"Hey granddad, how was your day?"
"Lousy. I was in a hurry to get to the drug store before it closed 'cos I'm running low on Bengay and I needed some Fixadent for my teeth, but some pain-in-the-butt scooter cop stopped me for doing 14 in a 12 zone. Then, to top it off, I got a flat and had to call the BCSA to change the tire."
Who on earth is going to try to stop some octogenarian as he speeds along a sidewalk, even if he is driving erratically on his scooter?
The coroner's recommendations will go to the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles and the Department of Transportation. Would this not suggest then that the scooters should be licensed to be used on a road not a sidewalk.
What if this catches on and Germany decides to adopt similar laws? Does this mean the end of the fabled scooter Autobahn?
Brings to mind George Castanza from Seinfeld after he fakes injury to get a scooter through work, and after a bunch of older folk catch on, they are seen chasing him at about two miles per hour along the sidewalk.
The recommendation for a sidewalk speed limit is just plain silly, ensuring that scooter manufacturers limit their machines to 12 kmph is probably a better recommendation.
----------
Digital Edition Tip-of-the-week: The Digital Edition offers a service called "My Monitors". It is a way for us to notify you when a topic you are interested in has appeared in the Newspaper. Visit our Digital Edition for more information.
