An Irish politician has called for stronger enforcement against e-scooter misuse after a video of a man riding an e-scooter on the M50 went viral.
The footage shows a man wearing a high-vis jacket while racing down the middle of the busy motorway between cars before turning to the hard shoulder. Sinn Fein's spokesperson for transport, Martin Kennedy TD slammed the video as "shocking", the Irish Mirror reports.
He said: "It was shocking to see someone with such blatant disregard both for their own safety and the safety of other people on the road. The snippet of video I saw shows the scooter weaving in and out of lanes across this busy dual-carriageway.
"That’s a dangerous enough manoeuvre in a car, never mind a scooter that offers no warning to others, or protection to the rider. In fact, the rider is oblivious to the traffic around them. This behaviour is reckless.
Read more: E-scooter rides along Dublin's M50 motorway
"Only this week we heard from the RSA that serious injuries from road collisions have increased by 180 per cent in the last decade."
He added: “The behaviour of this rider had the potential to cause a serious accident for the drivers around them.
“These vehicles are prohibited from being used on dual carriageways. While it’s impossible to legislate for this type of careless road use, we do have penalties available for this behaviour. Enforcement of the current regulations is required urgently.
“Many people using e-scooters and bikes to travel around cities and villages do so safely, and with consideration for others that they share spaces with. However for those putting theirs and other lives in danger so carelessly, there must be significant penalties.”
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