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!!!

Ive read all the way through this thread and i cant believe people are trying to blame the op.It was the other womans fault.
If that was me id get legal advise she cant go round running pople over and thinking its ok.Next time somebody else mightnt be so lucky.

I've used my Mum's in the garden. It does not go as fast as a 5 yo on a bike. Kids can ride bikes on the pavement.

I'm sorry you suffered this injury, especially with a new baby to look after- that's awful.

But one person did this, and it was presumably an accident.

In this part of London you rarely see these scooters in the road because they are too slow. There would be many more accidents if there were on the road (DH is a careful cyclist who has been knocked off twice by impatient motorists overtaking him to turn in front of him and he cycles much faster than a mobility scooter).

What on earth!!! Why are some people doubting my story?! Is it that hard to understand?! She crossed the road with me - as a pedestrian - ie she started on the pavement and yes then crossed the road. That's like saying its ok for a car to cross the road at a cars speed on a zebra crossing with a pedestrian?! I'm sorry if its hard to explain exactly what happened. I couldn't have let her pass as she was going very fast and banged straight into the side of me, I didn't even have time to think. Believe me if I could have moved out of the way I would have!!! Its not like I wanted her to bump into me!!! If I could draw a diagram of the road layout for you all I would! Ffs.

Thank you to those who have been nice to me. I wish I'd never started this thread now. I wanted some sympathy and support and maybe to understand a littl more about the rules - and yes I was prepared to listen to comments and maybve concede I was being unreasonable. I am open minded. But I never expected to have people basically accuse me of lying, being in the way of the scooter (I wasn't at all!!!!) Or even worse that I have some sort of vendetta against the disabled. I feel like I have been torn apart!

I agree with the OP.

Myself and my DS were almost hit by a mobility scooter, woman was driving along with her head turned chatting to her husband who was behind her.

And back when I worked in a (toy) shop I had someone reverse with enough speed/force to take out a security system. No biggy, was covered by insurance. But it could've been a child.

In some hands they are dangerous.

Maybe not ban them, but there should at least be a test people have to take to be allowed to drive/purchase one.

Wiggle I have every sympathy for you having been injured, but it is not like a car using a crossing at all.

The woman that injured you was out of order, absolutely, but she is one of a minority just as a minority of car drivers / lorry drivers / bus drivers / cyclists / Jay walking pedestrians are a menace to other people and not a cause for wholesale bans of any sort.

I hope your recovery is straightforward.

I'm with the OP as well, our 4 month old puppy was badly hurt after having his leg run over by a man tearing along on a mobility scooter it was horrific and cost a lot in vet's bills, thankfully insurance helped but still, and besides the money wasn't the point, his yelps of terror and pain are still with me now.

the man is well-known locally and doesn't need the scooter either which made it worse.

I used to work for Shopmobility, lending out scooters so that people could access the local shopping areas...

Our members HAD to pass a little driving/sight test before we let them loose with one of the vehicles. All the vehicles were limited to slightly less than 4mph, and all our members were covered by the liability insurance that we had. (And indeed, the scooter should stop when you let go of the forward or backward lever).

We had to tactfully explain to a very few members that they could no longer use our equipment when their sight/ability to control the vehicle declined.

But there was nothing we could do if they then decided to buy their own eight-mile-an-hour and hurl it about the pavement with limited eyesight or muscular control.

The highway code is very specific about what can and can't be done with mobility scooters, the lady you made contact with was clearly in breach of the highway code. She should be at least visited by the police if not prosecuted. But that doesn't mean that sensible scooter users should be made to give up their only way of getting about.

I hate seeing them on the road tbh. They don't seem to have lights, indicators, mirrors. Maybe they do, but I've never seen them.

The other day I was driving along a 60mph road and one was coming the other way, round a bend. A car coming the same way as it went to overtake it, coming right onto my side of the road. It was a close one, I had to swerve a bit. Now, I realise the car driver would have been at fault if there had been an accident, but I'm sure he didn't expect to see a mobility scooter on such a fast road, and it would have come out of nowhere as it was going so slow compared to traffic.

So, I agree they should be on the pavement, but hopefully driven by people who are a little bit considerate of others!

People are killed everyday by cars, we don't try to ban them.

No, but we try to minimise accidents through licensing, insurance, the law etc.

I would rather see mobility scooters on the pavement than on the road (and adult cyclists on the road rather than the pavement) but they are large and heavy and, as has been shown repeatedly on this thread, can cause a lot of damage. So, I don't think putting some sort of insurance and licensing system in place is such a bad idea.

Pavements can be used by anyone - including young children, the elderly, those with mobility problems, the blind, deaf etc. Anyone using the pavement (whether on foot, pushing a pram, in a wheelchair, on a scooter etc) should be aware of this and not expect people to be able to leap out of the way - even if they appear young and healthy.

Definitely think they should be made to take some sort of road safety course before they can ride in a public place. What if that would of been a small toddler? Could of been a very different outcome.

