Hit by an electric scooter on a cycle path, the Royan elected official lets out a rant

The collision seriously injured Raynald Rimbault as he was walking towards Ronce-les-Bains with his wife in the Coubre forest in the commune of La Tremblade. He plans to file a complaint.

Bruised in his chair. Royan elected official Raynald Rimbault, 76, is covered in bandages. His left arm, cut to the bone, still causes him pain. The mobility of his fingers is impaired. Tendons have been damaged. A total of 60 days of ITT (Total Incapacity to Work) have been prescribed. Hit while cycling by an electric scooter on the cycle path in the Coubre forest, a little after Bouverie beach in the commune of La Tremblade, he had to be evacuated by firefighters to Rochefort hospital late Sunday morning, June 29. Two years ago, still cycling, he was hit by a car that spun off at a stop sign in Mornac-sur-Seudre. Transported urgently by the Dragon 17 Civil Security helicopter to the Bordeaux hospital where he remained for 32 days to treat a pneumothorax and eleven rib fractures, he left with the same passion for cycling that he practices with his wife Marie-Christine.

Today, he admits to a certain weariness. "I don't want to anymore. I've been riding for fifty years. It's my pressure release valve. Cycling is our addiction, our pleasure," confides the man who doesn't know if he'll ever get back on the saddle and who fully intends to file a complaint. Enough is enough! This Sunday, June 29, the day had started well. It was beautiful and hot. "We had decided to go for a picnic in Ronce-les-Bains from Royan via the coast. We know that's between 75 and 80 kilometers," he says.

Two kilometers after Bouverie beach, the long straights give way to bends. It was on one of these that the accident occurred around 10:30 a.m. "We saw three electric scooters ridden by teenagers approaching the bend head-on. They were taking up the entire lane. We were well on the right," Raynald Rimbault confirmed. A collision with one of them was then inevitable. The two cyclists ended up on the ground, along with the scooter.

"In my misfortune, and even though I'm wearing a helmet, I was lucky my head wasn't hurt. It could have been even worse. The 15-year-old kid who knocked me down told me he hadn't done it on purpose, but when you're driving this kind of vehicle, you avoid driving in the left lane on a bend. It's become ridiculous. I also blame the rental companies, who should be making people more aware of the risks. They're letting kids loose who think they're on a track at 25 km/h and who don't know the Highway Code," insists the Royannais, who now has to fight with his insurance company. "Nothing is being done to make things easier for you when you're the victim..."

This mishap raises the question of the coexistence of different means of transport on cycle paths. "In the summer, it's become hell," observes Raynald Rimbault, who isn't sure how to solve the problem. "We can't put a police officer behind every user. I think the solution will come from education." If only...