Editor, Manteca Bulletin,
I am writing to encourage the paper to write an article on safety for the summer. This comes from a concern. Recently I was driving down Locust Avenue and found a person in an electric powered assistance chair going down the middle of the street!  There was no bright orange flag on the chair to bring attention to the traffic that they were there.

 My concern is that there are many individuals around the city that use these types of assistance and yet they seem to not understand where they may “drive” them out on public streets.  My worst fear is that someone is going to be hit by a vehicle — they are, for the most part, “sitting ducks”.  There is no protection around them — these are not vehicles.  Drivers look for road hazards, keep eyes on children playing in driveways, but we are not always on the lookout for people in motorized assistance chairs that may or may not stay on a sidewalk or who may dart out into the street.  My understanding is that they can be cited if being operated incorrectly.

 As the end of the school year is approaching - it might also be a good idea to remind our young bicycle riders of the importance of wearing a helmet and the rules of where they can ride safely.  Let’s not leave out our teenagers that might have a mini bike or dirt bike that is not street legal, to not ride them on the streets.

 Again, my main concern is that our streets be safe for all that use them.  It would be a tragedy if someone were hit or killed because they were not aware of the rules of the road.