Driving home last night, the free-flowing (really!) traffic suddenly started to slow. The blockage turned out to be one of those little electronic disabled buggies being driven along the side of the road, weaving in and out to avoid drains and potholes. It was very difficult to see in the dark, and impossible to see when it was behind you as its lights were no more than six inches above ground level. It also seemed very unstable due to its four inch diameter wheels and high c of g.
Given all this plus the fact that its top speed seemed to be about walking pace and that it wasn't taxed or licensed it's hard to believe these things are meant to be road legal, although I can guess who would be held to be of blame if a collision occurred. What was more frightening was the fact that just 20 yards beyond the point where I passed it, it would have reached a roundabout - I hate to think what happened there.
Anyone know what the terms of use are supposed to be - road legal or pavement only?
|
I think these buggies are called 'electric pavement vehicles' - so I'd be very surprised if it was legal for them to drive along the roads!
HF
|
|
Have several of these around where I live. They vary a lot. The one I like is a fourwheel yellow machine driven by a white haired lady.Uses pavement and carriageway. It has go faster stripes and a big radio mast with pennant. No crash helmet tho. Seems to get 0-30 in abt 5 secs.
|
|
|
|
Ah! That must have been why it was on the road - we don't have electric pavements around here.
|
Ah! That must have been why it was on the road - we don't have electric pavements around here.
hahaha ;)
HF
|
|
|
|
|
I think provided it has lights fitted and there are no pavements available, then they're allowed to use the highway.
Personally I would like to see amber flashing beacons fitted to these things, like other slow moving vehicles have to.
|
IMHO I think these things aren't really safe to be either on the road or on the pavement. They seem to be too poorly equipped with lighting, too slow and too unstable to be on the road, but conversely they can be too fast to be on the pavement in certain circumstances. My youngest son was knocked over by an old lady driving one in our local pedestrianised High Street, she didn't really seem to be able to control it properly and he wasn't quick enough to get out of the way. Luckily it was just his dignity that was dented but it could have been a lot worse, for her part she was upset about it but admitted that she had only had it a few days and wasn't yet familiar with all the controls! Apparently a lot of models will reach in excess of 8 mph and surprisingly you aren't required to have any training to use them. Still I suppose it's no different to cyclists, roller skaters, or skate-boarders being on the pavements.
Cockle
|
The manufacturers refer to them as scooters, and they vary in speed. 4 mph and 8 mph are typical. Some old people use them as convenient local transport. Cheap to run on mains electricity charge, no insurance, no road tax, and about 2.5K new. I am not sure about the road legality though I too see them on roads a lot in Brixham where me mum lives.
She has one and without it she would be housebound as she cannot walk. Hence a car is out of the question. They have to be small to allow the user to get in an out of shops, and of course to get in their home where the user can transfer to a smaller indoor chair. My mother uses hers to go to the local shops.
It is hard for these scooters to go on the pavements as they often do not have ramps, and are sometimes narrow. Current regulations do require ramps to be put in new pavements.
As to the danger on larger roads, yes I guess they could be. It is a good point. And of course they can be dangerous to pedestrians if driven without care. I take the view that we all share the roads. If you do get frustrated when one is in your way, ask yourself what it would be like to spend every day of the year on your own for most of the time and in the same house.
|
I sympathise with your mum, Leif - of course none of us knows how that feels until we get there.
HF
|
|
|
|
|
Electric vehicles are road legal, in the same way as milk floats and Sinclairs renowned C5. I do not know if there is a required minimum performance level before they can be driven on the highway, but they are prohibited from motorways.
|
I drove into one of these electric invalid scooter things last year! Xo)
I'd been sitting at a red light controlling a crossroads on a one-way system, when the lights changed to green the only direction traffic could go was round a left turn. It's a 3-lane road, and everyone wants to be first away from the lights to get into "their" lane before the next set. There were no pedestrians around, and as I looked up the the signal changing to green I went, looked back down at the road just as there was a "bang" and a little old lady on a scooter doing pirhouettes in the road in front of me! No harm done to her, scooter or car, but she had just ridden it along the pavement down the road to my left with the intention of crossing the road at the set of lights I had been sitting at, ie she was going at top speed, in a straight line.
The worrying part of it was, after I had dragged the scooter by the back bumper, back onto the pavement, with 2 lanes of traffic thundering past my stationary car, she still had her accelerator lever firmly pressed, and when I put her back wheels on the ground she tried to zoom straight out across the road to get run into again! All she was saying was "I wanted to go down THERE", and pointing across the traffic...
|
|
|
|
