to expect that pedestrianised areas in cities should mean exactly that?

[Morgause]

I live near a lovely city which would be a wonderful place to shop if only people kept to the rules.

It's impossible to cross from one side to the other without risking injury from cyclists who think the rules don't apply to them. It gets worse in the school holidays as teenage cyclists/scooter riders/skateboarders join in the mayhem. Plus smaller children are also on scooters weaving in and out of people and also into people.

Yesterday I saw a child aged 6/7 plough straight into an elderly man knocking him off his feet. The child was going to scoot away but a woman grabbed his scooter to stop him but the child ran off. Another person phoned for an ambulance while some of us did what we could for the poor man.

The boy and his mother arrived and she demanded the scooter back and said the boy had shouted to the old man to get out of the way so it was his own fault.

There are quite a few "security" people patrolling the precinct and they move on buskers and beggars, surely they should also be enforcing the pedestrians only rule? And surely parents shouldn't allow their children to take scooters into a crowded city.

Of course the child was going to scoot away, he was six! I do feel sorry for the gentleman involved and parents should ve responsible. But your comment about moving on security men moving on buskers and beggars has pissed me right off.

Why has it pissed you off?

I enjoy buskers and have no problem with beggars, unless they are aggressive.

I meant the security men's time would be better employed stopping cyclists and scootists, if that's a word. Rather than moving on people not doing any harm. (Apart from the bloke who pretends to play a penny whistle but he can't and it hurts my ears.)

It read like, lets sweep the street of undesirables. Sorry, read it wrong. But, back to the issue, yanbu. It is parents job to sort this out. However there are so many wheeled vehicles in pedestrian areas, delivery vans, couriers, motability scooters. I am not sure security guards could police them all. It is really up to the parent in this instance.

YANBU to expect a pedestrianised area to be just that. Maybe there should be great big dumpsters that passers by can grab scooters and bikes and throw them into .
Can you write to your local council and flag the problems that you have seen. They might do something about it. Some, so called, pedestrian areas, have a no vehicle rule, but do allow bikes. Have you checked the signs?

Small children on scooters are a pita. At least larger ones hopefully have more control.

I suspect I'm just a curmudgeon however.

Hmm. I wouldn't consider a scooter or skateboard on a pavement as breaking any laws so I would see it the same in a pedestrianised zone.

Inconsiderate scooting is bad, though.

I totally agree. I lived in a university town well know for its cyclists. I don't cycle, but as a car driver I soon learned to always expect them to ignore regulations such as stopping at red lights at crossroads. That mind set has really helped as I walk around the city paths! You take your life in your hands walking through our pedestrian areas without your wits about you.

Like so many things about modern life it boils down to common sense and basic manners.

I would have been roasted by my parents for behaving like this - I was always being yanked out of the way of oncoming adults. While I don't agree that adults automatically have the right to space on the pavements over children, you hardly ever see anyone getting their kids to move over as they stroll along 4 abreast down the high street.

I hate scooters. Surely they should be for the park and other wide open spaces not for shopping centres?

I regularly admonish people on bikes in the pedestrianised city centre (there are signs up saying no cycling). I was once almost run into coming out of a shop by a teenager on his bike.

Recently parents seem to think its ok for their kids to scoot or even cycle in my local shop! Yes, actually in the shop! It's got really bad in the last couple of months. WTF are they thinking? Leave the fecking things outside, and if you're worried about them being stolen buy a bloody lock.

I hate scooters too, unless they are in gardens or parks.

Certainly as a cyclist, it boils my piss when adults ride their bikes in pedestrian only areas.
I would no more ride my bike through one than drive a car up it. Those who break the rules give the rest of us a bad name and legitimise a disregard for cyclists as a group.

Certainly as a cyclist, it boils my piss when adults ride their bikes in pedestrian only areas.
I would no more ride my bike through one than drive a car up it. Those who break the rules give the rest of us a bad name and legitimise a disregard for cyclists as a group.
I am not so arrogant as to assume that rules are meant for the rest of the proles and not for me. Unfortunately for the rest of us there are plenty of people do take that shitty, self serving attitude and all the disdain for others it implies.

In the city near us I thought that the pedestrianised areas meant that cyclists weren't allowed. One ran into me one day and I stroppily suggested that he got off and walked, he pointed out the tiny sign that showed he was allowed in the pedestrianised areas.

