to think that mobility scooters should not be allowed on pavements after one fractured my foot crashing into me today?

[Wigglewoo]

I was out with my ds 9 weeks earlier about to cross the road outside my nearest tescos when a very elderly lady in her mobility scooter came alongside me and proceeded to cross the road with me. For reasons known to her she then zig zagged in to me causing me to fall over and then dragged me into the kerb, with her still failing to apply the brakes despite me screaming at her to stop. I luckily managed to push the pram with ds in it half onto the pavement and out of the way (it could have been really very nasty had I not).

The woman still did not apply the brakes and to cut a long story short my foot was crushed between the kerb and her moving wheel, which then drove over me and only stopped when I effectively pushed her nearly over.

She said to me that she did not know what happened and that "it normally brakes when I let go of the handles" - ????

I spent the afternoon at hospital. I have a fractured ankle and lacerations to my leg. Dh has had to take time off work (which we will lose money for) to care for me and ds.

I was in shock after the incident so I didn't say anything much to the woman who was in her 80s or 90s I think but now I am home I am livid. I realise old people need to get around but surely they should have a sensible speed limit and shouldn't be on the pavements??? Its illegal to cycle on the pavement isn't it so how comes that's worse!? Or is it illegal!!? Confused!! And in pain!!!

It is anti invalid carriages on the pavement not anti the occupants.

Argggghh.

No one is saying disabled people cannot use the pavement.

People have said that mobility scooters should not be on the pavement.

These two things are NOT the same.

Therefore saying mobility scooters should not be on the pavement is not disabilist.

It is a discussion about how they can be made safer / more regulated and the potential possibilities for using / making something else that could be used safely on the pavement. That is all.

Novak you are being diliberalyvoffenive yet again. Do try and grow up.
op calm down. Just look at the above comment. Now take a minute to think why your original little rant upset people.

OU may well have revised your ideas (and would you if everyone had agreed with you and not pointed out how unfair you were being?) but there are still plenty of people with disabilist ideas. And they are happy to promote them on MN.

Our local town centre is pedestrianised, how does that fit with the no mobility scooters on pavements idea?

Personally I think they are much safer on the pavement than on a road.

OP the accident didnt happen on the pavement, it happened on the road. Are you proposing jwalkers, buggies, prams, use the road also or just weighty wheelchairs and scooters used by the disabled? are white sticks allowed on the pavement for the blind incase they trip or knock someone, are they to go on the road also?

So OP if a disabled person can only use the pavement in an electric wheelchair or motorised scooter they can't use it then?

After years of physical decline with MS my DM can now go to the shops on her own if she likes. One of our neighbours can keep her believed dog as she can "walk" him herself. You really think they should be denied these freedoms and become more reliant on others?

How about a more sensible approach, as suggested by many others, of talking about how the minority of scooter users who are not capable / responsible / whatever can be dealt with.

If you continue to talk about all scooters rather than some people it will continue to upset people. That's not so hard to understand is it?

Therefore saying mobility scooters should not be on the pavement is not disabilist.

Of course it is. Would yoou be happy if you were made to walk in the road because you have a baby buggy? Would you hell.

Using my previous rule of thumb, you would not tell someone they could not use the pavement because of their skin colour, religeon, sex or any other reason.

You have been told numerous times that:

a) they are speed regulated
b) the 'brake' is taking your hand off the lever ie the woman tried to stop
c) people NEED scooters to get around
d) A minority of people are idiots. Therefore some users of scooters will be idiots

But you still want to force people, because scooters do not drive themselves, into the road because of one, single accident. And that is what it was, an accident.

YA still BU.

I do not think there is any doubt that this vital lifeline should NOT be banned from pavements. There should be a 'users code' a bit like the highway code, and a short lesson given to all new purchasers. Users should be made aware of the code and adhere to it. The speed limit on pavements should perhaps be lowered. I know a man who goes quite fast on his scooter and shouts at people to move if they are in the way. Surely this must make those people who use theirs responsibly annoyed, as it makes some people feel hostility towards the scooters themselves. If there were a clearly specified 'code' which users had to follow surely this problem would be avoided?

ffs, it is linked earlier that mobility scooters should go a maximim of 4pmh on a pavement, yet still people are asking for rules that are already in place.

MrsJREwing

If these accidents are happening at 4 mph then maybe that is still to fast?

speed wasnt a factor in the reversing knob who didnt look where they were reversing, speed wasnt a factor to op, it sounds like a malfunction in breaking or the old lady was incompetant to use the scooter. The wizzing fast around corners, could be a level 3 scooter that goes 8mph and shouldnt be on the footpath at that speed, it could be a poster exagerating the speed or a knob scooter user. Disabled people like able bodied people can be inconsiderate knobs too, no need to punish all for the crimes of the few knobs.

