Disabled under attack
Monday 12th April 2010, 2:59PM BST.
From Simon Wells.
MOBILITY scooter users taking a test? I understand that this has been suggested in the UK
So therefore is it now time for Big Brother to start picking on the disabled?
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Mobility scooters are fine and give many people the chance to get out and about – however, many people drive them in an irresponsible manner in St Helier.
They are very quiet so people who are hard of hearing or a bit unsteady can be in danger of being run over.
I think they should be insured and the person driving them should have training and take a test. After all that is what we do with cars.
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Not at all. But try walking down King Street during busy periods and watch the mobility scooters careering through the crowds, running over feet and causing general mayhem.
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Simon, I’d love to agree with you but unfortunately there are those that drive them while drunk (I kid you not), or simply don’t have any skill with the vehicle and it can be dangerous.
I’m not sure that anyone should be using them unless they have previously held a driving licence, that or have some form of informal test to ensure they are capable. It’s for their good as well.
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There is one user in town that wizzes up and down the pavements and everybody has to jump quickly out of his way.
I know he is disabled,but he seems to think the pavements belong to him.
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Funny how some people harp on about equality for all, but as soon as it might be inconvenient they then wheel out the prejudice card.
This isn’t about having a pop at the diabled. It’s about ensuring the safety of all, the disabled included!
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Some users of these mobility scooters are actually very rude. I was walking up a narrow section of pavement in Bath St, and this man beeping a horn at me, and said “out the way” I made a point of walking even slower! They should be insured, as should cyclists who ride on pavements and through the precinct. I have been hit by cyclists several times on pavements.
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My elderly father has a mobility scooter for him it is the car he once had. At the age of 70 he gave up driving not that there was anything wrong with him driving but because he maintained that his reflexes are not the same in the event of an accident and I applaud him for that. He invested in his first scooter and I have to say the company that sold it to him Mr Channing wouldn’t allow him to have it until Mr Channing himself as he does with all his customers took him out and taught him how to use it correctly. Mr Channing also gives information out to all his customers regarding insurance and my father is insured to the hilt.I agree all users should be insured and have a lesson on how to use the scooter however I get really angry when people tar everyone the same. Many users are insured and have the knowledge how to use scooters unlike many mothers pushing children in prams, buggies, bikes riders in the town centre and scateboards. Leave the elderly along please.
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Kate, your Father is to be applauded for his good sense and judgement in deciding to give up driving and use a mobility scooter. Equally so for him taking out adequate insurance. Channings scooters are also to be commended for ensuring that would be users are familiar with the controls before taking to the road/street.
Unfortunately, as posted above, a great many ( are they drivers or riders?) trundle round the streets recklessly, with no regard to pedestrians or vehicle drivers. Many times I have been caught behind a scooter as it crawls along on a road creating a huge tailback.
Dare I also say, upon observation, that quite a few of them just have scooters because they are too damned lazy to walk, rather than being disabled?
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In answer to Spring Heeled Jack.
I too have been caught around dusk driving up Grouville hill with a chap in an elec wheelchair which is so dangerious as it is only when your on top of him you realise he is there.Maybe my father is a bit odd thinking of both his and others saftey but the only road he goes on it to cross it he will not drive on the main roads at all. When crossing outside the bank at Bath Street last year when the light was green a stupid cyclist ran his bike straight into poor dad which shook him up didn’t stop and knocked dad to the floor.I agree with you all should be insured and as for the wheel chair that goes under the underpass CRAZY
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#7 Kate, you’re assuming that everyone is being tarred with the same brush. The original article made it clear that most use their scooters sensibly, and the posts above tend to say ‘one user’ or ‘some users’.
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Good idea to regulate these things.
Also it is time disabled had to pay for their parking, on the basis that parking charges have risen well above inflation.
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Wait until Segways really catch on.
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Mobility scooters are a form of transport. However, they travel less than 2 miles per hour and are unlikely to cause harm to pedestrians.
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Mobility scooters are great for the elderly or for people you can not walk very far,ie breathing problems walking problems and many more.
