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?

Is your username because you're a perfect shot? Ds is an archer (it's one of the very few sports he's able to do).

hear hear Annie, that needed saying, and you said it so well. It is very passive aggressive to respond to say you don't want to respond because you might get ripped to shreds by the merciless posters who want regulation. I wish they would just say who these merciless horrid people actually are.

the insults that have came from those who don't want regulation seem to get totally missed or dismissed with "yes but they are just upset so it's allowed". Like I get hounded 6 times in an hour to "answer my question", you ask it once, I ask it once, and we get pounced on.

I almost choked when (I think it was you Sybil) said something the other evening like "anyway I am off to work now" and one very polite and civil one against regulation popped up with "well be off then, I just hope you're not in a caring profession as you're not a very caring person".

and those against regulation call us the horrid merciless ones

LOL

people in glass houses really shouldn't throw stones

Yup, I saw that, Happy! Made me laugh when I looked at a profile which mentioned promoting equal rights Equal rights as long as you don't mind your leg being smashed by a mobility scooter!

Yes that was a disgusting comment and im not afraid to say i reported that comment!

I agree with people that i think there does need to be a basic test or basic lesson to be taken beforeyou can buy one.
It's all very well saying why can't people have a bit of compassion and just step out the way, but what about when they come up right behind you?
This is coming from someone who may even need one of these in the future myself!
I have severe problems, iv hardly
Left the house in a month.

I'm sorry to hear that, kali I hope you're OK and there's people around in real life to help.

I have MS and my son's disabled, and I find it shocking that a few people think it's OK for people who are untrained and unsafe to disable, or even cause the death of others in this way.

Thank you for reporting it

RAS10012
Reported accidents involving pedestrians and one vehicle by severity and vehicle type, Great Britain, 2012
Number of accidents
Fatal Serious Slight All severities
_ _
Single vehicle accidents
Pedal cycle 2 97 290 389
Motorcycle 50cc and under 0 24 83 107
Motorcycle 51cc - 125cc 2 95 271 368
Motorcycle 126cc - 500cc 1 33 77 111
Motorcycle over 500cc 7 76 165 248
All motorcycles1 10 228 597 835
Car 212 3,907 13,488 17,607
Taxi / Private hire car 17 234 836 1,087
Minibus 3 19 69 91
Bus or coach 30 223 779 1,032
Van / Light goods vehicle 32 255 904 1,191
Heavy goods vehicle2 56 120 238 414
of which:
Rigid3 38 103 199 340
Articulated 18 17 39 74
Mobility scooter 4 0 6 15 21
Other vehicle 4 49 203 256
Any vehicle5 366 5,138 17,427 22,931
Accidents involving pedestrian and 58 383 1,009 1,450
two or more vehicles

I thought I'd post this (sorry it's hard to read - figures show fatal, serious, slight injury, all severities) which gives statistical evidence of how many people are recorded as being injured by scooters. In 2012 the figure for this report was 46 compared to 778 caused by bikes (think my maths is right there!)
I think the hysteria on this thread is not backed up by the data of actual injuries caused and whilst I have every sympathy for anyone who has been injured by scooters a bigger benefit to public safety would be to look at pedal bike tests and insurances.

I was thinking about why this thread has affected me so much and I think it's because for a lot of people on this thread this just a 'bee-in-the-bonnet' discussion that has no impact on your real lives and next week you will be free to discuss another topic with great articulation and aplomb but for me and other mobility users this is our life. Before someone says 'but what about all those many injured people' the statistics of how many people are actually injured show otherwise. Bikes would be a better place to expel your energy.
And for one last time I am not against safe scootering and never have been.

Sorry that's impossible to read - jumbled together after I'd posted. Let me see if I can find a link

46 is still too many though. What if there was training, and this was 0? What if one of these hit your mum and broke her pelvis?

My mum fell a few years ago, not because of a scooter. She shattered her femur and needed a hip replacement. It took years for her to get her mobility back. I wouldn't wish this on anyone.

Mobility scooter

0 6 15 21

Bikes

2 97 297 389

Cars

212 3,907 13,488 17,607

This data is from pedestrians and one vehicle

Even with training sybil you are never going to make the risk 0.
My friends Dad was walking next to a golf course and got hit by a stray ball and died from head injuries. This has probably happened to others too but we don't ask for nets around golf clubs.

In life we have to look at calculations of risk.

I'm sorry to hear about your Mum and hope she is fully recovered.

Sorry, mum, I think those numbers are wrong, surely there's less people in the UK and not everyone has been hit by a car three times? Do you have a link?

It's a spread sheet that I can't seem to link those bottom numbers have jumbled should read;

Car 212 / 3,907 / 13,488 / 17,607

Hope that works seems to squish together every time I post

You can't cancel out risk, you can reduce it though. The age limit for learning to drive a car is 17 on a public highway. I'm sure there's some 15 year olds who are responsible, but there are some who are not. Life's all about reducing risks, both to yourself and others.

Sorry about your friend's dad My mum's almost there, she lost a lot of confidence so it's slow progress.

www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/...data/.../ras10012.xls

Try that

I'd say 46 when cars and pedestrian accidents are 35,000+ is a pretty low risk.

Ah, 404 bad gateway. Link says 'no'.

Is every small bump/people pushed into the road/near miss recorded though? I doubt people go to the trouble to do this for all, but a RTA has to be reported, it's a legal obligation (I think).

Yes just tried to follow it too. Trying to upload the document but failed!

RTA do have to be reported but I suspect not all are and I would imagine bike data would be the same i.e bumps/scrapes not recorded so would probably even out.
Guess we'd have to ask the dudes at the Dept. for Transport who made it

Maybe. Maybe we all need to take more care. I posted up there, somewhere ^^ about a woman walking into ds when he was a toddler and sending him flying. She was walking. If we all took care, wouldn't the world be that little bit safer for everyone?

As a very conscientious human and scooter user I couldn't agree more

See, sorted. Next one to solve is world peace

mumu, i explained this earlier in the thread, but worth repeating

if you watch the bbc documentary, they explain in it, the current statistics are totally meaningless because there is currently no regulation, police forces and local authorities have no duty to report or collate statistics involving mobility scooters

the bbc also came up with some statistics but admitted they were "probably just the tip of the iceberg", again, as people don't have to report these accidents, and police and LA's don't have to collect them

a parliamentary committee met to discuss this subject

this is part of their findings

The collection of data on mobility scooter use

Although we are aware of a number of anecdotal accounts of incidents involving mobility scooters, witnesses were in agreement that there is insufficient official data on the numbers of people using mobility scooters and the number of accidents in which they might be involved. As a consequence, it is very difficult to assess the safety risk that mobility scooters pose. Disability Essex told the Committee about four deaths resulting from mobility scooter accidents in one year in Essex alone, but there is little evidence to suggest that fatalities on this scale are replicated nationwide.

I'd say 46 when cars and pedestrian accidents are 35,000+ is a pretty low risk.

mumu, I'd say those figures are totally inaccurate (based on the above reasoning about lack of regulation so no official data exists)

if 4 people died in 1 year in Essex alone on mobility scooters, it would be realistic to think there were hundreds of accidents in Essex alone every year, as accidents are far more likely to result in injury than death. So the 46 for the UK as a whole are ??? wishful thinking ???

This need to have proper statistics is just another reason why I support regulation, then we would know exactly how big the problem was.

Mobility scooters are exempt from the RTA. I'm guessing most are not insured. Therefore the two imperatives under which car or motorcycle accidents are reported, are not in place. Hence do accidents involving scooters consistently go unreported? I imagine so.