Hi, I will start by saying I fully appreciate and understand the difficulties our less mobile population have to endure, I cared for my mother who was both registerd blind and disabled.
Now to get to the point, I have noticed to my horror that some users of mobilty scooters actualy treat them like cars, driving on the road and even moving to the centre of the road to turn right.
I have witnessed this happening in my own town despite all the pavements being ramped. Today saw one user crossing a busy junction where it is impossible to see what is coming from the left due to the traffic coming from out of the old medievel walled town (I would normaly wait until the last car has gone through the the tunnel from the right).
Are the buyers of these scooters not advised on the safest way to use them.
I fear an accident is waiting to happen where I live.
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Class 3 scooters are allowed to be driven on the road, in which case the Highway Code should be adhered to. See tinyurl.com/yoxgvx
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L\'escargot.
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A woman on one almost ran me down, going at its top speed on the pavement, the combined weight of the driver and scooter was about the same as a car.
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A woman on one almost ran me down, going at its top speed on the pavement .........
4 mph!
......................the combined weight of the driverand scooter was about the same as a car.
Absolute rubbish!
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L\'escargot.
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......................the combined weight of the driver and scooter was about the same as a car.
The maximum allowable unladen weight of a class 3 scooter is 150 kg. See tinyurl.com/2nozhk
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L\'escargot.
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They are allowed 4 mph. on the pavement but higher on the road;unfortuneately many use the higher setting on the pavement.
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"Are the buyers of these scooters not advised on the safest way to use them."
No they are not. My late mother owned several powered chairs and one outdoor scooter and as far as I know noone ever gave her any advice about safety and so on.
She did buy one from Torbay council, and they made sure thay an occupational therapist visited to check the suitability of the chair, but the customer could always tick a box on a form to absolve the council of responsibility. Such scooters have no tax and no MOT so there is no check on the road worthiness. They are charged from mains electricity and hence are cheap to run. It's hardly surprising that even some people who are not disabled use them as local runabouts. On the bright side they must be less polluting than a car, and use less materials to make, so they are more environmentally sound.
My late mother used one as she had lost the use of her legs. The sellers can be real cowboys as she discovered. She was sold an unsuitable chair and the dealer refused to repair it when parts failed. She eventually got the manufacturer to stop supplying the dealer. Sadly England is full of conmen trying to trick money out of the elderly but that is another story.
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I almost mowed someone down the other day. Was driving down a narrow road (cars parked on both sides) when this woman just pulled out in front of me on her scooter with no warning, to cross the road. Luckily I was driving with due care and attention and, more importantly, slowly enough to stop.
I was very cross and nearly wound down my window to let her know this - but again my calm side prevailed.
I think sometimes the problem is that older people start losing their eyesight, hearing and general awareness of surroundings. My father has just given up using his scooter for these very reasons. It's sad when people get old and start to lose their ability to see and hear and judge things. In my opinion if you aren't safe to use a scooter because of a lack of sight, hearing etc you shouldn't do so. You would be a danger to yourself and other road/pavement users.
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Just a few facts ..............
1. There but for the grace of God go each and every one of us.
2. The need to use a mobility scooter isn't restricted to city-dwellers.
3. Not everyone has the luxury of a pavement all the way from their house to the nearest facilities.
4. Scooter drivers using the road have to comply with the Highway Code, and that means they have to comply with the same "fitness to drive" regulations as any other driver.
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L\'escargot.
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>>>>>> Can I travel on roads?
Yes, Class 3 scooters can be used on most roads at a maximum speed of 8mph. If a four wheeled scooter is used on a dual carriage way, it must have an amber flashing beacon.
Are there any restrictions?
Yes, Class 3 scooters cannot be used on cycle lanes, bus lanes when in operation and motorways.<<<<<
I am amazed at the above! I honestly believed, and not in as selfish way, that they were only for use on pavements for their own safety.
There are some roads I would not even cycle on let alone use a mobility scooter, and they can also be used on dual carriagways!.
And to make it even more unsafe they are not allowed to use the cycle lanes! that does not make any sense to me!.
Mal, GOBSMACKED!!!!!.
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Le'escargot., this is sensitive subject yes,and I hope your previous posting re "there but for the grace of god" was not in anyway aimed at myself. If so then I am sorry but I am being misinterpreted and will make this my last post on the subject.
I am only concerned about safety.
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Le'escargot., this is sensitive subject yes,and I hope your previous posting re "there but for the grace of god" was not in anyway aimed at myself. If so then I am sorry but I am being misinterpreted and will make this my last post on the subject. I am only concerned about safety.
No probs, mal. I was just trying to get everybody to think about the subject before they posted.
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L\'escargot.
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Thanks L'escargot, maybe I was also being a bit sensitive to your post.
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Not only no tax and no Mot needed but insurance is not compulsory as I found out yesterday when arranging it for my father in law on his disability scooter.
DVLA site says taking out insurance is highly recommended and it is readily available at around £50.00 for 12 months.This gives third party cover for a 2m limit.
Most household policies exclude the TP cover for powered vehicles such as electric wheelchairs or disability scooters.I'm just guessing but imagine that the majority of disability scooters are not insured against TP risks!
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I have mentioned this before, there is a story about an old boy who charged his up and went on a trip to the next village to have a couple of beers with his mates, problem was he only got half way back again before the batteries went flat and the lights went out, oh how his wife did fret, apparently he had being showing off in the pub carpark, even old boys will be boys!
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They should allow them in cycle lanes, but not bus lanes, they don't even like cyclists in bus lanes these days, most cycles have been banned, and their images in white thermoplastic burned off the road.
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mostcycles have been banned, and their images in white thermoplastic burned off the road.
and quite rightly too as I'm sure everyone will agree...
In the fullness of time we will have the technology to burn these baleful images out of people's actual, you know, er, for want of a better word brains... sort of cortexes, you know?
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