NEWS: Near Death on a Rickshaw

MARK McLAUGHLIN
Edinburgh Evening News
5 April 2010

A PASSENGER who was injured after falling from a rickshaw in the Capital at the weekend remains seriously ill in hospital today.

The man, believed to be 20, tumbled from the pedal-powered vehicle in the early hours of yesterday morning after the accident on Lothian Road.

He struck his head on the road just outside the Sheraton Hotel, police said, and was rushed to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary before being transferred across town to the Western General's neurology ward.

The ambulance service said he sustained "severe head injuries" as a result of the crash.

Police this morning said the man remains in a serious but stable condition in hospital, and that efforts were ongoing to contact members of his family.

Rickshaws -most of which are operated by Edinburgh-based Pedicabs - are a common sight across the Capital. It is not known which company operated the rickshaw involved in yesterday morning's accident.

It is understood there are about 60 in operation, and they are often spotted in and around the city centre offering lifts to tourists and late-night revellers.

However, they have been criticised by some road users and taxi drivers using the road at night.

A spokeswoman for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said it was down to local authorities to investigate whether or not this mode of transport should be permitted on roads.

"Passengers should remember this is a form of transport, they will be out on the open road and they need to take responsibility," she said.

"Local councils are going to have to make decisions about whether to allow rickshaws based on their own circumstances."

Pedicab bosses have previously insisted that all drivers are given full training before being allowed onto the streets.

It is not the first time rickshaws have been at the centre of controversy in the Capital.

In 2001 an Irish woman broke her neck after her scarf became tangled in the wheels of a rickshaw.

The 22-year-old, who had just graduated hours earlier from Queen Margaret University, subsequently spent months in hospital critically ill and had to endure years of therapy.

The accident sparked calls for an investigation into the safety of rickshaws, and the city council carried out safety tests on all bikes before allowing them back on the streets.

A police spokesman said today: "The latest reports said the man was in a serious but stable condition. Police are currently trying to trace his next of kin."