In the part of Prague, the regulation of segway vehicles will continue to apply. The Constitutional Court rejected the complaint of the operators – ČT24 – Česká televize
Judge-Rapporteur Jan Filip said that bans could be set where there was a danger. The court thus found nothing unconstitutional for the capital to regulate the operation of transporters in the historic and wider center with regard to pedestrian safety.
The City Hall adopted regulation in the monument reserve and other high-speed pedestrian areas in 2016. It explained its acceptance by saying that the area includes the Prague Monument Reserve, where there is a high concentration of pedestrians, as well as a wider area densely populated with large numbers of pedestrians. The aim of the restriction was to protect pedestrians from the risk of collisions with transporters.
People in the city center complained
“By restricting the movement of these trucks, we have responded to complaints from citizens, especially in the city center. Subsequently, the city districts, which did not want carts on their territory, also joined the comments. The vehicles were causing problems and there were clashes with pedestrians, who were thus in danger. We therefore welcome the current court decision, “said Vít Hofman, a spokesman for Prague, in response to the court’s decision today.
The decision of the court was also praised by the Deputy Mayor of Prague, Adam Scheinherr (Prague himself). “A city or a municipality can determine what it wants to operate on its territory, what it doesn’t, what bothers the lives of drivers or citizens in a given place – and set the rules accordingly,” he said.
In the constitutional complaint, the association noted that transporters are not dangerous and that clashes with pedestrians do not occur in practice. According to the Constitutional Court, entry can also be preventive, without certain police statistics or citizens’ complaints.
The Constitutional Court stated that the reasons for endangering pedestrian safety do not need to be documented, as they are based on the technical characteristics and parameters of passenger transporters. According to Judge Filip, the transporter weighs 47 kilograms, and if a person weighing about one hundred kilograms drives around a blind run or a mother with children at a speed of twenty kilometers per hour, an unpleasant situation can arise.
The judge also said that in some countries the operation of these facilities is allowed, in some it is not. He cited the United Kingdom as an example, where other means of transport cannot move at pedestrians.
Operators have failed in court several times
The association has previously failed with a lawsuit before the Municipal Court in Prague or a subsequent cassation complaint before the Supreme Administrative Court. In particular, the courts dealt with measures of a general nature which belong to the placement of traffic signs in the territory defined by another municipal regulation. The Supreme Administrative Court assessed the regulation as adequate and duly justified.