We ban cars from the pavements though, don't we?

What a good sensible post by ruby.

I don't think.they should be banned but some of them round here are driven WAY too fast. It's dangerous.

Poor you.op. what an horrific injury and with a new baby too

YANBU to be terribly upset and angry at this one woman, OP, but YABU to suggest that all mobility scooters should be banned from the pavement.

The experiences on this thread seem to echo what I have seen - that it isn't generally people with disabilities that have accidents - it is elderly people. I was nearly hit by an elderly man on a scooter. He came up fast behind me while I was walking on a wide pavement listening to my ipod and didn't hear him coming. Instead of slowing down and calling out to me or sounding his horn he kept going at full speed and only tooted when he was almost on top of me. I realised he was there and managed to jump out of the way but we were right next to a bus stop and he crashed into it at full speed and then screamed abuse at me. Another man had seen it happen and we both tried to explain to him that even if he thinks someone should be getting out of his way, he can't just drive at people without any attempt to stop. He appeared to be quite confused and just kept shouting and screaming before driving off at speed, trailing a bit of broken bus stop behind him.

Another example - an elderly lady near where I used to live was regularly brought home by neighbours after being found driving her scooter the wrong way down main roads or trying to force it through shop doorways. She had dementia.

There is no reason why any restrictions should be placed upon people using them for reason of disability - people with moblity issues are perfectly capable of using a scooter safely and there is no reason why they should be penalised for having to do so - but I think it would be sensible to have some sort of medical assessment where someone is using one for age-related deterioration because unfortunately, slow reactions etc can be a common age-related issue.

A number plate might also be a good idea so that people like the elderly lady can be identified and spoken to and given help and, if necessary, their use of the scooter reviewed.

some sort of insurance and licensing system

No insurance company will just pay out, both sides will have to be weighed up and witnesses needed, otherwise disabled people wil be put at risk of false claims.

Some people cause their own accidents by not looking what is happening around them, or just by being ignorant (i have seen blind people pushed into).

If the case is lost by the claimant, they will have to pick up the bill, insurance only works if everyone has it.

This is one person that has caused an accident (and the chain of circumstances), not a problem with mobility scooters.

My neighbour proudly showed me his souped up mobility scooter last week. He's had it 'pimped' so it is faster. And he does drive it on the pavement (though very well), so I was rather taken aback.

We simply couldn't ban the scooters from pavements: that would mean very very few people would use them. I'm just thinking of the roads near me: you'd have to drive in the middle to avoid all the parked cars, and be at the mercy of all the Chelsea tractors breaking the speed limit to fly over the speed bumps. I wouldn't have the nerve for that.

I think speed limiting is the way forward, plus maybe some added noise as was discussed for electric cars, so people hear you coming.

There is some very bad driving of mobility scooters (which just mirrors the situation with cars and bikes) and I was nearly run over by one by a woman who could clearly see me and didn't care to either stop or try to avoid me. People like her should be banned from driving a scooter the moment they hit a pedestrian in circumstances that are plainly their fault. No room for a points system like driving licences, because they share a space with pedestrians and real caution is needed.

Since walking around with my 84 year old mother, whose cognitive functioning and reaction times have dropped, i am realising how many ignorant people there are, especially pram pushers.

I would like lessons in schools about how old age can effect us and how we need to slow down and be more aware around some categories of people.

Ouch, I'm really sorry to hear that OP.
May you heal quickly and not spend forever waiting for X-ray (DD1s wish to all with broken bones).

I think mobility scouters are a necessary evil. DFILs gave him and DMIL a lot of pleasure because they could get out into their beautiful area together again.

It also made up for him stopping driving!

Believe me DFIL going at full speed to the village shop was 20,000x safer than him behind the wheel of a car.

Oops, I mean DD2. DD1 would be most offended to be concussed with her accident prone sibling

Confused (mind you concussed is kind of appropriate).

Birds - I agree about prams. For some people, being behind a pram makes them change the way they walk. Most people wouldn't just walk smack into someone going slower in front of them, but some pram users seem to think that is an acceptable way to get someone out of your way.

It's very odd.

whilst we are at it can we have insurance for pram users,

I really think these scooters should only be available if you have a blue badge or at least a recommendation from a GP.

They are becoming a nuisance which is a shame for the people that actually need them.

I think that there should be some checks on users to make sure they are capable of controlling the scooter. If they have a progressive condition or are elderly these should be repeated every couple of years. I admit I am biased as one of my children aged 3 was knocked down by a mobility scooter which drove over his leg luckily only causing cuts and bruises. The driver drove off uncaring or oblivious and we saw him later in the day driving extremely close to other people etc. He was not competant to drive a scooter.

I do think that if a mobility scooter hits a kerb too fast, goes round a corner too fast, etc then instinct tells you to grab hold of the handles, not let go which would stop it. I had this on a motorbike in Thailand once and ended up in a river as I just went faster as I hung on/pulled back which just revved it up.

I should think this sort of scenario is even more likely with older people.