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!!!

Poor you op, sounds very painful :(

I think the rules/laws for obtaining a mobility scooter should be more regulated, maybe a proficiency test before you're allowed out with one or something along those lines.

My step granny broke her hip the first time she went out in hers, she never tried it before she went out, just thought she could handle it. She couldn't, it tipped when she went to bump up a curb. Some sort of regulation could have saved her months of intense physio and pain.

I think cars shouldn't be allowed on the road because they crash all the time.

[fatuous]

ok so i did say not on the pavement or the road - i admit it because we have a lot of old people round here using mobility scooters on the road that to be honest are dangerous, and they will cause an accident as they are on windy roads and going too slow compared to the traffic, however, my sons electric chair is dangerous and fast on the pavements - don't know what the answer is but jumping on your high horse saying this thread is against the disabled is wrong - its a fact of life that the minority ruin it for the majority. ie a few people can't control their scooters and so legislation will come into play to ruin it for the majority that can control them and will just make it more expensive for them.

I agree with you OP.

People with mobility issues need all the help they can get, but you have been seriously hurt by one! There needs to be more regulation so that only those who have the ability to control them effectively are allowed to use them.

A woman was involved in an accident with a scooter and needed hospital treatment for broken bones and yet it is disabilist to suggest they are regulated more?

FanjoPingpong - I think you are correct and it would be lovely to see them stop even for one day

I am really genuinely sorry if I have offended people but my post is not anti disabled people. It really isn't. I can appreciate how amazing it must be to be able to get out and about on a mobility scooter if you've been so isolated and confined due to disability BUT I really do think they should be made slower / safer / lanes provided for them. I really do not think it is safe for pedestrians including young children to be walking next to them when they are heavy machinery that travels at some speed. I'm sorry but I don't. I do think they should be capped at a walking speed and possibly have some sort of emergency stop brake (that just kicks in if they hit an object- if it was a kerb for example the driver should have to hold a button (??)To override this and mount the kerb. Just brainstorming.

I won't be pressing charges because I appreciate the woman was old and it was an accident on her part - albeit because she was elderly with delayed reactions.... But part of me does feel angry of course I do. I do wonder whether she should be able to drive her scooter and possibly out of duty to protect others from similar or worse incidences I do wonder if I should do something. I am very torn really.

She certainly had enough room to move around me on the junction (which was a mini roundabout into the supermarket). Infact she actively accelerated to take me over when I was walking at normal speed!!!!

Of course they should be allowed on the pavement, it's safer than the road and they're no more dangerous then someone with a pram. I'd hate to see elderly or disabled people who rely on a mobility scooter lose their independence and freedom just because a minority aren't very good at using them. Deal with the those people, don't punish everybody, that would have such a horrible effect on the lives of the most vulnerable and isolated people in society and you'd still have women knock you over with their monster prams as they zoom at full speed, you going to ban prams from the pavement too? Of course not, that would be idiotic and cause huge problems for the majority of users who don't deserve them.

Also, I recognise several mobility scooter users in my town, never seen anyone pose any danger.

They are far move dangerous than a pram as they weigh far more than a pram and can cause considerably more damage.

"People with mobility issues need all the help they can get,"

ffs really.
good old mn
lets pretend we give a shit

A pram isn't as heavy as a mobility scooter. Plus when the person stops pushing it, it won't move. A mobility scooter is capable of moving even when the person driving it wants it to stop or if they are unable to stop it, that is the difference.

Th OP's ankle was fractured. She is in pain and will be for some time and she will suffer mobility problems also for some time. It's not being disablist to be angry that has happened to her.

Mobility scooters are unregulated and are driven by a user group whose capability varies massively. People who would not be medically fit to drive can go out and buy one of these heavy, near silent and relatively speedy devices and then go wherever they wish with it. The right of the user to independance does not trump the rights of everybody else to not be flattened when walking on the pavement or crossing a road.

Had the OP suffered her injuries at the hands of a cyclist or car driver in all liklihood they would be facing prosecution. One can only hope that the woman concerned here gives up using a device she is plainly unable to control.

i think they should be required to be insured

also a limit eg 3mph for pavement use,any higher road use

op you are not being anti disabled,but on here if you dare mention anything to do with this subject you will be viewed by some as some sought of oger,these always turn into bun fight

YABU, disabled people have a right to use the pavements as much as you. I'm sorry you got hurt, but your reaction to want to ban all mobility scooters from pavements is way over the top. People with mobility problems are excluded from enough places as it is.

"She said to me that she did not know what happened and that "it normally brakes when I let go of the handles" - ????" Well that's true, most electric mobility scooters don't have separate brakes as they are designed to automatically break the moment you release the handle that's making them go. Sounds like her scooter might be faulty.

"also a limit eg 3mph for pavement use,any higher road use" There already is a limit, of 4 mph, for pavement use.

*brake not break

well lower the limit then

If someone want so use a pallet loader in a store room they need to pass a health and safety lesson or two in the use of the machine and of course the store room will be free of wandering pedestrians and children, but put that same motor in a scooter and suddenly it is okay to use without any classes at all all over the place.

brake not break

and peeps that cant spell should be banned from posting

If people go hill wlking with purpose they use naismiths rule which is 4km/hr. Pedestrians on a crowded pavement no doubt move at a pace considerable less than that perhaps 2km/hr so if anything scooters should be limited to maybe 1.5 km per hour if they want to share space with pedestrians.

If that had been a collision with an older lady it could have ben a broken hip not just a broken ankle.

When I applied for my scooter, there was someone who came out and interviewed me to see what would be suitable and to show me how to use it. I guess they could do a test then to check we are able to use them safely.

"Pedestrians on a crowded pavement no doubt move at a pace considerable less than that perhaps 2km/hr so if anything scooters should be limited to maybe 1.5 km per hour if they want to share space with pedestrians." It's true that 4mph is too fast for a busy pavement, I usually go much slower on mine unless there are no people around at all. Maybe there is scope for refining the rules. It's just the thread title made me really angry - this kneejerk reaction of banning mobility devices would have such a huge affect on people's lives, and it feels very threatening to read posts questioning whether basic necessities of your life should be allowed.

OP I hope I'm not coming across as too harsh. I hope you recover soon, it must have been a horrible experience.

It's a difficult dilema, they are dangerous for the person on the mobility scooter on the roads and can be dangerous for pedestrians on the pavements. I had a lucky escape when I was heavily pregnant, an elderly gentleman nearly had me pinned against a wall. He just missed me but hit a man instead and had him pinned against the wall, then while trying to reverse it he just pushed him further against the wall. Luckily he only had bruising but if it had been me I don't like to think what could have happend. Maybe the answer is to have some kind of driving test to assess safety. I must admit though that most of the drivers are considerate esp when im out with my pram.

Working in a hospital, I've seen a lot of people 'driving' their scooters and there is some awful handling of them out there. An inability to reverse is common - and lethal when you have all sorts of frail folk staggering here and there. Properly handled by people who can see hazards AND react quickly enough then scooters are a great aid. Using them should not be an absolute right though, you should have to be safe both for yourself and other bystanders.

It's disabilist to be pissed off when a motorised scooter breaks your fucking leg ?

Only in the bizarre, rarified world of Mumsnet.