Scooters: lifeline or pavement peril?

JENNY Bellard loves her motorised scooter. She says it has revolutionised her life.

Jenny is 61 but looks ten years younger and is a cheerful, energetic woman full of life. She also suffers from a serious heart condition, unstable angina.

It is liable to strike her down with crippling chest pains at any time, especially if she exerts herself too much. So walking long distances is a no-no.

That's where the scooter comes in. She has her own scooter for getting around her own neighbourhood in Tang Hall. And when she comes into town - to go shopping, meet friends or go for a coffee - she hires one for the day from Shopmobility in Piccadilly.

"It gives you freedom and independence," says Jenny, a former social worker who developed her heart condition 18 years ago. "It makes all the difference. I can go out for a coffee, have lunch, or go shopping, and I'm not beholden to anybody.

"Best of all I don't have to wait for somebody to take me. My husband can't do it any more, so I might have to wait for my son, which would be maybe once every ten days. With this I can go where I want, when I want."

Jenny is one of an increasing number of elderly or disabled people who use the vehicles to get out and about in York. The scooters can be driven on the pavement (where the maximum speed is four mph) and some models can also go on the road (maximum speed eight mph).

Most people who use these electronic get-abouts are courteous and sensible, giving way to pedestrians with whom they share the pavement, and taking care not to barge into people or run over feet.

But, as with motorists and cyclists, there are always a few who make things difficult for everyone else: speeding, bumping into people, even crashing or overturning their vehicles.

Liberal Democrat MP for Colchester Bob Russell was so worried about the "hell's grannies" - as the worst users of the machine have been called - that he raised the issue in Parliament, calling for more regulations over the use of the vehicles.

The regulations are under review by the Department of Transport. But as matters stand, you do not need to have a driving licence or insurance to use one on the road or pavement (see panel). The DoT strongly advises users to undergo training before buying or renting a scooter, but this is not mandatory.

Four mph may not sound fast but, as I discovered during a quick jaunt around York city centre on a motorised scooter borrowed from Shopmobility, threading your way along a crowded pavement at that speed isn't always easy.

The vehicles are surprisingly quick, very quiet - and able-bodied pedestrians aren't always necessarily prepared to leap out of the way.

Keith Chapman, chairman of the Nunnery Lane Residents' Association, believes there should be clearer guidelines for people who use the scooters.

He recognises how liberating they are for people with mobility problems, and is all in favour of anything which enables people with disabilities to lead fuller lives.

But he has witnessed a number of near misses involving the scooters and cyclists or pedestrians. He questions whether those who have the faster scooters which can do eight mph for on-road use always limit their speed to four mph when on the pavement.

It is a problem Jenny is willing to acknowledge. You do come across the occasional inconsiderate motorised scooter driver - just as you encounter inconsiderate cyclists or motorists, she says.

If she sees someone in a scooter driving inconsiderately, she will report them, she says, because they give other scooter users a bad name.

Just because someone is disabled or elderly and using a scooter doesn't give them the right to barge past pedestrians or expect everyone to give way to them, she says. "They don't have a God-given right to be able to barge along as they want.

"You have to use the scooter sensibly, and drive with due care and attention. Because you're on a pavement there are pedestrians all around you, maybe mums with little children. So you do have to be even more careful."

Part of the problem is that some of the scooter users - most often those who have bought their vehicles second-hand - have not had proper training. "Many of them are elderly, and perhaps some of them have never driven a vehicle in their lives."

Shopmobility in York has a rule that it will never let anyone rent one of their scooters unless it is satisfied they will be able to drive it safely.

You don't need a blue badge or a doctor's letter proving you are disabled to be able to rent once of their vehicles, says Shopmobility manager Denis Kelly. They are there for anyone who thinks they may benefit, whether they are 14 or 84.

But everyone using a Shopmobility scooter will be given training before they go out: and if Denis thinks they are not able to handle the vehicle safely, they will be turned down. Users will also be asked to sign a form declaring they do not have a medical condition that would make them unfit to drive. Safety is the prime rule, says Denis. "And we stress that pedestrians have priority. That is absolute."

