Forum Topic

Mobility Scooters

Does anyone know if there are checks on a persons ability to ride one of these scooters, either on the road or the pavement?I have seen a few scarey sights with them being steered at a fearful speed by somebody who clearly has poor peripheral vision or a slow ability to react to other pavement users.

Sarah Felstead ● 5580d14 Comments

No there are no tests at the moment, but there's talk of making third party insurance compulsory after an elderly scooterist knocked over another elderly person who subsquently died.

Tony Wood ● 5580d

About time too - they're a bloody menace, I cringe when I see these morons tootling down the busy roads without a care in the world. I just wonder how there haven't been more serious accidents.

Vanessa Smith ● 5579d

Sarah There is more than one place that with train scooter drivers but this is the most used  Banstead Mobility CentreDamson WayFountain DriveCarshaltonSurrey SM5 4NRTel: 020 8770 1151The centre offers a free information service on all aspects of outdoor mobility. It provides assessment of driving capabilities, advice on appropriate types of vehicles and on conversions and adaptations. A fee is charged for the assessment. The centre can also advise on financial schemes and concessions to help purchase or hire a vehicle.VanessaI strongly object to you calling disabled people Morons.There are two types of scooter one up to 4mph and only meant to be used on pavements only, the other a class 3 can range fro 6mph to 8 mph and classed as an invalid carriage by the DVLA , they are registered and require tax, which is free at the moment.They are issued with a normal registration plate, which doesn’t need to be displayed, I think this is another area needs to be addressed by the DVLA so like any road going vehicle it can be recognised by it. I agree that it should be made compulsively for the road legal scooters to have insurance as it only costs between £60 to £80 for the year.As an able bodied person I tried out both types of scooter to see what hazards and problems were involved while driving one.While driving the 4mph pavement scooter I nearly ended up having 4 accidents due to the lack of slopes  at corners of roads or the poor excuse for one. One corner I approached had a 6 inch drop to the road. A disabled person would have to back track back the way the came to find a slope, I did that, but ended up having drive up the road for about 100 yards before I could join the pavement again.The Road legal scooter took nerves of steel to use on the road due to the discourteous way other road uses cut you up and generally disregard while you are minding you own business an just trying to get from A to B as any able bodied person.Yes their could be a test carried out for the road going scooters,but the majority who do venture on to the road are normal licence holders who could drive a normal car if they had one.At one there were rumours that some driver’s who had been banded for drink driving, were buying second hand scooters for there dally trip to the pub, although these rumours were never proved.Now that’s someone you can call a moron, Vanessa

Paul Allen ● 5579d

Wind your neck in Paul. I wasn't calling disabled people morons - I was referring to the idiots - some of whom are not disabled - who drive these bloody things without tax or insurance on the busy roads, morons, which they are.......

Vanessa Smith ● 5579d

The difficulty here is that the scooters are a godsend to the people who use them.It appears that as there are no regulations about their use - such as a statutory course with observations and input from a trained person, and maybe a certificate or input from their doctor if things aren't going smoothly - that anyone can use them and go on using them even if they are going to hurt themselves; going to hit and hurt somebody else;  going to cause an accident.Paul when you see one of these being driven recklessly it is an immediate response to think what an idiot!  not linking it to who is driving the scooter or their disability.  I saw one going around a roundabout where the top shrubbery on the roundabout was blocking the drivers view as they went around; by the time a driver could have seen the scooter, they would have been on top of the scooter.  The scooter driver was very lucky that day.  I don't use the word moron but I was totally incredulous that they were doing this and, as I watched, I was certainly praying!  :-)There comes a point where the ability to steer and react to people around the scooter could be impaired by the nature of the illness the person is affected by, and it appears nothing can be done to stop them going out on it!How daft is that!

Sarah Felstead ● 5579d

I agree these scooters must be a boon to anyone with a disability, they mean freedom and independence. The point is that they have to share the roads and (preferably) the pavements and shops with the rest of us, therein lies the problem. Thre is no doubt that some people who use these do so without a care for anyone else - or their own safety at times. If they are going to be more widely used then surely some sort of regulation has to be thought about, and Sarah is right they need to be sufficiently physically competent to drive one of these vehicles, as is required for driving a car.

