Posted on 08/12/2010 2:46:18 PM PDT by Stoat
A police force facing savage budget cuts has announced a crackdown on the menace of the mobility scooter driver.
Officers have launched a course to combat the scourge of the lawless silver-haired scooter rider as the number of accidents on the roads rise.
They may not be joyriding teenagers any more, but officers say pensioners on mobility scooters can be just as dangerous with many being caught drunk or high on prescription drugs behind the wheel.
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He said: 'People can just buy a mobility scooter, sometimes off the internet or somewhere else, and literally just get on it. Around 150 people are killed or seriously injured annually as a result of incidents involving mobility scooters in the UK. Currently, anyone over the age of 14 can purchase the fastest class of scooter, which has a top speed of 8 mph, with no requirement for a licence, training or insurance. The Government is facing calls for a nationwide testing and registration scheme for the disability vehicles.
(edit)
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Norfolk Police are calling for a nationwide testing scheme because people are able to drive mobility scooters at the top speed of 8 mph without any training
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Police video of driving course available for viewing here:
Norfolk Constabulary- MAST News - 12 August 2010
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Related FR thread from last year:
Runaway scooter carries off woman
This is HUGH and SERIES!
This is HUGH and SERIES!
Indeed it is!
I have a similar concern about the scourge of Barbie Bikes
5 year old girls can just get on them and ride away....oftentimes at speeds far in excess of 8 mph. Stop this carnage on our highways!
To think, these people once ruled 1/4 of the globe.
The UK has been insane for so long, now, that it no longer surprises.
“To think, these people once ruled 1/4 of the globe.”
In fifty years they will be under sharia law.
Pedestrians will never be safe again, I tell you!
And what if they team up?
What will we do when the Barbie Bikers and the Octogenarian Scooter Gang team up?
In all seriousness, this is just big government controlling every facet of life and must be fought with abandon.
I'm thinking that a big part of the push for this is that the police feel, and probably correctly, that Seasoned Citizens riding the scooters will not put up much if any fuss over any mandated driving tests whereas muzzies of course would first burn down the police station and then sue the police.....and win.
The mandated testing is also an excellent 'foot in the door' for mandated licensing and eventually mandated registration and taxation.
It will be another huge moneymaker for the Government, and the public will have yet another aspect of their lives closely regulated, taxed, and fined if necessary.
Just outta curiosity, who's paying for them...?
You put it well when you said it’s becoming impossible to satirize some people.
That was before the Left placed it's iron bootheel on the neck of Great Britain, masquerading as 'the third way' and 'the path of compassion'.
It is the Left that has caused 95% of the troubles that Britain now faces, and we here in America are headed down the same path and will embrace the same fate, or worse, if we don't turn the tide quickly. We have our future laid out before us across The Pond, and if we don't see it for what it is it will be only our fault.
I feel that it's important, however, to pay attention to what goes on in the UK because we in the USA are headed down the same path. Concepts, laws and attitudes that were adopted in the UK decades ago and are now being proven as disastrous are being heralded as 'innovative' and 'smart' by the American Left and many are in the pipeline for implementation for us over here.
Pedestrians will never be safe again, I tell you!
And what if they team up?
What will we do when the Barbie Bikers and the Octogenarian Scooter Gang team up?
In all seriousness, this is just big government controlling every facet of life and must be fought with abandon.
hehe! Such a gang would make the entire Crip Nation quake in their boots ;-)
I agree though, it is yet another regulation of our lives pushed forward on the basis of a supposed safety need, when in reality, if reason were to prevail over Socialism, such a testing regimen would be entirely voluntary. It's one of those things that some people may benefit from but that shouldn't be a reason to force it down everyone's throat.
I would suggest that the VAST majority of folks using the scooters are perfectly competent with them and they are smart enough to stop using them when they begin to have difficulty. A nationwide, mandated scooter testing regimen (which will lead to mandatory scooter registration, licensure and a HUGE cash stream for the Government) treats everyone like a child who is utterly incapable of making decisions for themselves. Another bit of freedom is taken away and another part of our lives is placed under rigid Governmental control.
Just outta curiosity,
who's paying for them...?Well, it's that evil 'private property' thing that the Left hates so much ;-) Just because you've bought something, that doesn't mean that it's 'yours' as far as the Left is concerned.
I also find it interesting to note the utterly ludicrous leap in definitions that they've made in order to justify this. From the article:
"They may not be joyriding teenagers any more, but officers say pensioners on mobility scooters can be just as dangerous with many being caught drunk or high on prescription drugs behind the wheel."
Just as dangerous as teenage joyriders in automobiles? REALLY????
Even if someone is drunk or on drugs, saying that an elderly person on a mobility scooter will be 'just as dangerous' as teenage joyriders in a 4,000 lb car going at high speed is the sort of utterly breathtaking leap of idiocy that the Left loves to engage in.
The NHS may be able to provide a wheelchair free of charge, but does not supply scooters. The NHS will assess the person you look after so that they can choose the right one (there are different types available). The assessment is done at a wheelchair assessment centre or clinic.
And check this out...
Using a mobility scooter or powered wheelchair
You have to follow the rules of the Highway Code, whether you are using the footpath or the highway. Following some safety tips and keeping your scooter in good condition are also important points....
From the article: He told Police Review that the problem of dangerous riders is becoming more prevalent because of an ageing population and the ease with which scooters can be bought. He said: 'People can just buy a mobility scooter, sometimes off the internet or somewhere else, and literally just get on it.
Apparently they are quite easily and inexpensively available in the UK from a variety of vendors. Although the NHS doesn't fund them at the moment, some private insurers may. However, they are not terribly expensive and most people of some means who need one seem to be able to get one
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