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!!!

Kladdkaka - you are really talking to the wrong person about hard senarios

the odd thing is the people who are the most danger to my dd are mums with buggies as the expect her chair to go into the road, rather than let her go past them and their mate and the buggies.
so seeing as they are a danger to her, perhaps all people using anything with wheels should have insurance,
fairer and inclusive.

OK a lot of replies and no doubt my response will be out of synch as not going to read whole thread but what an absolutely horrible thing to happen to you and your baby, v frightening. And painful. A broken foot is no joke when you have a tiny baby to look after. I do hope you have a) some good painkillers and b) some help until you are more mobile.

About the mobilty scooter, it is a big problem with many, many accidents and yes I think you are reasonable to object especially in the context of what you have experienced. I agree that there should be tighter controls, guidance & testing etc.

All the best with your recovery. I'm afraid this thread will probably not be very helpful to you, I think you need some rest & kind RL support after such a bad day.

How does he afford to charge and service his scooter to make sure its safe???

The British Legion provided it and pay for all the servicing.

threesocks that's not an insurance issue, its an education one. People with buggies should show more common sense. A lot of people don't think about the practical day to day issues that some people with disabilities face because they have never had to. Like the people who don't clean up after their dogs who inconvenience people walking but cause a major problem and health hazard on a narrow pavement for someone in a manual wheelchair who either has to double back or push shitty wheels all the way home.

the odd thing is the people who are the most danger to my dd are mums with buggies as the expect her chair to go into the road, rather than let her go past them and their mate and the buggies.

This is something I encounter regularly too. I don't understand it. Normally I just use a walking frame and other pedestrian manover around me. But people with buggies don't, they seem to expect to go in a straight line and for me to manover around them. Even though I'm much less able.

Last time I was in town I got so fed up with it, that I started holding my ground. As a result I got repeatedly bumped and tutted at and vowed never to go out again. :(

Some comments on here are speaking from a position of genuine ignorance. I have 5 wheelchairs & scooters, most 2nd hand. Big wheels manual to get (pushed) up steps, small wheels manual to get round house (big wheels too wide for doors), big scooter for parks etc (small scooter can't grip on grass or slopes), small scooter for shopping etc (big scooter too big, can't reverse well), etc etc. None good for roads - all too low, so invisible to cars. If people use a big (expensive) one on pavements it's because smaller ones can't get them home up hills kerbs etc. Nobody knows any of this UNTIL YOU HAVE TO DO IT.

Kladdkaka that is really sad. Please don't let inconsiderate idiots stop you going out. Possession of a buggy doesn't give anyone ownership of the pavement and anyone who behaves like it does is an inconsiderate entitled arse.

Kladdkaka annoying isn't. I don't let them get away with it now, and just keep going so that one of them has to move.
tbh saying it is about education is ok, as long as that applies to mobility scooters as well. if one has ot be insured so does the other as they can both be dangerous in the wrong hands.

threesocks the issue about insurance is different simply because of the number of accidents and level of harm caused or potentially by buggy users and mobility scooters. As I pointed out further up the thread a mobility scooter could easily be 5 - 10 times heavier than a buggy and moving faster, they aren't really comparable.

If you had talked about whether or not cyclists should be insured, I would argue that insurance should be compulsory because a cyclist hitting a pedestrian at 20mph could do a lot of damage.

Hi op.
I hope you are OK. What a scary experience. I've just read through this thread and am shocked by the aggression of most of the disabled members of this community. (Please note I said most, not all)
It is obvious to me that you posted while still shocked by the incident and have posted again later to say that your initial reaction to want to ban mobility scooters from the pavements was perhaps a little harsh. Still, according to some, you seem to have bought this incident on yourself, or at least deserve it anyway because of all the selfish buggy users on the loose! Gobsmacked!

My local shopping centre is a large indoor one, there are often problems and accidents involving elderly people driving mobility scooters.

My 7 year old has been reversed into, his legs were all bruised , I had to pull my toddler dd out of the path of one which was going very fast down a slope as we turned the corner into its path.

I have been rammed several times when coming out shop doorways as they don't slow down to pass or to turn into shop.

There is one woman in particular who's vehicle is huge, it has a roof and windows on it, her all round visibility is non existent, it does not fit round most of the shops, she often gets stuck and knocks over shelving etc.

People should be properly assessed before being allowed on one, at least 70% of the people locally I see on them are a danger to themselves and others.
Their reaction times are just not quick enough.

Have also seen a lady tip one over on herself, was going down a step and had driven sideways instead of straight.

Kladdkaka
"The British Legion provided it and pay for all the servicing."

He may already have insurance. My Grandfathers was provided by the Round table and they insured it for him.

RabidAnchovy your post is vile, your disclaimer at the end means nothing.
"poor diddums" vile

socks, I thought the same.

Pots and kettles threesocks.
A lot of the stuff thrown at OP has been vile too.

making vile posts that take the piss out of someone who is in a wheelchair are not the same as disagreeing with the op;.

I don't see what's wrong with having a debate about how the increased need for mobility scooters can be accommodated without causing risk to others. They are obviously more powerful than other pavement users. It doesn't need to be disablist. The problem could be solved if we also had reasonable provision of cycling lanes - in the Netherlands mobility scooters use the cycling lanes and it is safer for everyone.

You are quit free to think what I have said is vile, I really don't care, I find the woman I was talking about vile, she is a bitch and would be a bitch whether disabled or not, she just thinks being disabled makes her above the normal social conforms and it does not.

I was not taking the piss out of her, I was saying she is a cow, a rude vile cow.

So I take it is she pushed you out of your seat, ran in to you or yelled at your kids that's ok with you because she is in a wheelchair and so is allowed to do so.

Have also seen a lady tip one over on herself, was going down a step and had driven sideways instead of straight.

This is something that town and city planners now have to rethink. All LA's should be planning for the inclusion of people who are disabled and decreased mobility.

In the UK we are still getting over the days of the institutions, that is the problem, society should not just have been planned around the non disabled, young.

Up the road from me a new set of crossings have just been put in, they have to be changed, because they are silent, rather than 'beep'

Why to check that, in the first place, wouldn't occur to anyone designing a product for all of the public to be able to use, is beyond me, tbh.

Rabid made her (admittedly rude) comments about someone she has personally experienced behaving deplorably on more than one occasion. Evidently this is acceptable because the woman is in some way disabled.
The OP was called ignorant and disablist, accused of changing her story and lectured that at least her injuries would heal and she should be grateful to the woman who mowed her down and broke her bones!
No, you're correct, it's not the same at all.

i have not said that to the op.
wanting mobility scooters banned is diablist
tanking the piss and saying "diddums is in a wheelchair" is vile and sick

To clarify, I meant the woman's deplorable behaviour was evidently acceptable.