When sold customers are tested by ourselves as some comments have said on this site
If we bring in a law so people have to be tested it will not stop the few who do go a bit crazy but so do drivers once they have passed their tests and what about bike riders horse riders prams i mean you can go on.
We should leave it as it is for the moment and just advise customers to take things easy
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Mobility scooters are not the problem, it is cyclists who wheel their bicycles on the pavement that I have a problem with, They should be fined and have their bikes taken away. A number on the back is a very good idea, as with numbers on Mobility scooters, It was only the other day that a women in a Mobility scooter almost knocked me down in King Street, And when i complained , she showed me the Victory sign.
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No. 15 Bridget – You should’ve had the sense to move out of the way and allow the mobility scooter to pass. Afterall, you are more fortunate in that you can walk.
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Toastedteacakes
Posted April 16, 2010 at 11:41 am No. 15 Bridget – You should’ve had the sense to move out of the way and allow the mobility scooter to pass. Afterall, you are more fortunate in that you can walk.
As a 85 year old I have the right to pass without moving to one side.
I will have my say To-morrow on talk back.
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LOL. I have visions of Bridget playing ‘chicken’ with another 85 year walking towards her and also refusing to move as it is too their right to pass without moving to one side.
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Bridget – It is my understanding that the pavement is for pedestrians regardless of their age. Also, those who require mobility scooters should be given respect too.
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Toasted teacakes – “Mobility scooters are a form of transport. However, they travel less than 2 miles per hour and are unlikely to cause harm to pedestrians”
See below the speeds that mobility scooters can travel at from their review website.
Travel Scooters maximum speed is 5 mph.
Full-sized Scooters maximum speed is 6 mph.
Heavy-duty Scooters maximum speed is 10 mph.
Hardly 2mph is it, I wouldn’t want to be hit by one doing 5mph much less 10mph. As with anything else they are fine is used responsibly and I don’t doubt that most are. It’s those irresponsible people that spoil it for everyone.
A test is no bad thing but as with normal drivers you will still have some who disobey the law or spirit therin. Speaking personally if I ever lost my mobility I’d have one fitted with a turbo and blades fitted to the wheels a la Mad Max.
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No 17 Have to agree. Right of way is usually determined by manoeuvrability (least manoeuvrable gets right of way). Between a scooter and an average 85-year old (no disrespect Bridget) it’s probably the case that the scooter could move out the way far easier than you could.
Anyway, people are on a scooter to get around, doens’t mean they automatically have the right of priority over ‘obstacles’. Drivers still have to stop for traffic lights, for pedestrians, slow down for horses etc.
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Leah 10
I am well aware of what the letter was all about I am just going by your comment in 3 and you have my responce.
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#22 The one where I said “there are those” and “I’m not sure that”, hardly generalising!
If Bridget is as frail as some 85-year olds then abuse of a scooter could easily cause her to fall and break a hip, and in an elderly person the shock of such a major break can be fatal.
Anyway, since your dad used to drive there would be no need to test him.
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They are dangerous and a liability. The amount of times my daughter has nearly been knocked over by a mobility scooter when we have been in town because they are apparently more important than anyone else!
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“As a 85 year old I have the right to pass without moving to one side.”
Of course, it’s a basic octogenerian human right.
Endorsed by Brussels, Strasbourg(see, I can even spell it) Geneva and the Hague and if I’m not mistaken, inscribed in stone carried down the mountain by Moses like most of the other human rights.
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No 13.
Most mobility scooters travel at a speed of more than 2mph, its more like 4-8mph and they certainly hurt when your hit no matter how slow or fast they go. Perhaps Mr Channing can confirm?
Power wheelchairs can certainly manage 8mph in some cases. As a power chair user myself I was instructed on its proper useage and control before I was allowed to use it un-supervised.
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No 20
I like the turbo idea
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No. 26 Ali – I can not agree with you. I have never found mobile scooters to be a problem. Most people have ears and can hear them coming.
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