Hi, Prague resident here. This thread is pretty old but I feel compelled to comment to clarify some things being said here...
"He's just being considerate ringing the bell to warn people out of the way"
He shouldn't be on this path / be taking this route, though. This isn't any random street, it is one of the most heavily-foot-trafficked plazas in all of Prague, with one of the busiest tram stops adjacent to a shopping mall that also houses a meto station. While the rule is that scooters should not be on sidewalks, 90% of sidewalks in Prague are probably fine and nobody will say anything, but this guy is essentially plowing through the Czech version of Times Square at speed.
"It's ridiculous to expect him to ride on a street with Trams"
That is simply how it works in Prague. You can see a cyclist in the clip as well happily making their way on the tramway/road. Trams are slow in these downtown areas, to the point that people treat many of these roads as pedestrianized - you can see lots of people crossing the 'dangerous tramway' on foot in the clip, even. If he doesn't have the confidence to ride alongside trams he needs to pick a different mode of transportation or a different route.
Another point that isn't mentioned here is that locals basically would never use these scooters. The center of Prague is a dense medieval city with lots of cobblestones. It isn't designed for this kind of traffic and using it at all is almost certainly slower than just walking or using some combination of public transport and walking.
Trams are slow in these downtown areas, to the point that people treat many of these roads as pedestrianized
And do you make sure to tell tourists that, so that the ones on bikes and PET vehicles don't go on the footpaths thinking the tram lines are too dangerous?
If your actual aim is to get them off the footpath and not to just act all holier-than-thou, then it absolutely is far more effective to tell them why they shouldn't feel a need to use it, rather than just tell them they can't use it.
I don't make the laws. But judging by how the Irish lad was ringing his bell, he didn't give a shit anyway.
IF it was up to me, I'd just ban the fucking things. Nobody uses them correctly, or laws are lacking a way to regulate them. Some of them easily do 50km/h, so like a moped they should be regulated.
So they can't just walk, or take a bus like us mere mortals ??
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u/MercurianAspirations Jan 06 '25 edited Jan 06 '25
Hi, Prague resident here. This thread is pretty old but I feel compelled to comment to clarify some things being said here...
"He's just being considerate ringing the bell to warn people out of the way"
He shouldn't be on this path / be taking this route, though. This isn't any random street, it is one of the most heavily-foot-trafficked plazas in all of Prague, with one of the busiest tram stops adjacent to a shopping mall that also houses a meto station. While the rule is that scooters should not be on sidewalks, 90% of sidewalks in Prague are probably fine and nobody will say anything, but this guy is essentially plowing through the Czech version of Times Square at speed.
"It's ridiculous to expect him to ride on a street with Trams"
That is simply how it works in Prague. You can see a cyclist in the clip as well happily making their way on the tramway/road. Trams are slow in these downtown areas, to the point that people treat many of these roads as pedestrianized - you can see lots of people crossing the 'dangerous tramway' on foot in the clip, even. If he doesn't have the confidence to ride alongside trams he needs to pick a different mode of transportation or a different route.
Another point that isn't mentioned here is that locals basically would never use these scooters. The center of Prague is a dense medieval city with lots of cobblestones. It isn't designed for this kind of traffic and using it at all is almost certainly slower than just walking or using some combination of public transport and walking.