Attention: Please take a moment to consider our terms and conditions before posting.

Disability scooters/wheelchairs and safety

lolwraylolwray
edited July 2019 in General Charlton
I have every sympathy for people who have a genuine need for the above .It would also follow that most users are elderly ..it concerns me greatly that people seem to use them without training or any kind of proficiency tests.

In the last 2 days I have narrowly avoided killing 2 people whilst driving and seen 2 incidents in the same supermarket where kids were injured, not seriously, by someone clearly not capable of driving the thing .

I am also concerned that they can become a bit of a cop out for people who use these rather than walk .Maybe there are people on here who work in the industry or members who use them ..would like to know of other people's experiences positive or otherwise 

Comments

  • orpingtonREDorpingtonRED
    Wasnt there a bloke done recently for mowing down 2 old dears at a bus stop? Sure it was local
  • kigeliakigelia
    I grabbed the keys of a pissed up bloke in one about a year ago. He had fallen asleep on it on a zebra crossing (only just so traffic was carrying on). We woke him up and then he went off down the road, nearly turned it over and then nearly took out a pedestrian. Police got involved as we worked out how to get him and the scooter home. They also had a bit of discussion  about whether he was committing some offence as well.

    was all amusing and a distraction from real work for a bit but the scooter was quite large and moved at a fair rate so could have done some damage. 
  • hoof_it_up_to_bentyhoof_it_up_to_benty
    They are dangerous particularly in the environments they're driven in - some of the heavy duty mobility scooters are extremely heavy and can have a top speed of up to 8 mph.

    Somebody driving one of the large mobility scooters in a crowded shop could potentially cause serious damage.

    My daughter has a small electric wheelchair and its difficult to navigate in a crowded environment. Even when she drives it on the lowest speed a lot of people will show her no consideration and push in front of her.

    I don't think some of the largest mobility scooters are fit for purpose as they're potentially unsafe for the user and pedestrians. 
  • Justin20474Justin20474
    orpingtonRED said:
    Wasnt there a bloke done recently for mowing down 2 old dears at a bus stop? Sure it was local
    It was Eltham.
  • iainmentiainment
    The younger users all seem to be very large.
    As evidenced at Wetherspoons in Woolwich. 
    They all seem to be able to walk to the bar quite well though.
  • orpingtonREDorpingtonRED
    Justin20474 said:
    orpingtonRED said:
    Wasnt there a bloke done recently for mowing down 2 old dears at a bus stop? Sure it was local
    It was Eltham.
    Thanks. I seen the cctv of it and he just rammed into them on purpose it seemed.
    I had and argument with a fella on one a few yrs ago nearly knocked my 7 yr old son over. Son was holding on to me and buggy with 1yr old in it. Stopped at zebra crossing and waited then crossed and the fella on the disability buggy come flying along across the road and nearly took us all out. I told him to becareful and he replied "im disabled you becareful u cunts" I swear if i was on my own i would of smashed his  head of his buggy and thrown him in the road. This was in Catford where my mum lives, and even know i look out for him in the hope
  • charltonkestoncharltonkeston
    A few years ago my mother hired a mobility scooter in Bluewater.First time she has ever driven one, she entered the glass panelled lift in M&S at full chat and only came a stop because of the glass. My sister could not stop laughing and neither could I when she told me. 
    I know the glass probably wouldn’t break but what away to go, death by stupidity and mobility scooter.
  • lolwraylolwray
    charltonkeston said:
    A few years ago my mother hired a mobility scooter in Bluewater.First time she has ever driven one, she entered the glass panelled lift in M&S at full chat and only came a stop because of the glass. My sister could not stop laughing and neither could I when she told me. 
    I know the glass probably wouldn’t break but what away to go, death by stupidity and mobility scooter.
    Was she given any training before she started driving it ? 
  • orpingtonREDorpingtonRED
    How did u narrowly avoid killing 2 people?
  • Off_itOff_it
    Is it a written rule or law that any able bodied person is obliged to get out of the way of one of these things and they have right of way on the pavements?

    No? Well, that's the way they seem to be driven. And some of them can properly shift.
  • Sponsored links:


  • AFKABartramAFKABartram
    edited July 2019
    Off_it said:
    Is it a written rule or law that any able bodied person is obliged to get out of the way of one of these things and they have right of way on the pavements?

    No? Well, that's the way they seem to be driven. And some of them can properly shift.
    Funny enough I got myself handily in the slipstream of a bloke in an electric wheelchair / mobility scooter going over a packed London Bridge pavement last night. Felt like I was following an emergency vehicle where the traffic pulls over the way the crowds parted and I was able to benefit behind him, he was taking no prisoners whatsoever. 
  • Brendan_O_ConnellBrendan_O_Connell
    orpingtonRED said:
    How did u narrowly avoid killing 2 people?

