Sidewalk Scooters vs the Visually Impaired

A visually impaired person’s plea to scooter users

Photo by Ernest Ojeh on Unsplash

Dear human who left that electric scooter in the middle of the sidewalk:

Yes you. You know who you are.

Well, I tripped over it.

I tripped over it, and it hurt.

So please don’t do that again.

You see, I’m visually impaired and getting blinder. I have a degenerative eye condition called Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP for short). First it took my night vision. Then it took my peripherals.

To give you a sense of how I see: if we were to exchange glances, I would see your lovely eyes through the narrow tunnel of my visual field. I would see them, and only them.

What I would not see, is that scooter that you left in front of me.

So please please please, just park it off to the side.

It’s not that hard, and it REALLY does make a difference.

It makes a difference for all of us — the visually impaired, the mobility impaired, and any person just walking down the sidewalk trying to get from point A to point B.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
DB