IT can only be a matter of time before all pedestrians in Brighton and Hove are advised to wear a crash helmet before they step out of their front door.

If you like the vicarious thrill of putting your life at risk then look no further because our streets are awash with lunatics.

First up it was cyclists. Now, before I get a barrage of hate mail, like motorists there are good ones and then there are bad ones who think it is not cool to use cycle paths even though the city is extremely bike friendly.

Why bother when you can weave in and out of traffic seemingly without fear of injury and brazenly ride straight through red lights?

But cyclists pale into insignificance alongside two other sets of road users, namely skateboarders and the latest menace, electric scooters.

I recall last year when a skateboarder raced down North Street at breakneck speed, overtaking a bus in the process and narrowly missing three pedestrians who he would have hit had they not taken evasive action. It was 2pm and the area was full of shoppers. The consequences could have been dire, perhaps even fatal.

Why is nothing being done to combat this?There are skateparks for Christ’s sake, go and ride your skateboard there to your heart’s content and leave the rest of us in peace.

Cars, to a large extent, are not welcome in this city. Of course, climate change is a major concern and the proliferation of car ownership only exacerbates the issue.

But people are not going to stop driving no matter how good the public transport system is.

Picture the scene. It is a freezing cold morning and you are facing a stark choice.

Do you get in your car, turn the heater up to the max, switch on the radio and proceed serenely to your destination or hop on the bus where several people will be suffering from heavy colds, teenagers will be yapping at the top of their voices and there will no doubt be a toddler or two screaming at the top of their lungs for no reason whatsoever other than the fact that they tend to be grumpy even on a good day?

Well, I know which option I would choose and it is not the bus. Then again, driving in the city is not always a pleasurable experience either.

Has anyone ever managed to get through all the traffic lights along the seafront between the city centre and Portslade? I doubt it for the simple reason that it is impossible. I know because I have attempted to do so on myriad occasions.

You know the score. Negotiate the first set when they finally turn green, adhere to the speed limit and then, just as you are a mere ten yards from the next ones, they turn red, even though there is not a pedestrian in sight. The cyclist to your left naturally just keeps on going.

That I can just about cope with, but electric scooters? Absolutely not. They are the latest “must have” mode of transport despite the fact it is illegal to ride them on roads or pavements. Those who use them blithely ignore the law.

They are everywhere and are bloody dangerous... not just for the riders themselves but for pedestrians too.

First of all you cannot hear them approaching, secondly they travel at a fair old lick and thirdly the riders appear to be under the misguided impression that there is nothing wrong with travelling the wrong way down a one way street.

Mark my words, sooner or later a pedestrian is going to get seriously or even fatally injured by one of these wretched machines, guaranteed.

Last week I spotted one of them hurtling along the seafront, the rider wearing earphones, completely oblivious to his surroundings and any inherent dangers that might lurk ahead of him.

He then overtook a stationary police car waiting at a set of traffic lights on red.

“Right”, I thought. “At long last justice will be served. You have broken every law of the road in the book and now you are going to pay the price for being a prat. And a dangerous one at that.”

But no. Nothing happened. He was allowed to proceed on his merry way, scot-free.

This type of scenario must not be allowed to continue. Riders do not have to pass any type of test nor are the electric scooters licensed. Are they roadworthy? Does anyone know or even care?

Your guess is as good as mine.

On that basis remember what you were taught as a child in primary school about road safety. Look left, look right and then left again before proceeding with extreme caution.