    By slitting their throats for driving them like arseholes.
  • Brendan_O_ConnellBrendan_O_Connell

    Hired one when I was in Benidorm a couple of years back.  Not because I have a disability or need one, but because they looked like fun.

    I managed to roll the fu**er as well!!   B)

  • ricky_ottoricky_otto
    edited August 2019
    Brendan_O_Connell said:

    Hired one when I was in Benidorm a couple of years back.  Not because I have a disability or need one, but because they looked like fun.

    I managed to roll the fu**er as well!!   B)

    Did the same - had a 2 seater one. Was bit of a problem at night when there were 5 of us on it after boozing for 14 hours though. 

    I also had the pleasure of “driving” 2 birds from Newcastle back to their hotel one night - (one in the back seat and one in the basket at the front). Not easy to navigate the piss and beer sodden streets of Benidorm at all. 
  • WilmaWilma
    charltonkeston said:
    A few years ago my mother hired a mobility scooter in Bluewater.First time she has ever driven one, she entered the glass panelled lift in M&S at full chat and only came a stop because of the glass. My sister could not stop laughing and neither could I when she told me. 
    I know the glass probably wouldn’t break but what away to go, death by stupidity and mobility scooter.
    My friend hired one at Bluewater a while ago. She is disabled and can only walk short distances. She was in a shop that was very cramped, tried to turn the thing around and knocked over a huge display of tea cups and saucers. It made such a loud noise that loads of shoppers came running out of other shops to see what was happening! 
  • charltonkestoncharltonkeston
    lolwray said:
    charltonkeston said:
    A few years ago my mother hired a mobility scooter in Bluewater.First time she has ever driven one, she entered the glass panelled lift in M&S at full chat and only came a stop because of the glass. My sister could not stop laughing and neither could I when she told me. 
    I know the glass probably wouldn’t break but what away to go, death by stupidity and mobility scooter.
    Was she given any training before she started driving it ? 

    I don't know as I wasn't there but I would have thought she would have been shown the controls. I don't think it would have made much difference if it was a 2 minute talk or a 5 day intensive programme. My Mum has always shown little or no aptitude for anything mechanical, thankfully her talents lay elsewhere, she has a good brain unlike her offspring.

    She gave up driving 18 months ago which was probably years to late considering she has been unable to walk even small distances for quite a long time. But old people can be stubborn and its hard for them to give up another bit of independence.  I often tell her she is lucky she's not a horse.

  • LincsaddickLincsaddick
    simple .. there should be a test to check the ability of anyone to drive one of these things.
  • SantaClausSantaClaus
    edited August 2019
    I saw a 40 year old  junkie type guy tearing up and down Catford high street the other day. Powerful scooters on narrow pavements isn't a great combination. 
  • Curb_ItCurb_It
    I was driving back from Kent on the A20 one Sunday morning and saw the police on the other side who had stopped someone on the outside lane.  I was proper rubbernecking to see what had occurred and they had pulled over an old boy in a mobility scooter.  

    Not sure what he was done for... doubt it was speeding. 
  • Sponsored links:


  • cliveclive
    Justin20474 said:
    orpingtonRED said:
    Wasnt there a bloke done recently for mowing down 2 old dears at a bus stop? Sure it was local
    It was Eltham.
    Welling.
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6215237/Disabled-Aaron-Ali-40-accused-ramming-women-Welling-Kent-Woolwich-London-mobility-scooter.html
  • orpingtonREDorpingtonRED
    SantaClaus said:
    I saw a 40 year old  junkie type guy tearing up and down Catford high street the other day. Powerful scooters on narrow pavements isn't a great combination. 
    Wonder if thats the same guy i had a run in with
  • GlovepupGlovepup
    There are some users local to me who I have seen on these things that seem to have no care for pedestrians, I'm surprised I have not seen any accidents yet. They are dangerous, the news outlets are banging on about e-scooters at the moment, but those in mobility scooters are just as dangerous! 
  • addick05addick05
    Love the advert for the "Lightest Wheelchair Dive' wheelchair at the bottom of the page. Very apt.
  • iainmentiainment
    The other day I was cycling along the river from Woolwich towards Erith. Mobility scooter had come off the path and turned over as you approach Crossness. Ambulance in attendance trying to lift the scooter off the driver. Wouldn't take help and were struggling but I think the driver was considerably heavier than the scooter.
    Hope it worked out ok.
  • StigStig
    Perhaps we could do with some of this at The Valley!

    https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/watch-incredible-moment-scot-mobility-5647873
Sign In or Register to comment.

Roland Out Forever!