To think that mobility scooters are bloody dangerous and there should be more regulation of their use?

[JellyDiamond]

I've just nearly run over a man on a disability scooter. I was driving along at 30mph, when he pulled off the kerb right in front of me. He didn't look anyway but when he realised I was coming towards him he didn't seem to know how to stop it and carried on. Had I been going any faster I would have hit him, had another car been behind me they'd have crashed into me...

I appreciate elderly and disabled people need to get about, but many of them don't seem to know how to use these scooters. There's an old chap near me who uses and one and drives along in the middle of the road, holding up traffic and refusing to pull over to let anyone pass. I've nearly been run over myself by them on pavements, in shops, in supermarkets and I've heard of people who have actually been bit and injured by them.

Surely there should be some kind of course and test for users before allowing them lose on the public? Maybe even an assessment to see who actually needs them rather than just giving them out willy billy to any OAP over the age of 70 wants one?

YOU CAN'T COMPARE A SMALL CHILD TO A GROWN ADULT USING A SCOOTER!! It's not a fair comparison.

A child doesn't understand what they are doing

We're talking about people whose disabilities render them incapable of using their 'legs' (scooters) perfectly, all the time. So, yes, it is directly comparable.

A child knocking a pint into your face isn't quite the same as someone smashing a pedestrians legs because they don't know how to drive a heavy machine

Would I rather have my legs smashed by a scooter or my face smashed by a broken glass? Tough call. I can't say I value my face less than my legs - and a scooter user certainly wouldn't barge into my head from behind!

Sybil, please see above.

Or do my experiences not count, now you know I have disabilities?

Agree with LadySybil, but you can never have the same control over a toddler as you would with a scooter anyway. The adult, hopefully a cognisant individual with decent eyesight and reaction times, is controlling and steering the vehicle. Toddlers are a law onto themselves, running off, dodging parents like a rat down a drainpipe. Not the same.

Your first point; Are you saying that disabled people have the mental capacity of toddlers? Um...

Your second point; both are avoidable.

I have to go to work.

The lack of a good emergency brake is shocking though. I hadn't realised it and will adjust my pavement and road awareness accordingly, so thanks to those posters who highlighted that.

Me, too :) It seems we're in a responsible minority.

A close friend's aunt is permanently disabled thanks to a mobility scooter. All she was doing was walking her dog, ffs. I don't understand the problem with training. If you can't pass the test, then you are a danger to others. Being disabled doesn't mean you have the right to disable others and most people I know wouldn't, disabled or not, use something which put others at serious risk of injury or death, without proper training.

The adult, hopefully a cognisant individual with decent eyesight and reaction times

Look, this adult doesn't barge into people, do they?

It's the people with impaired eyesight or cognitive abilities that everyone's moaning about. They're the ones whose 'legs' posters want to remove.

We already have regulation

Scooters should not do more than 4mph on the pavement.

Magistrates are able to ban people from using scooters if they are speeding or drunk. Possibly if their driving is considered dangerous, not sure about that.

Perhaps the existing regulation needs to be enforced.

I still don't believe training is needed for a simple stop go pavement scooter. For road ones, if the driver does not hold a driving licence, then maybe.

Toddlers aren't anything like hunks of motorised metal charging into you at a maximum of 8mph. If it wasn't a toddler, but a scooter, what would have happened? You'd have broken your leg, minimum. My DF's aunt is a responsible scooter user (the above one, who, ironically, only has to use one due to a mobility scooter injury) and they really are her 'legs' and her lifeline, but that doesn't mean her use of it can put others at risk.

Garlic, honestly. Why do you think blind folk carry white canes? Is it because they want people to keep away from them, or is it because they use it to feel what's around them so they don't bump into things? Have you ever seen a fully blind person using a mobility scooter? Why do you think that is? It's because they know they need decent eyesight to be able to use it safely!!!

So do you all make sure your children have passed a test and have insurance before you let them on a bike or scooter? They go faster than mobility scooters, are harder to control and are involved in more accidents.