Vanessa Smith ● 5579d

Good post Paul!  As I understand it the proposed insurance will cover both categories.(The person that got killed was in a shopping precinct)  You're right about the kerbs,many times I've whinced at users trying to negotiate dodgy slopes at a sideways angle expecting to see them topple and end up on the ground with the scooter on top of them.  Unfortunately the very nature of the scooter means that the heaviest component (the rider) is also the highest,not doing much for the centre of gravity,as you no doubt found out during your test drive!!  My friend (a defence council) told me of a case that he had concerning a one legged man who got done for drink driving on a scooter. The Sherriff (I'm in Scotland these days)heard the case and asked the man how he lost his leg, "In a bar fight!" he replied, he then asked if he had any "previous", 3 box files of records were bought in.  The Sherriff summed up and passed a 3 month prison sentence,on hearing this Scooter Man hopped up to the Sherriff nose to nose and told him exactly what he thought of him and his family...without looking up the Sherriff just said "six months!"  This man is truly a moron,though I wouldn't tell him to his face :0)

Tony Wood ● 5579d

Better make that Defence Counsel,there is no defence for councils.

Tony Wood ● 5579d

I agree that a Person that drives a Disability vehicle such as a Scooter or Motor Car be up to the same awareness and sight standards as any other small car driver.As to the control of the vehicle this differs from person to person as Cars have to be adapted to a persons individual needs and some scooters can be adapted to meet individual needs although this are so easy to operate the majority are left as standard.The only thing that’s really needs some time to get used to, is the way the scooter brakes. The majority of able-bodied car drivers would find very awkward in not being able to apply the brakes to stop, instead of just letting go of the forward leaver and letting the scooter automatically apply the braking system, which has a delay long enough to misjudge an object or person.The reputable Dealers who sell theses scooters try to give the customers some familiarity training of the product when it’s delivered to site, but there is a time limit to how much time they can give.Another problem is some Disabled people have some sort of problem with their spine and need a scooter with suspension, as most 4 MPH scooters haven’t got suspension they turn to the 6 or 8 MPH scooters that have, These scooters have a switch to select 4 mph for pavement use but they could forget and leave it on the higher speed.I think it’s about time the manufactures started to build 4 mph scooters with suspension or restrict the 6 or 8 MPH according to the needs of the person if used on the pavement only.I said before, you need nerves of steel to drive Mobility Scooter on the road and I wouldn’t even tackle a busy roundabout on one, Sarah, the person you saw must of had a death wish or was completely unaware of the danger he or she was in.Although there is still nothing stopping any able bodied person from buying one of the Italian top of the range scooters for around 5 or 6 grand to get yourself around if you have been stopped from driving for some reason.If they become trendy enough what’s to stop the younger generation from using them as their preferred mode of transport, as the off road scooters look very much like quad bikes. But thank goodness it’s not cool to do that yet!  After saying all the above I also think it should be compulsory for Bike riders to have Insurance and their bikes to have a DVLA registration on their frame linked to the insurance cover. I have seen bike riders cause accidents and run into pedestrians and badly hurt them, with no redress to the injured party if the Cyclist leaves the scene    Vanessa, Had did you know I looked like Twizzle?  ;0)                   

Paul Allen ● 5578d

I agree about bikes Paul, I walk every day and I can't tell you the amount of times I am almost mowed down by cyclists - some of them are manic. As for cycle lanes why did they bother - most of them never use the bloody things! Preferring instead to mingle with very heavy vehicles, absolutely potty. Most cyclists don't seem to have bells these days -you can here them coming behind you - but you just have to take a chance on which side they'll overtake.

Vanessa Smith ● 5578d

Must confess I'm 'guilty' of not using cycle lanes when out on a bike.  Fact is I don't like them, in my teenage years I used to do a fair amount of road racing/training and on the whole cycle lanes are completely unsuitable for such purposes - even those my competitive days are behind me I still don't like cycle lanes.  Of course they have their uses, but I dread legislation ever being brought in compelling cylists to use cycle lanes.Equally however I do despair of many cyclists these days which give the 'good' cyclists a bad name, riding on the pavement, flying through red lights or over zebra crossings, riding at night without lights etc.

Adam Beamish ● 5578d

I can actually see the in-built problem with cycle lanes, they're alright until you meet someone coming at you from the opposite direction as they're only wide enough for one person. You have no alternative then but to ride onto the pavement.

Vanessa Smith ● 5577d

I can't comment on the people who drive these scooters all I know is that I have noticed and recently commented to someone, that Brentford is positively awash with them.  Now that I am around during the day I have noticed that I can't go out for 10 mins without seeing at least half a dozen of them around the place.  Are these things cheap/free or does Brentford have an inordinate amount of disabled people?

Bernadette Paul ● 5577d

Bernadette if you get the full Motor-ability component of the Disability Living Allowance you can swap  part or the full amount for a three year contract to hire a motorability scooter.If you want to purchase a scooter, It depends where you purchase it from and the make and  model A general guide from retail dealers on the high street, are from a £1000 to £6000 On the Internet you can get them a lot cheaper, but you have to be very careful where you purchase it from, as there has been some horror stories of a very large box of parts turning up on your doorstep.You used to be-able to purchase a scooter priced at £1250 for £850 on the Internet.

Paul Allen ● 5577d