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?

Seriously, WhereDo? Why on earth would people lie about this? Is it some vast MN consipracy and we've all worked the details out beforehand? You really are reaching, here.

Seriously, WhereDo? Why on earth would people lie about this? Is it some vast MN consipracy and we've all worked the details out beforehand? You really are reaching, here.

Gah, sorry don't know why it double-posted there.

Mamakahoney - cyclists disobeying the Highway Code does not give those driving mobility scooters in an antisocial manner and risking the lives of those around them carte Blanche to do so - yes all types of transport comes with risks and chances that a total wanker is behind the wheel, but in this case the question of mobility scooters is the one being discussed

I doubt that too Lady

Why would people lie?
Just googling. All these and more have been in the news.
I posted several including deaths. None were made up.

Yes statistics are low. Because how they are reported. not all areas are reporting them in the same way

"This sort of ranty thread about a mobility device that disabled people rely on can be the cause of abuse towards disabled people."

So what you are basically saying is that nobody is ever allowed to say anything negative about any issue that ever has anything to do with someone who might be disabled? Seriously? Nobody here is hating on the disabled--they are suggesting that there should be some rules, just like there are for any other form of motorized transport.

Why would people need to lie?
The little town center i live near is always full of mobility scooters at the weekend and early in the morning.
I also have an elderly old man who lives somewhere near me who has one.

As for cyclists--cyclists are not supposed to ride on the pavement in the UK, so this is a false comparison.

And yes, cyclists should have to pass a proficiency test before riding on the road IMHO.

PiperIsOrange

So your kids are not passing a test, not even cycling proficiency? And are you going to get them insurance? That is what I asked.

I don't see the logic in some posters saying that cyclists and cars cause accidents as well. So what?

Because other things cause accidents it's ok for people on mobility scooters to injure people as well? I don't think so.

It is not disablist to want to walk through the precinct (traffic free, supposedly) without having my legs taken out from under me by someone riding a mobility scooter. I suffer from brittle bones and that could cause me serious injury. Why do the rights of those with mobility issues trump my rights not to have broken bones and thus have my own mobility issues?

They don't.

Calling people who want to move around towns without being assaulted by speeding mobilty scooters and cities disablist doesn't mean they are being disablist. It means you've lost the plot.

There should be compulsory insurance at the very least.

Haha. I rant about this every day nearly. I've been forced into going on the main road with my pram more than once because of these blasted things, and seen several accidents happen.

and a lot of the people I see using them are grotesquely obese and I can't help but think they need to do more exercise.....

But I will go back to my cyclist analogy - there is no enforcement for sight or competency for them? Surely if some test is created it should apply to anything that isn't our two feet?

if you want to push for eye tests and user tests for cyclists, go ahead if you think they're needed. This thread is about regulation for mobility scooters.

I don't see the need for eye tests for cyclists, I do see the need for eye tests for mobility scooter users.

My bikes weighs around 30lbs.
My neighbour's mobility scooter weighs 257lbs.

I know which I would rather have a town centre wrangle with. The lighter one obviously.

Bikes don't form any problem in my town centre, it is pedestrian only.

Mobility scooters DO form an very big problem in my town centre.

There may be a lot of cyclists around with very impaired vision and I just haven't ever encountered them. If I do however see large numbers of severely vision impaired cyclists taking to the streets and pavements, rest assured I would push for regulation.

I have encountered many mobility scooter drivers with vision that is so impaired that they shouldn't EVER be driving a machine that weighs 260lbs.

This is without going near the fact that I have yet to come across a cyclist akin to KatieKay's elderly mother, a lady who simply doesn't have the concentration or reflexes to drive or cycle safely, and who was told to stop driving a car, you simply don't see these people on bikes. I do come across a lot of these old ladies and men who do though drive mobility scooters through the busiest and most densely populated pavements. Many of them are very dangerous.

Anyone, old or young, able bodied or disabled, should have minimum levels of eye sight and safe levels of concentration and reflexes before they are allowed into public places driving vehicles that weigh in excess of 200 lbs and are capable of speeds of 8mph.

That is not disablist, it's just common sense.

With rights come responsibility. If someone cannot use a scooter safely doc they have an automatic tight to keep using it? I don't know the legal or moral answer to that but common sense would seem to imply that it would irresponsible . Is it unreasonable for a person who cannot )for whatever reason) use a scooter safely to continue to drive it? At which point do their rights have to be curtailed on the same way people with loss of vision have their right to drive a car removed? Just some points to ponder as the issue of elderly people using scooters is one I think about a lot only I had to make the decision it was not right for mum

Wish I hadn't got so emotional about this last night. I'm having to face up to the facts of my disabilities just now and, believe me, it makes you very cross & scared.