Btw people using mobility aids/wheelchairs are pedestrians, OP you do realise that pedestrians have right of way don't you?

Or do you think disabled people have no rights?

I think it would be safer and better all round if we used prevention, not punishment. Why ban someone when they could have not injured or killed someone and instead be able to safely use a scooter, just through a few weeks of training? I would not like to be responsible for an injury because I'd temporarily lost control when it wasn't my fault, when, instead, I could have learnt some safety skills and prevented the accident.

Lady, don't bother. I've already asked up thread if blind people should be prevented from using scooters and the question was avoided

It's shit if people use their "legs", but if they're clearly putting other peoples' actual flesh and blood legs (and lives) in danger, then we have to get a bit of perspective.

I once saw a horrific accident caused by a mobility scooter. A man was travelling along the pavment then suddenly decided to turn round and go back the way he just came. He turned straight into the road in front of a car, which swerved to miss him and and hit an oncoming car full on. The guy either didnt notice or didnt care to stop as he went back on the pavment and carried on.

I now flinch every time I drive pass one.

Chapina I don't really think I was that far off breaking a bone. But I have been knocked over in that playground on several occasions, by kids and dogs. I don't venture in there any more, which is a shame.

But my point is for me, and I suspect many people, disabled scooters are the least of the hazards we face. I have never been anywhere near being bumped by a scooter. I suspect it is pretty rare.

So there's hazards all around, yes? How about people, abled or otherwise, making things safer for each other. If you have a large dog, you make sure it doesn't run off and jump at someone. If you have a toddler, you watch them and make sure they don't knock into someone. If you have a heavy mobility scooter, you think of those around you before you speed off in it and you obey the laws of the road/path.

A bit of compassion, understanding and care on all sides, that's what we need.

I'm off to work.

Sashh, my children don't use bike or scooters on the pavement. I take them to the park which has a huge path designed for it or basketball courts if nobody is playing with balls.

Once they are confident and able to ride bike well then we will go on the road.

Bulbasaur But no one has said that scooters should be taken away. People let training be compulsory so scooter users know how to drive them safely. If a scooter user can't drive it safely then no they shouldn't use it. Like I said in my last post why does an elderly or disabled scooter user's right to drive a scooter however the hell they choose trump another person's (whether they're disabled, elderly or able) right to walk down the street properly?

I have no problem with people who use mobility scooters properly. I do have a problem with people who use mobility scooters and have a death wish. Why is that so hard to grasp? Why is that offensive?

Oh and the vast majority of kids with Autism don't drive a massive piece of machinery that weights several hundred pounds!

I think the posts comparing autism to a scooter are ridiculous and offensive. Scooter usage is a matter of choice, autism isn't.

Not sure why I'm still trying here ... the thread's depressed & frightened me

Clearly, the vast majority of scooter users are careful & responsible. It's also clear that few of us realised they don't have good brakes, so will make more concessions to them.

I have no problem with people who use mobility scooters properly. I do have a problem with people who use mobility scooters and have a death wish. Why is that so hard to grasp? Why is that offensive?

Some people have more than one disability. Particularly as pedestrians get older, they're likely to have some cognitive issues, unreliable judgement and perhaps suffer temper outbreaks from dementia. This is true of people across the board, whether they get about on the legs they were born with or on a scooter.

Accidents do happen. People can do dangerous, unpredictable things. A few of those people will be using scooters as legs. Saying that older people (or people with epilepsy, MS, and more) must not use their scooters because they might have an accident is like saying they must not use their legs if they have those conditions.

I still can't believe posters are telling me it doesn't matter that a child bashed my head into a glass!

Scooter usage is a matter of choice

Yes, it's a choice between going about your life and being imprisoned indoors. Using your legs is a choice too.

Aren't you late for work, Sybil? I hope it's not a "caring" job, as you seem remarkably ill-qualified for that.

I've seen them being driving in the middle of the road at rush hour. Should they pay road tax?? Users should pass a competence test before being allowed on one.