Skarsten has been active and out in nature all his life, but after a bicycle accident in 2019 he was dependent on a wheelchair. Going out into nature again suddenly seemed much more difficult. – It is a feeling of being a great burden for others. I feel at home and feel that it is constantly slipping further and further away from the part of life that gives meaning, says Skarsten. Skarsten has been involved in building kilometers of cycle paths in Hallingdal and has himself been active on skis, snowboards and bicycles. He is an outdoor person. Now he dreams of being able to use nature much as before. The problem is only that the aid which, according to Skarsten, makes it possible, is not legal for traffic in open country. Stian Skarsten was active on a bicycle before the accident in 2019. Photo: Paul Arthur Lockhart He must therefore apply to the housing municipality Hol for a dispensation and collect a permit from all landowners in the area he wants to travel. – It’s an absurd feeling. It goes against all our thoughts about free movement, the right of public access and human dignity. It is difficult to understand, he says. It was Hallingdølen who mentioned the case first. Meiner regulations are discriminatory The aid Skarsten meiner is best suited for such traffic, is an electric wheelchair with four wheels. It is both light, stable and gives little ground pressure, unlike other aids, he explains. This is a similar four-wheel drive off-road wheelchair that Stian wants to use in nature. Here he has borrowed one to test. Photo: Private – It will allow me to keep up with those I walk with and be with on most ladders. I will never have the same opportunity as I had before, but getting as close as possible would have been nice. But because the wheelchair with four wheels is defined as a motorized vehicle, special rules apply when you travel in nature. – I live in Geilo – here it is not flat, there are a lot of slopes and nature. An ordinary wheelchair can be thought of as walking with stiletto heels. All places where it is not practical to go with stiletto heels, need a better aid – for example mountain shoes or in my case an electric wheelchair with four wheels. Motor traffic in open country Motor traffic in open country and watercourses is as a general rule prohibited, with the exception of some objects that are described in the law. You can apply for a dispensation from the law, and the municipality can grant a permit within the framework of the regulations. All motor traffic in open country and watercourses must be careful and considerate to avoid damage and inconvenience to nature and humans. The rules apply to anyone who uses a motorboat, helicopter, small aircraft or motor vehicle such as a snowmobile, ATV, tractor, car, motorcycle or electric motorcycle in the open field. Source: Norwegian Environment Agency Now Skarsten hopes that the regulations can become more liberal, so that those with different types of disabilities can get out into nature on an equal footing with everyone else. – The regulations we have today are discriminatory and difficult to understand. I hope it will be more liberal for us who for various reasons need such aids. – We who are disabled, we must wait Skarsten receives support from leader Anders Nupen Hansen in the National Association for spinal cord injuries. If the wheelchair Stian wants to use had been defined as a bicycle, it would have been legal. As soon as meinigmann gets access to an electric bicycle, the law will be changed. But we who are disabled, we have to wait. Anders Nupen Hansen out with his off-road wheelchair with three wheels. This is approved as a regular bicycle with an auxiliary engine and is best suited for wide roads. Photo: Private He himself was sitting in a wheelchair after a diving hatch. – It is terrible that one does not have the right to get out into nature on an equal footing with other human beings. It’s incredibly painful. Now there are vehicles coming that make it easier for us. Now the legislation must also be changed so that we can more easily use these aids. To review the regulations One year ago, a committee was set up to review the regulations for motor traffic in open country. There, motor traffic for the disabled will be among the issues, the Ministry of Climate and the Environment states. – Nature must be for all people in society. It is sad that someone finds it difficult to use nature, as Stian explains. At the same time, it is important that nature is protected from damage and unrest. We must have solutions that take care of both nature and people in the best possible way, says State Secretary Aleksander Øren Heen. The committee must submit its report by 1 December next year.
ttn-69
Stian despairs over regulations: – I slip further and further away from the part of life that gives meaning