My whole point has been about shifting the focus from "These things (people) can be dangerous, they should be stopped" to "These things (people) can be dangerous, we need to take care."

When you see a pair of workmen carrying a big, heavy object along the street, your instant reaction isn't to say that should be stopped. You recognise it's a potentially hideous accident and get out of the way, make sure they have room, gather your DC, and generally make the situation safer.

Your response to other hazardous situations is similar, we hope: person doddering on a walker; a child having a meltdown; a clutch of tipsy teenagers; person behaving aggressively; parked vehicle with person about to open the door; road works; ice & snow; runners on the pavement; kids on scooters/bikes/skateboards; scaffolders overhead; deep puddles; customers outside pubs & cafés ... it goes on. Life isn't 100% safe at all times, and we make continuous adjustments for it.

What I'm suggesting is that, when we see a person on a mobility scooter, it is one of those possible hazards and we thus make allowances.

So I'm off to work this morning and I shall be going into the town centre on my mobility scooter, perhaps into a few shops.
If any if you see me, are you going to be the ones who sneer at me? Who refuse to open a door for me because you don't think that I have the right to be there?
Are you going to be thinking 'urgh, mobility scooter, bloody dangerous things, she shouldn't be allowed in this shop with me in case she loses control of it and injures someone'

No?
Thought not

I agree that some sort of training should be provided.

But I can also see that for someone using a mobility scooter reading pages of "I know someone who was run over by one and died" , if people aren't also making constructive points, could be quite upsetting.

I definitely don't think they should be tols to "get a grip".

BeeRayKay..it is very easy to become obese if you are not mobile as ypu need very few calories.

The people with the scooters will.most likely not have them due to being too obese to walk but have genuine disabilities with side effect of weight gain due to immobility.

So not that great to judge them.

My 87 year old DM had a scooter. She, like I'm sure everyone else, wouldn't use it until she had to, the upshot was that she was pretty frail and unsteady by the time she started using it.
I could barely keep up with her, her reactions were poor, as was her distance judging (getting it wedged between a wall and a lamp post once, some kindly soul moved it back onto the pavement). She had driven a car in the past and I don't think she appreciated the speed she was going. Of course she ignored my demands to go slower but it was lovely seeing her out and about chatting to people after being housebound.

The answer might be a fixed max speed which can only be increased if used on roads/ non pedestrian areas. And make that rule VERY clear from the start.

Also encourage use whilst people are relatively young, so that people know what they are doing and the risks before they have to use them to get out.

Chances are the majority of us will need to use one at some point in life so banning would be silly.

beeraykay You obviously have no idea what it's like to live with physical limits. I genuinely hope that you can always live in such a naive bubble.

I had my leg broken by someone in a mobility scooter last year. I was pushing my newborn son in his pram and as I crossed the road a woman in one came alongside me on the pavement to cross the road at the same time and crossed over in front of me and knocked into me. I pushed my son out of the way but in doing so I fell to the floor and she ran over my leg. I ended up unable to walk for long time. It was awful.

However I do recognise that it was the driver not the mobility scooter that was at fault. Having said that I have seen a lot of people in my village go ridiculously fast on them and dangerously close to knocking people over. They can be quite scary. Since my experience I am terrified of them and always move the dc well out of the way.

I'm not sure what the legalities are but I think the speeds should definitely be limited. I don't know if they are already but the speeds I've seen some of them go are much faster than a walking speed for a pedestrian which I think makes them too fast for a pavement.

And for what it's worth I know I posted about cycles last night (who do also cause accidents and are not regulated, and yes I have seen this on several occasions!)
The difference is that a bike is a LEISURE tool. A mobility scooter is a disability AID. The person who has a bike has an option. If you are so against mobility scooters your better route would be to lobby government to change local authorities rules on who qualifies for a power chair.

*I don't see the logic in some posters saying that cyclists and cars cause accidents as well. So what?

Because other things cause accidents it's ok for people on mobility scooters to injure people as well? I don't think so.*

I don't think that's what people are saying at all. My argument was why not regulate something people have a CHOICE to use (i.e.bikes) that statistically cause more accidents then scooters, rather than JUST scooters.
I'm not disagreeing that there should be a level of safe use on scooters.

My lovely mother in law was knocked down by a man on a mobility scooter. Both of her hips were broken and she became a shell of the amazing woman she was. The old git was so drunk he couldn't even remember doing it and obviously got away with it as they are not in any way regulated. She died two years later and we directly blame him. I see them in my town in the middle of the road, barging through people on the pavements. Something needs to be done

Biggles I'm very sorry to hear about your MIL - that's terrible that that happened to her.
However your use of word 'them' is distressing to me, there is no such thing as 'them.' The scooters are operated by PEOPLE and like any people, some follow the rules and some don't. But it's not universal.