So check that they're actually not allowed before having a go about that :)

He did seem to miss the point that he should have been looking where he was going though.

I think it varies on a town to town basis according to bylaws.
Certainly where I live you are meant to dismount and push through pedestrian zones.
On a practical level, even if this was not the case, I think I would - people are not looking out for cyclists etc. in a pedestrian area and I would prefer not to have the guilt and hassle of being in an accident even if it was technically not my fault. I would still feel dreadful if someone got hurt.

I think it is up to the parents to manage their children, which unfortunately means that some parents do sod all. I think the people on scooters / bikes / skateboards etc need to be responsible and not shout 'Out of the way' and think that absolves them of any further responsibility as the elderly or anyone who has restricted mobility may not get out of the way in time. Equally a young child isn't going to understand and may not move or move in the wrong direction.

The mother was at fault in this case, if it is busy children shouldn't be on scooters, she wasn't close enough to manage him and then she didn't even apologise, as someone said earlier it makes my piss boil. Falls can be so dangerous for the elderly.

I have seen people try to take scooters into a museum before, they were so surprised when they were asked not to. The mind boggles.

I'm not completely against children on scooters, sometimes that's the easiest way for their little legs to keep page with Mummy & Daddy's stride. But the children should be taught to be respectful of others on the road. And, yes, if they get disruptive, the security guards should be policing them more than the homeless.

I'm a cyclist and I abhor those who jump red lights. Believe it or not it is decreasing in London - I'm seeing fewer do it now than a year ago. I don't cycle where it's not allowed, but there are some streets in London which are banned for motorised vehicles, but OK for bikes. Even then I ride respectfully.

MiaowtheCat - where's your Whacky Races locale, then? This I gotta see.

I think whether bikes/scooters etc are allowed depends on the area - my town is pedestrianised and some areas have signs which specifically say 'no bikes, skateboards, scooters or rollerskates' but then there are other areas with no signs where, reasonably, people assume they are therefore allowed.

If this is a major issue then really it needs to be taken up with the council who need to put up signs or cycle lanes to inform people of whether their bikes and scooters etc are allowed.

That said, if parents are allowing their children to use scooters in an area busy with pedestrians they should be supervised and should have been briefed on how to use them safely and considerately so that accidents like the one you mentioned above are rare.

Bloody hate scooters and have had many a near miss. When I used to childmind, I allowed the kids to only go at a reasonable speed, never in shops and never out of reaching distance (for everyone's safety.) I would take them to the grassy parks so they could go full pelt if no one was around.

Accidents do still happen though and one little girl ran into an woman, who then fell over and dropped her lunch. Little girl was horrified but I told her (nicely) that she must be careful and apologise and ask if the lady was alright. I then offered to buy her more food. Kids should be taught to understand at an early age to be thoughtful of other pavement users and to do the right thing if an accident occurs.

YANBU in a sense that parents should control their children while using scooters/bikes etc... but I don't really see a problem with them using them on the pavements as it would be much more dangerous on a road. Scooters are very different to bikes but are still used by some people as a quicker way to get places but simply aren't safe to use on a road. If I were to ride a scooter/bike and needed to go through the city centre I would simply walk alongside my bike rather than ride it.

My kids use bikes and scooters as transport rather than fun, so we will, quite often, take them across pedestrian areas. I just make them get off and walk while pushing.

If it's no cycling, then cyclists should dismount, but many pedestrian areas are shared use where cyclists are signed to "give way" in which case careful slow cycling should be acceptable.

In general, all users should abide by whatever the specific rules are; except I can't help loving the Southport-pensioner-roller-blader

Our city is definitely 'no bikes, skateboards, scooters or rollerskates' . There are signs everywhere.

Someone mentioned mobility scooters and they can also be a bit of a problem. They are given on loan out to anyone who needs one in the precinct but some people don't know how to drive them and speed round at a dangerous pace.

YANBU. If rules are enforced, they may as well not exist.

There's a ban on jet ski's in our estuary, for safety reasons as well a noise pollution reasons (you can hear them for miles and it buggers up everyone's peace and quiet) yet, no one enforces the rule, so everyone feel uptight, jet ski owners get their pride and joy vandalised, it's a mess... the rule should be enforced.

I am not even talking spot fines, just being TOLD by someone in authority would go a long way to fixing the problems.