To think that mobility scooters are bloody dangerous?!

[EmeraldThief]

I don't have a problem with them if they are used responsibly and with consideration for other members of the public, but more often than not they aren't. I've just been bashed in the foot by a hulking great one in Morrisons, why the man driving it felt the need to use one of that size in a supermarket when they provide their own smaller and more suitable for going around shop mobility scooters, I don't know? I couldn't have very easily end up with a broken foot, and I should imagine an elderly person could have been quite badly hurt by it.

Furthermore if he'd actually looked where he was going or said excuse me, before just barging through I'd have moved out of the way.

Why are these things allowed on roads, pavements and in shops without any kind of training or licensing? Half of the people who use them don't seem to know how to control them properly!

Cross post with you Worra

I thought I double posted Felicity

Thanks worra, my children do sometimes resemble fast and out of control vehicles and collide with things so I must have been using the correct version.

Joan - do you think that sometimes they are handled irresponsibly and with serious consequences?

they are banned on the Tyne and Wear metro because people were going onto the trains too fast and crashing through the doors opposite onto the track. Every so often they review it but always decide not to allow them back on.

My DH needed to use a wheelchair for several months last year. What I will say is that we were quite astonished at his apparent invisibility! That said, I am genuinely concerned at the danger presented by the users of some mobility scooters. There certainly needs to be some basic training at the very least and this could be helpfully combined with a bit more independent advice about the most suitable mobility scooter for an individual to buy.

Round here we seem to be seeing ever frailer people who have age-related issues like eyesight and hearing loss, bombing along on remarkably high-powered scooters. From the look of sheer panic on some of their faces, it isn't a great experience for them and for sure, the number of near-misses and potentially serious accidents that are regularly observed, it's not a great experience for anyone else either.

I'm really not being being ageist by suggesting that people who've no experience of driving or who would be unable to keep a driving licence anyway, should get rather more support and training (and certainly be required to get insurance) before they are let loose on pavements and in shops.

Joan I think difference being pushchairs don’t really cause anyone else any major harm..so let’s cross that 1 off shall we… Bikes can be drive by idiots who race through red lights/drive on pavements and there is an outcry when this happens, no doubt, as well as car accidents caused by reckless/drunk driving etc..

Mobility scooters are pretty scary things - hugely heavy mortised vehicles that don’t need any training or licence (had no idea?!) and apparently carry no liability- if that’s all correct. This is pretty scary- as is a recent Feb headline “MPs demand 'compulsory mobility scooter training' as three people a week are injured in crashes and five drivers last year killed ”...

Yanbu

Health and safety seem to be able to implement daft health and safety rules and regulations for just about anything these days, so why not with something useful like mobility scooters too?

Somebody once swung around a corner without checking for anybody walking, pretty fast, and bashed into my sons pram once! He was leaning out to look at a bloody bird and got scraped across his face by the basket on the scooter!

They shouldn't go faster than normal walking speed, and basic knowledge of pedestrian safety should be discussed/tested too before being able to take one out.

I'll happily endorse what Summerisle1 said.
Last year an elderly relative of mine was looking at a stall in her local market when she was hit from behind by one of these things. The woman who was driving it made no attempt to stop and my relative was dragged underneath the stall. It made a dreadful mess of her leg which needed months of treatment to put right and her leg still appears bruised over a year later.

It occurred to me afterwards that the woman driving the scooter may never have had a driving licence of any kind and so not developed that sense of 'other traffic' that those used to driving on the road have.

Joan, you appear to be looking to take offence and spoil for a fight. We all appreciate the importance of mobility scooters but some people are very dangerous on them and need educating.

Joan being hit by a pushchair is different from being hit by a mobility scooter. Yes people make error and run/plough into others but mobility scooters are large, heavy and powered by a motor making their impact much worse than a pushchair. This is the reason the injuries they cause can be devastating.

Saying, "whoops, it was an accident" is no good if you've seriously hurt some through your own error while operating one of these machines. They can be dangerous, much more so so than a person or pushchair bumping into you.

I use a mobility scooter. I am 30. It is insured for public liability. Without it I cannot leave the house independantly.

Having been run into by a car I am very wary of them, and I do not drive it on the road. I use my scooter on pavements for lifes very simple daily activities that you probably dont even think twice about. Picking my son up from school. Nipping to the shops for milk.

