A man who has PTSD after he was hit by an e-scooter has said he is “not happy” about the Government’s plan to defer new restrictions on e-scooters. 

Following a series of crashes that left children in hospital with serious injuries, the Government promised to raise the age young people could use e-scooters from 16 to 18. 

However, the Attorney General has advised the Government that legislation is required to raise the age to 18, meaning it has been kicked into the long grass. 

On Lunchtime Live, Corkman John O’Donovan recalled being hit by an e-scooter in 2022. 

“I stepped out from behind the bus, I came out from the back of the bus on a one-way street,” he said. 

“Obviously, the traffic was coming from my right; so, I just looked to my right, didn't bother checking to my left - why would I, on a one-way street? And I just stepped out from behind the bus and I was just hit.

“The collision, I can't even describe the sound of the collision, the way I was blown to the ground.”

Looking back, Mr O’Donovan feels he had “no chance” against the e-scooter and feels it was only a heavy jacket that saved him. 

While he believes he is “very lucky to be alive”, he is still suffering from poor mental health all these years later. 

“I'm suffering now, possibly will have it for the rest of my life, post-traumatic stress,” he said. 

“When I'm in town - something I took for granted since the day I was born, the serenity, the peace, the tranquility of my city here in Cork, never worried about going shopping, socialising, whatever. 

“Now, when I'm inside in the city, there's a part of me all the time, very apprehensive, a bit nervous - especially if I see these scooters on the footpaths or whatever. 

“I sometimes get the sound of the collision - it's obviously, it's post-traumatic stress that comes to me at times - and that's all on account of what happened to me that day.”

Main image: An e-scooter. Picture by: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie