Pedestrian Safety

Rules and Laws for Pedestrian Safety and Mobility Devices

The Americans with Disabilities Act provides some protection for pedestrians who have disabilities. Some of the important things the ADA protects for pedestrians include:

• Allow people who use wheelchairs, power wheelchairs, scooter, manually powered mobility aids, walkers, crutches, and canes into all areas where other people can go.
• Allow people who use other types of power driven mobility devices into their facilities, unless there is a legitimate (real) safety concern. If there is a real safety concern, the place has to provide access to its products or services another way.

Some of the other rules and guidelines for using an electric personal assistive mobility device are:

• Most of the time, you can use such a device to get around (on the street, highway, sidewalk, paths and bike routes).
• Some communities have their own rules that limit where you can use your mobility device.
• If using this device, you have to “yield” or get out of the way of other pedestrians.
• You have to give an “audible” signal, which means make a sound like a horn, or say, “I’m passing you” when you pass a pedestrian.
• You have to have a headlight to use the mobility device at night that can be seen at least 500 feet ahead.
• You have to have a red reflector on the back that can be seen from 100 feet to 600 feet when another vehicle’s light shines on it.
• You cannot use this device if the speed limit on the street or highway is 55 miles per hour or more.
• You cannot use the device on paths that are marked off for other types of vehicles or pedestrians.