It is a lifeline for people like me, you really have no comprehension of the difference it makes to my quality of life. Having said that, I do think insurance should be compulsory, as accidents do happen even to those of us very aware of people around us.

A bit of understanding as to why people HAVE to use them would be nice. Its not a choice.

Oh, and just to add-before I was lucky enough to have my own scooter I would rent one from the local council to go to the park on occassion. Before I was allowed to take it out I had to spend ten mins showing them I was competant on it. A very basic test involving co ordinating around obsticles reversing safely using the brakes correctly. I do believe this should be mandatory.

I understand why people need them, but they are big heavy things that can and do cause a lot of damage if not used correctly. I think members of the public have a right to walk down a pavement or through without potentially being hit by one.

They do. Of course they do. But we arent all lucky enough to be able to walk down a pavement. As I said, a basic test should be mandatory before being allowed to purchase/hire.

I think a speed limit of 2mph should be set for mobility scooters being driven in built up areas. Yes, people walking from the outskirts to the town centre (for example) may walk as fast as one mile every fifteen minutes, but on a busy high street or in a shopping centre people walk far more slowly. If the scooter is restricted to 2mph in those circumstances injuries caused to other pedestrians may be lessened in the event of an accident and everybody would have more time to react if things start to go wrong.

A bit of understanding as to why people HAVE to use them would be nice. Its not a choice

I have a DH with permanent mobility problems - his choice was have the treatment that did for his mobility or die - and I understand exactly what it is like to have difficulty doing everyday things that were previously taken for granted. So I absolutely realise how much difference using a mobility scooter can make.

But I don't see any lack of understanding on this thread either. However, compassion and understanding alone isn't going to tackle the very real dangers presented by some users of mobility scooters. Because actually, being seriously injured by someone who can't control a scooter doesn't redress any sort of unfair balance does it?

I agree that they can be a godsend, but without proper training almost any machinery can be exceptionally dangerous.

Some are quite large and presumably very heavy, and can travel pretty fast. I assumed that those at least would require some sort of practical demonstration on delivery to the new owner. Is that not the case?

Have you ever tried to cross a busy road, and been taken by suprise by a car turning as you are crossing, or perhaps misjudged a cars speed and been able to be lucky enough to jog to get across safely. This is why many scooters have faster speeds, to protect themselves. We cant get off and run across a road. I need to know my scooter can nip across a road at a reasonable pace, I feel very vulnerable.

There's a pub near us with one parked outside every afternoon. It's the same one as it is decorated in a distinctive style (sweary faux number plate). Now, I know the owner might be only having soft drinks but I very much doubt it. Surely there should be some sort of law against drinking and "driving" them?

I think you live near me! He has a faux sweary plate and always ALWAYS parks out front. No he isnt having soft drinks! Effing _ by any chance?!

3dogs, I agree that scooters shouldn't be completely restricted to very slow speeds because of circumstances such as you describe, and for journeys from home into the town centre, park etc, and or many other reasons. However, they should be restricted to dead slow when in areas with heavy pedestrian traffic. Variable restrictions or speed limits (8mph for open road / 4mph for suburban pavements / 2mph for town centres) seems reasonable to me.

I was in a large high street store paying at the till, at the next till was a lady on a mobility scooter, as she started to move away from till to leave she managed to drive straight into the huge plate glass window which cracked with such a loud noise I thought a bomb had gone off!! Thankfully the window did not shatter and nobody was hurt. I really think there should be some competence test before someone is allowed to use one in public.

I vaguely remember reading on another thread that mobility scooters don't have brakes, they simply come to a stop when you stop using the throttle? If that's right, could that be contributing to the number of accidents involving scooters? Since it's fine coming to a standstill slowly when you are negotiating a fixed obstacle, but you could do with an emergency stop for when unexpected events happen. Is there an engineering reason why they don't have brakes?

The brakes on a scooter are permanently on. The brakes are electrically released when you pull or push the throttle lever to get the scooter to move in any chosen direction. Once you release the throttle, the brake then re-applies.

This is according to a UK scooter sales site, so you are half right in that there doesnt seem to be a way you can brake quickly.

Mine has a break, but i dont usually use it as I just let go of the push/ pull handle which starts and stops it. It doesnt stop on a penny but would say give or take a few cenimetres.
Mine has too modes, one is slow which I use in busy congested areas and if I flick a switch it goes up a gear and allows the scooter to travel at a faster pace-I only use this when I have a lot of space and there is nobody around.