Just An Opinion.

[TWR]

There have been many reports of the Mobility " Stiring moss drivers" Scooter drivers running into pedestrians, whats your opinion regards the persons that use them? should they have to take some type of test?

[tonyav]

Some of them definately should imo, TWR.

[boxtops]

Yes, I think they should. My mother had neither road nor pavement sense, the thought of her driving one (had she wanted to) when she was alive would have struck fear into all of us.

[Prudie]

Yes I do, I'm particularly amazed at the ones that get driven through the supermarket aisles and then straight out onto the main roads.

[sunny-dave]

The big (dangerous) ones already have to be licensed by the DVLA (it's free but compulsory) - so why not at least have a number plate on the dratted things so that we can identify who has just run us over.

If the idea is to restore a disabled person to some sort of mobility equivalent to an able person, then I really can't see why they are allowed to go at 8mph ... Mo Farah probably can walk that fast - I can't ...


For the avoidance of doubt : "Mobility Scooters are a Good Thing", but some of the users are not.

[tonyav]

I have seen some being driven on the roads ( usually with a fair amount of traffic jammed up dbehind them ) wonder if they have to take any form of a driving test ?.

[Kathyan]

I agree that something needs to be done. Maybe a sort of CBT certificate to prove that they have had some training? I think they should be insured as well.

[EcclesCake]

Definitely.

There's a woman near me who rides hers on the road while her dog trots alongside her on the pavement............it is causes chaos with the traffic!

[woofgang]

When i worked (NHS), we helped people to choose these, among other mobility options....NHS didn't fund them but helped in the decision making process. We ALWAYS advised insurance and found that the folk we had doubts about usually decided against it once they had tried one out,and went for something less powerful. I agree that if they are to be used on the pavement, they should be governed down to walking pace.
Maybe now we need two official classes...pavement permitted slower ones and the higher powered, larger ones which are allowed on roads but not motorways or dual carriageways?

[TWR]

Morning Tony, I thought this would open a can of worms, but it does need addressing.

[TWR]

I should have added, that the should have to be Insured by the owner & a disk to be viewed whom it belongs to.

[IggyB]

Unfortunately they are designed to be used by just the sort of people who may have difficulty passing tests - would you be happy to take away someones only means of getting around not because they had ever done anything dangerous but simply because they could not pass a formal test?

There are an estimated 300,000 or so mobility scooters in the UK - accidents do occur, but is the risk of accidents going to be sufficiently mitigated by introducing a test... we still have car accidents and everyone has had formal training so we could never expect to bring the mobility scooter accident figure down to zero. I don't know where it stands at the moment but I would wager that rate of occurrence of serious accidents is vanishingly small compared with the number of journeys made on these devices.

The speed limit on the pavement is 4mph by the way - the 8mph limit if for the road legal class of scooter. See the rules governing the scooters here:
https://www.gov.uk/mobility-scooters-and-powered-wheelchairs-rules/overview

[tonyav]

TWR
Question Author
Morning Tony, I thought this would open a can of worms, but it does need addressing.


Afternoon TWR, yes it does need addressing imo.

[Baldric]

If they're not prepared to take a test, or incapable of passing one, then it's simple, don't let them loose on one, they're a danger to themselves and everyone around them!

[baza]

I was sitting in the public waiting area at my local hospital when an old f*** on a scooter ran over my foot. He had a number plate which read "ELVIS", He looked well for someone who died a few years ago.

[IggyB]

I was sitting in the beer garden at my local pub when an old f*** not on a scooter stood on my foot... I bet I suffered the same injuries as you did.

[sunny-dave]

Not unless he weighed 250kg ...

[boxtops]

Iggy

"Unfortunately they are designed to be used by just the sort of people who may have difficulty passing tests" - I couldn't disagree more, just because your limbs are dodgy doesn't mean you lose the power to reason.

[Arksided]

They do it on purpose, for fun. I know I'm gonna if I'm unfortunate to need one. ;-)

[sunny-dave]

Just to give some context - it costs me hundreds of ponds a year to tax and insure my (big) motorbike - and I had to pass a fairly rigorous test to be allowed to ride it on the public roads.

If I accidentally run over your foot while manoeuvring at low speed I will get the book thrown at me - both financially and (possibly) legally.

Why is it so different with a road-going mobility scooter? If you can afford to buy and run it, then you can afford to insure it and be made to exhibit some identifying plates.

[IggyB]

users may be unable to write; may be unable to attend test centres; may be unable to speak; may have issues with mental reasoning; may have difficult in new situations for which they are unprepared; may be deaf; may have a number of complex medical issues ... or they may just be missing a leg and be more than happy to crack on and do a test.

The reasons for people needing to use mobility devices is huge and the mobility issue may not be the only medical problem they are faced with. The point of testing is to design a standard test that says whether someone is proficient against the rest of the population. Because the people that use mobility scooters do so for a huge range of reasons a standardised test wouldn't be possible.