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I've just come back from the shops and not once, but twice had a lucky escape having nearly been run down by one of these mobility scooters you see all over the place these days. These things are a becoming a real menace to pedestrians and one of these days someone is going to get hurt if they haven't been already. I'm not sure what the top speed of these things are but some of them move very quickly indeed.
he very nearly mows me down with his mobility scooter a couple of times a week...
I'm all for the old folk having their freedom to get out and about, go shopping and do the daily errands that we all take for granted. I'm sure for them the mobility scooter is a godsend but I just wish some of them would remember that they're not on a race track and it's not cool to come tearing down the pavement at breakneck speed forcing pedestrians onto the road. There's one particular old gentleman who lives near the town centre and when I go to the shops a couple of times a week our paths inevitably cross. Or should I say, he very nearly mows me down with his mobility scooter a couple of times a week.
He regularly comes flying around this blind corner and you have to move - very quickly. No attempt is made to slow down or move over and woe betide anyone who stands in his way! Has he got Deep Purple's Highway Star blasting out of his hearing aid or something?
Now don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want the old dears to drive their mobility scooters on the road, that would be plain stupid when you consider how crazy a lot of car drivers are these days. Actually, I recently saw and old woman on the road with one recently. I'm not sure about the legalities of that but I'm pretty sure she shouldn't have been doing that. All I would like is for them to take a little more care when driving their electric scooters on the pavement; show some consideration for pedestrians and take the foot off the throttle!
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Please help, justice needs to be done. Pedestrians are in real danger. The injustice is startling. How can this be allowed to go on?
You are talking out of your ar*e! the pavement is for walking on. NOT for cycling on! Doughnut!
"I do think you are far more likely to get hit by one of these on a pavement than say, a bicycle!"
"I think you should need a medical certificate to use one ....."
I think cyclists should have to pass a training course, have insurance and registration plates to identify the vehicle.
I know people using these scooters have caused accidents but I don't personally know anyone who has been hit by one, I know many people who have been hit by cyclists on the pavement, including me.
I am absolutely certain that these people exist because I know a couple myself. I don't doubt there are some people that have put on a lot of weight since first needing a scooter but don't tell me that is always the case because that simply isn't true.
I don't make assumptions about people in these scooters and you've only 'assumed' that I do. So please don't do that as you don't know me!
Noblet...wow,that really showed me didn't it! Tw*t
He still works and does not need a scooter but if he gets sicker and has to use one, someone like you would make judgements about his eating habits...
Then you are out of touch with reality on both subjects.
The mobility scooters do 4 mph and tend to go in a straight line or at least are unlikely to be found jinking in and out of pedestrians so they present less danger than a fast moving cyclist who is doing so. On the other hand, the scooters are pretty heavy and could do damage if they hit someone.
As for the rest of your posting, yes, you are probably right.
I think these are a good invention that give mobility to those with disabilities and enrich their lives by giving them more independence. I do get annoyed when I see people using them who's only disability is not being able to say no to yet another burger and slice of cake! I think you should need a medical certificate to use one and I don't think being fat is an illness.
I am hoping that it was clear that the idiot I was referring to was myself and not you!
I believe that the Dept for Transport is planning to introduce a basic driving and eye test, and also to make it compulsory for at least third party insurance to be taken out before someone can use one of these scooters.
I think most people want to strike a balance between not restricting the independent mobility of elderly or disabled people while still doing something to keep everyone safe.
electriceel