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!!!

Thank you to those who have offered sympathy. It was very scary. So yes I admit perhaps I am being a little angry but I just wondered what the whole rules were really.

I am sure some mobility scooters do have brakes, but that makes them more expensive and we are already looking at a couple of grand just be able to get around.

The automatic stop button is the lever. You hold it down, you move. You release it, you stop.

And maybe, just maybe, those of us who use mobility scooters don't want to be stuffed into a wheelchair before we're ready for it.

i remember it well worra it was awful :( also hello fellow fhg`er!

Kladdakaka, my legs couldn't cause the type of injury that the op has got

Bloody good for you. Wanna swap?

Hope you get well soon OP, YABU though. I think as they are motorised vehicles however they should be insured and licenced.

lol at my typo- mobility scooters banned from baths that should be paths.

definitely an ex fhg'er!

oh god yes worra i left after they changed the lay out we have our own fhg on fb now lol lol

op i hope you feel better soon x

Yanbu to be upset that your ankle is broken! I live in a village full of retired people and a lot of them travel in mobility scooters on the road but they aren't road worthy vehicles! The problem is they aren't regulated and as far as I know people aren't assessed to see if they're safe to use.

I work in elderly care and I had a patient who described her mobility scooter as her life line. It was only when her friend explained that yes, it helped her get out but she had no depth perception due to a visual impairment so she drove it straight, regardless She was most aggrieved when the doctors said she had to stop using it!

I'm almost inclined to think there should be a separate lane like cycle lanes for mobility scooters. Surely that's the only safe way?

Kladdakaka, interesting response? I asked you about insurance because you are a poster that has first hand experience of using a scooter, i was genuinely interested in hearing the thoughts of somebody that would be affected by having to have insurance.it is quite obvious that a person walking would not be able to inflict the injuries that have been described in the posts above. Your wanna swap comment is unnecessary and adds nothing to the discussion.

Anyone driving a vehicle should have third party insurance.

Hope you feel ok now and aren't in too much pain op.
On the first week of the holidays I was in a coffee shop when a lady came in on a scooter, she ran it into the leg of a heavily pregnant woman who was carrying a tray with 3 hot drinks on it, the pregnant woman fell over and went over a chair and ended up covered in coffee, the staff had to call het an ambulance. The lady on the scooter had forgotten to take off her sunglasses and used that as an excuse.
There needs to be some form of insurance to use one.

OP, I think you probably realise now that banning them from pavements isn't really viable.

I do think you should be able to claim for loss of earnings from the lady in the scooter though.

I think this is a tough one but YABU to want mobility scooters banned from pavements. It would be far more dangerous for them to be on roads and also prevent disabled people who need them getting to some shopping areas - which really defeats the point of the scooters.

I think that a simple hazard perception test on purchase or hire of a scooter may help prevent the accidents.

Yes it does. There is an undercurrent on this thread that using a mobility scooter is a choice, like cycling. It isn't a choice, it's a necessity. Making the users pay to use them is a tax on being disabled. Disabled people are already one of the poorest groups in society but lets charge them more for things that other people take for granted, like shopping or walking down the street.

It makes me angry because is disabilism in diguise.

YANBU - I saw a two year old nearly mown down today.

They should have a speed restricter.

So, how would you pay for any injury you caused?

Someone ran over my foot once with a bloody big buggy. I think people using buggies should have insurance. And they shouldn't be on the pavements either, after all they are a vehicle and bikes aren't allowed on pavements.

Unless the area is a pedestrianised zone, why can't they go on the road. If they are going to go on the pavement, at the very least they should require some sort of competetance test and probably insurance too.

Kladdakaka, if that's what you think then I accept that, however by answering my original posts with flippant rudeness you do nothing to get people to see your point of view. Some questions are genuinely just questions, not disabalism.

far more dangerous for them on the road.

So, how would you pay for any injury you caused?

The same way you would if you caused an injury.