I personally think op is taking her anger out on all the disabled who use mobility scooters with her demands they all be removed from the pavement, rather than putting it down to a mechanical or human error accident, having a good cry and moving on, op is on a prolonger vendetta against all mobility scooter users with her unsistance they use the road and be banned from footpaths.

but if we are talking about incompetence then we are back to some form of test.

And if the machine is/was faulty then we are back down the insurance route. (Admittedly if the mobility vehicle is hired then its the insurance of the shop that should take the hit and thevehicle user could sue as well).

But both of these have been called disabilist.

Mobility scooters can be a nightmare on the road too. I was trying to leave a supermarket car park at the same time as a man driving one. He drove the wrong way around the one way system and then went all the way around the mini roundabout like he was driving a car, using his indicator and everything- I had to crawl along behind him but at least I knew what he was doing. Until he abruptly speeded up and veered off onto a footpath. He seemed confused about whether he needed to drive it like a car or not. Neither of us was in any danger, but if he drove his scooter around like that all of the time then it would increase the risk of him having an accident.

I think there should be some sort of registration scheme and it should be more obvious how to report dangerous drivers. Most people are fine at driving them, but there are a minority that need to grasp that bad driving has consequences.

Hope you're feeling better OP. I think the lady who rammed you is really lucky you didn't report her to the police.

I have just had a go on OH's. The controls are very sensitive. I warned him.
It's not like he doesn't get enough shit for being young, handsome, black and strong looking already.
No doubt someone will think he nicked the fucking thing the way they do his badge.

Life is totally crap sometimes. I want him back the way he was.
I want to be the one moaning about te problem with scooters.
Our problem is where to put it.

I know where I would like to shove it
(that is not aimed at the op, she has every right to be angry, her ankle is broken. Even if I do think quite a bit of her is crap)

someone pointed how testing is like a car driving test is just once and how difficult it would be for a disabled person to attend a test.

People stated they had insurance for mobility scooters.

I was driving around in my car with an undiagnosed medical condition, when I was diagnosed I had to notify dvla, I had no idea I had it and I was so dangerous driving, apparently more dangerous than a drink driver, I didnt drive out of malace, there are always going to be incompetant people around, not out of malace or intending to hurt others. I kept my licence and wasnt responsible for accidents before duagnosis, it could have been a different story.

MrsJR The problem is how do you weed out the incompetant users like the man who knocked my son over and drove over his leg then drove off. I had no way of identifying him, no way of reporting him etc. This took place in a tourist area where we were visitors so he may or may not have been a local but we had no way of doing anything about what he had done.

The same way you id a hit and run car driver with false number plates, or a randon assaulter walker in the street who runs away?

"People stated they had insurance for mobility scooters."

Some will have insurance some won't.

I suppose the question is how can everybody be protected, without some form of protection being put in place?

The 4mph switch is voluntary, the insurance appears to be voluntary, some shops (mentioned in the thread) have there own tests but are they adequate.

There will always be the few that get the majority a bad name, but that is why we have car insurance etc.

How many hit and run drivers have false number plates . No mobility scooters have any registration requirements therefore all of them are untraceable.

Furthermore, if you are hit by an uninsured driver or a victim of a criminal injury there are compensation schemes available to you even if the wrongdoer is not identified so you are not left without redress entirely.

How much instruction do people get, when they finally get a mobility scooter? Sounds like lack of instruction could be at the root of many of the incidents posted here.

Hit and run drivers tend to bw things like, uninsured, drunk, stolen cars, blah, blah, thats why they run.

I would love to sue the fuckers for irresponsible driving who hit my achillies tendons with their tractor prams, I have achillies tendonitis. I wonder if you think they should take a test, be registered and gave insurance.

but that just takes us back to the strawman.

If you are hit by a stolen car or an uninsured driver you a probably covered by the Motor Insurance Bureau
www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/@motor/documents/digitalasset/dg_068757.pdf

FWIW I would want to take any formal action against the chap who knocked my son over with his scooter but I would like someone to check that he is still safe to be using it, in case he isn't anymore and he does someone some real damage.

Chaz, he wasnt safe, he shouldnt be in charge of heavy machinery.

mrsdevere You are coming across as the professionally outraged and really you should stop reading the Daily Fail.

There is nothing deliberately offensive in any of my post at all.

4mph is far too fast for the pavements with those heavy machines and the top speed should be dramatically reduced to a sensible walking pace of around 1 to 2 km/h os no more than 1.5 mph. And 3rd party insurance should be compulsory. Whether that is from an industry wide fund or from the individual drivers or not they can decide amongst themselves.

There was more than 300,000 invalid carriages in the UK two years ago and I can only assume that that number has risen since those figures were released and not one person has to have taken a test or provided insurance. Yesterday on the spanish news a driver of one veered off the pavement to avioid a pothole and drove out in front of a van getting himself killed by a blow to his head.

They have increasingly decome a menace to themselves and to pedestrians especially children with no requirements for a test and ecessive power and speeds.