There are almost never any problems. There was one occasion, says Denis, when a scooter rider went over a child's foot - luckily, the child wasn't seriously injured.

More serious was the woman in her 80s who insisted on taking her scooter down Shambles.

Users are told before they set out that Shambles is off limits, Denis says. The pavements are too high - and scooters shouldn't really be driven over kerbs for fear of them tipping over.

"Our advice is always not to go up or down kerbs," says Denis. "If you are going along a long length of pavement without a dropped kerb, keep on until you find one. There are normally plenty in the city centre."

The elderly woman in question tried to negotiate a kerb in Shambles, with predictable consequences.

"She fell over. She hurt herself - thankfully not too badly, apart from her pride - and damaged the scooter," says Denis.

Scooter users who do fail to drive considerately, whether it is through speeding, or refusing to give way to pedestrians, could fall foul of the law, at least in theory.

Traffic Constable Derek Houselander of North Yorkshire Police said police could use an obscure 19th century law to prosecute scooter users for "wanton and furious riding of a carriage". In practice, they would be more likely to take the culprit to one side and have a quiet word about the need to be more considerate.

Whether the regulations governing the use of scooters will be tightened up as a result of the Government review looks doubtful.

In a Parliamentary answer to Colchester MP Bob Russell, junior health minister Stephen Ladyman said manufacturers had updated the design of scooters and wheelchairs to improve capabilities such as braking.

But he said the speed restrictions and other regulations in place were "generally regarded as sufficient".

"Many of the users may have been, or still are, car drivers and they will have experience of the Highway Code," he said.

"To regulate the use of mechanised wheelchairs further would impose unnecessary restrictions on their availability to an increasing section of the population who are dependent on such equipment to provide them with an improved quality of life."

No licence required...

No driving license is needed to drive a motorised scooter. The Department of Transport does, however, have a Code of Practice for users, which can be accessed via www.dft.gov.uk

The code includes information on where scooters can and cannot legally be driven (motorways, cycle lanes and bus lanes are off limits) and advice on insurance (recommended but not legally required) and training (strongly advised).

There is also advice on parking (don't leave your scooter on a pavement if it is going to cause an obstruction) and coping with roundabouts, plus general information on what 'rules of the road' to follow.

These include:

On pavements - show consideration for pedestrians, particularly elderly people or those who are blind, partially sighted, deaf or hard of hearing.

Remember, just because it is legal to do four mph does not mean it is always safe, especially if pedestrians are not able to move out of the way quickly enough, e.g. in a crowded shopping precinct.

On the road - when on the road, drive with due care and attention, always travelling in the direction of the traffic, obeying traffic signs and signals and giving way to pedestrians who are crossing at junctions or pedestrian crossings. Look out for children crossing roads because they may lack the skills and experience to negotiate traffic safely.

Remember that compared with cars you are small and not easily visible, so take especial care - particularly at roundabouts and junctions.

Always use indicators when turning left or right, and always use the front and back lights in the dark or when visibility is poor.

Shopmobility

Shopmobility in York is open from 10am-4.30pm, Monday to Saturday. If you pay an annual membership charge of £10, you can rent a scooter for the day for £2. For non-members, the charge is £5. To avoid the disappointment of finding all the charity's scooters already in use, it is worth booking ahead on 01904 6790222, especially in summer.

Transformed by 'battricars'

EASINGWOLD Lions run 12 'battricars' which they loan out free of charge to elderly and disabled people in the area, often for months at a time.

John Lancaster, who runs the scheme, says the battricars can transform the lives of the people who use them, giving back the freedom and independence most of us take for granted.

Most people who use the cars are sensible and courteous, he says, giving way to pedestrians and taking care not to bump into people on the pavements, although he admits he did once see an elderly woman (not on a Lions' scooter) going the wrong way down a one-way street, waving her stick at motorists.

Those who use the scooters have to present a doctor's certificate first, are all insured (they pay themselves) and receive training. They are also given a list of "do's and don'ts" - including "do obey the Highway Code and be aware that pedestrians have right of way".

Updated: 11:00 Thursday, April 21, 2005