I never imagined that a simple walk on a sidewalk would land me in the emergency room, not once, but twice.
About two months ago, I was walking along Forshay Road when two youngsters on e-scooters came flying up behind me. There was no horn, no warning, and no attempt to slow down. One of them clipped my right arm as they passed, leaving me in pain for days.
I figured it was an unfortunate incident and moved on.
Then, on Sunday night, it happened again.
This time, an adult riding an e-scooter on the very same sidewalk slammed into me, sending me to the ground. The impact was serious enough that I ended up in the ER, underwent a CAT scan, and am now facing thousands of dollars in medical bills.
The rider wasn’t wearing a helmet, and like many e-scooter riders, there appears to be no insurance coverage to help cover the damage. Thankfully, witnesses rushed over to help, and the rider also came back after the collision, but the fact remains: a pedestrian walking on a sidewalk ended up in the hospital.
As I lay on the ground waiting for help, one thought kept running through my mind: what if it had been an elderly person? What if it had been a child?
I contacted Ramapo Police Chief Daniel Hyman’s office, not because I was looking to get anyone arrested, but because I wanted to raise awareness before someone else gets hurt.
The EMTs who treated me told me these types of incidents are becoming increasingly common. Whether it’s children racing down sidewalks or adults traveling at high speeds, pedestrians are being placed at risk every day.
Let’s be clear: this isn’t an anti-scooter letter. E-scooters are here, and many people use them responsibly. But somewhere along the way, basic courtesy and common sense seem to have disappeared.
Parents, please speak to your children. Riders, please slow down. Use a horn. Give pedestrians space. Remember that sidewalks are meant for people walking, not for weaving through crowds at full speed.
Today, I’m recovering.
Tomorrow, it could be someone else.
And the next person may not be as fortunate.
— A Forshay Road Resident
The views expressed in this letter do not necessarily represent those of Monsey Scoop. Have an opinion you’d like to share? Send it to us for review.
I was delivering the mail at 90 forshay iwas getting out of my mail truck and went to the box and a half a second awy from getting run over by a e scooter
I
As a resident of Monsey for more than 50 years, I’ve witnessed its explosive growth over the years. Our roads are now choked with traffic. Gone are the idyllic days when one could travel from Viola and 306 to (then Pathmark) Evergreen in 7 minutes in middle of the day. Drivers have become extremely aggressive with an attitude of Bishvili Nivra Haolam pulling out of side streets into major thoroughfares halfway, forcing traffic to stop until they can catch a break from the other stream of traffic to complete their maneuver. Drivers are running stop signs and red lights. They make turns at intersections from the wrong lanes. They drive on the wrong side of the road to bypass the long line waiting at the traffic light. I was someone who recreationally rode a large motorcycle for many years. I’d leave Monsey for the open roads of Harriman State Park and beyond. I am duly licensed, my motorcycles were registered, inspected, had all DOT approved safety devices such as a horn, proper headlight that was always on by law, front and rear turn signals, tail light and brake lights. I also wore protective steel toe boots, an armored jacket, and full face helmet. I quit riding over 13 years ago because the roads became too dangerous. Aggressive and distracted drivers were playing with my life. Now I see bochurim riding ebikes and scooters. The scooters and bikes have no safety equipment, they aren’t wearing any protective gear (in many instances not even a helmet of any kind) and they don’t follow the rules of the road. They weave in and out of traffic while assuming they are seen by drivers. When on a motorcycle, I would remain stopped at an intersection after the light turned green because I couldn’t trust that someone wouldn’t run the light that had just turned red for them and waited until traffic came to a complete stop. This was done in spite of having the increased visibility of a large, brightly lit, loud and “visible” motorcycle. By contrast, less visible bikes and scooters are running stop signs and red lights, riding wherever they please, in whatever manner they please, are endangering the general public and certainly themselves. For motorcyclists, being in an accident is inevitably only a matter of when. For all the safety equipment, with adhering to traffic laws, there is still that driver who didn’t see you and pulls out or makes a left in front of you causing an accident. I speak from experience. I was a frequent recipient of comments about how dangerous it is to ride a motorcycle. Parents, if you are allowing and facilitating your children to ride a bike or scooter on the road, thinking that it is a safe activity you are very mistaken. As someone who has ridden regular bicycles, motorized scooters (long before they were popular) and full motorcycles on the road, the safest of all of those was the motorcycle. If you would never encourage your children to ride a motorcycle because of its inherent danger, why would you ever get them an ebike or scooter? It is not a question of if. It is a question of when. That accident WILL happen. The only question is how bad will it be. Parents, WISE UP! DO NOT ALLOW your child to ride these machines on the road. They are a menace to drivers to drivers but worse than that, the reckless drivers we have on our roads are a menace to your child. You are playing with their life.
Thank you, very well said!