Mobility scooters .......on the road!

I think it's dangerous and daft. And unfair on motorists too.

There has been a heated discussion on our local FB page about a couple who travel the roads on two of these machines. The pictures of them waiting in traffic queues to go over busy junctions/traffic lights and then pootling along very busy (even dual carriageway!) and sometimes narrow roads is scary. A lorry or tractor driver would have a job to miss them coming around bends on some roads.
I know a friend who has a taxi business says they are a danger to themselves and others as often they cannot be seen until the last moment, and some have a habit of suddenly popping out between vehicles.
Being an old town we have many narrow pavements which makes it difficult too.

It’s dangerous and they are also dangerous on the streets and in shops I ve been knocked over and had my foot run over Some are as big as small cars almost now

Does anyone know if someone has to be registered, or certified, as being disabled to use one in public?

Is being fat and lazy an accepted reason?

Obviously there are some people for whom mobility scooters are essential as they would otherwise be stuck indoors all the time. However, it seems that there are also people who could get to the bus stop and manage to get around nearby shops without the use of one.

Perhaps more control of who needs to use them and training in driving them is required. As already said, they are often a danger to themselves and others.

Yes, you do need to be disabled to use a mobility scooter on public land, unless there is a good one-off reason, eg delivering after repair. I believe you need a blue badge.

I saw someone on a mobility scooter driving the wrong way up a narrow one way street recently.

Then on a visit to the RHS at Wisley last month I was almost mown down by such a scooter! I was admiring the plants in a border, and out of the corner of my eye spotted something approaching me. It was a scooter, just inches away and totally silent, no sound at all. I managed to leap out of the way, while the rider made no acknowledgement of my existence, let alone almost been run down by him.

No you don’t need a blue badge - you just have to have trouble walking - and this could be temporary or permanent. I’d be amazed if this was ever checked.

They do look rather run. Perhaps when I can't ride my bike anymore.....

Depends which class of scooter. 2 or 3.

Class 2 on pavements only unless there is no pavement, or crossing a road speed 4mph.

Class 3 can be used on roads and duel carriage ways, must have a flashing light and must be registered, speed on pavements 4mph, speed on roads 8mph.

We have quite a few on the roads here, but then if you saw the state of the pavements you'd understand why!

Do they need road tax?

No you don’t have to be registered disabled to use one well at least let me rephrase that there are many people here who are not, I have seen young lads with their girls friends on their knees I ve also seen a man get off and literally run into a store after someone. The other day a young lady was taking her dog for a walk while she sat on one It had a very long lead which went right across the path as I came up to this stumbling block she literally jumped out of the scooter and went over to wind the lead in to let me past My next door neighbour same age as my youngest daughter drives one everywhere with always a fag out of her mouth she is very overweight and will get worse with so little exercise and healthcare Her husband uses her mobility scooter to go to the shop for anything they haven’t had delivered I ve also seen the eldest daughter ( about 15/16 ) on it It’s hired from a local dealer but sits there all the time so I guess long term hired with some benefits or other
Don’t get me wrong I think they are wonderful for anyone truly disabled or elderly but a menace when they are used by so many

I've seen accidents caused by the ones allowed on the road too. It seems insane not to make the road users take a test to pass them as fit enough to be out in the traffic.
Also think cyclist should too - but that's another issue.

I need one as my heart is failing . The time will soon come when there has to be a test before just anybody can use one.

There’s a women here uses an electric scooter not a mobility scooter but like a very big kids scooter but electric she whizzes around town in and out of shops it really is an accident waiting to happen

These scooters -known as e- scooters are illegal on roads and pavements why is nobody taking action?
One young woman was killed in S London recently in a collision with, I think a lorry, but they could as easily kill a pedestrian

I’m waiting to get a road scooter. My small one which I’ve used for years won’t take the hills up and down to the shops. Also there is a dearth of dropped curbs in this town.
I hold a valid driving licence and am very disabled.

I've said it before and I'll say it again-anyone who drives a vehicle which has power should have to have a licence, registration plates and insurance. Also, cyclists and horse riders should need the same.

No you don’t have to be registered disabled Gonegirl and not all scooter users are fat, lazy or bad drivers. As a scooter user I take exception to that to be honest !

Sometimes driving on the road is the only option to get from a to b. Firstly, there are people parking part on the pavement meaning the only way to get round is on a road,

Secondly, even new estates which have some drop kerbs do not have them all in the right place. I visited an outside shopping centre where there were drop kerbs until I got to a junction where there wasn’t . No choice but to back track , use the road which involved a really busy junction .

As a long time driver I have no problem using my scooter on the road but I agree if you have never driven then I see no reason why a road test shouldn’t be compulsory .

Registered disabled doesn’t actually exist now does it? Except maybe for registered blind and hopefully they are not driving a scooter?

What is needed is a third lane on all roads for these scooters and bicycles. The problem is that most roads are constructed on existing tracks which have been used for millenia. They are just not wide enough to allow for a separate lane for these vehicles. With more and more of them on our roads, something needs to be done. All of these people should take some sort of test before they are allowed out on them. As for the e-scooters, the law here seems rather vague. If they are not legal on roads or pavements, why is this not made clear when someone buys one?

There needs to be a rule who can use a mobility scooter, recently in town we had a man who every day went from the care home to the shops for a newspaper on his scooter.
Problem was he had his oxygen tank on the scooter wore the mask and drove diagonally across the traffic lights.
I don’t think the staff should have allowed him to do that.

I was crossing a relatively quiet one way street, looking only one way, when I’m nearly run over by one of those bloody things, and given the most foul mouthed load of abuse! He was in the middle of the road, going in the wrong direction.

Galen, I hope you enjoy the bigger scooter that is legal to go on the road. I changed from a small one to a big one almost immediately mainly because of the suspension on the big one as I have osteoporosis.

I agree with Nanaandgrampy and use my scooter for the reasons she uses hers. I also like to go the park with my dog.