http://www.constructione...ugh-badly-built-barrier/

First of all, let's bear in mind that someone has been killed here.

So ironic that this happened at the NHS litigation centre.

Now look at the temporary "barrier"...........................

The press release is incorrect. The incident occurred at a health centre run by a Primary Care Trust at the time of the incident. Since then Primary Care Trusts have been abolished and the NHS Litigation Authority took over their criminal responsibilities. See the HSE press release for details http://press.hse.gov.uk/...mobility-scooter-plunge/

Accident should still not have happened and someone needs to pay.

Take care
JohnC

An appalling case of neglect and incompetence on the part of the health centre. When you consider that an establishment of that kind is likely to have a more than average number of people attending with mobility problems who need to use scooters and wheelchairs, and the catalogue of neglect that created the potential, surely an indefensible case. We've had legislation about protection from falls from height in place for some time now, haven't we?

Not sure about the claim that mobility scooters have been involved in 'a lot of accidents'. I think that statement needs justification. It is true that they are sold without any provision of training in most cases, and perhaps that needs to be addressed, but mistakes can still be made with the types of controls on them currently. Yes, they are heavy compared to a manual wheelchair, but comparable to an electric wheelchair, which are also increasingly used. The type of control on an electric wheelchair is less prone to error, being of the joystick variety, and perhaps the controls on scooters needs consideration.

Ron, the explanation is in the notes section of the original HSE press release. The Primary Care Trust that ran the centre had been abolished and its criminal liabilities taken over by the Litigation Authority. The phrase local NHS Trust doesn't really mean anything as there are likely to be more than one in an area all with different responsibilities e.g. Ambulances, mental health, acute medicine, etc.

I can say that I am aware of several scooter accidents happening on footpaths where temporary barriers and trench covers have been placed around streetworks e.g. utility work, lampost replacement, paving re-instatement etc. Usually the scooters are travelling too fast, impact the trench cover or barrier and lose control, sometimes ending up in an excavation dug in the footpath with mud and exposed pipework.

Occasionally a pedestrian will trip under the same circumstances, but scooter accidents are more common in areas I have investigated.

Ian, yes I work with contractors who are working with large utility companies. They have been in court to argue that their gangs lay out signs, barriers and trench covers in the manner required by the Streetworks guidance, but scooter drivers have accidents - in the absence of a witness it is difficult to know what happened. If the street site was laid out correctly - Was the scooter driver reckless?

About 4 weeks ago I put a post on about street workers setting up their safety signs, barriers etc. before starting work, taking photos and recording what they had done on a tablet then removed everything to their pick up truck and started filling a hole in the pavement.

FS,

We have several scooter users on our street and they drive down the pavement at what looks like 15mph, well I'm not really sure, but what speed can they get up to?

I mentioned 'trench covers' in an earlier post relating to utilities work. These are put in place if it is necessary to keep a path open while there is a trench dug. They are a 50cm x 100cm rectangular sheet of fibre glass approx 1-1.5 cms thick, so they do have ramped edges.

The trench covers can be driven over safely if the scooter travels dead slow, but I expect a scooter hitting one of those edges at 15mph, at an angle, could be in danger of tilting as far as tipping over.

John

I agree sutty. Seems that utility companies, conducting their work safely, are more likely to be prosecuted that any scooter driver.

I've also had to escort scooter drivers across a road because I didn't trust them to drive safely along a ramped/barriered temporary footpath 1 metre wide.

And on my own street those scooters often drive down ON THE ROAD for 100 metres or more, because they can drive faster on the road (more even, no wheelie bins to negotiate etc)

From Gov web site

You can only drive on the road in a class 3 invalid carriage. The maximum speed is 8mph.

You can’t drive on bus lanes, ‘cycle only’ lanes or motorways. You should avoid using dual carriageways with a speed limit of over 50mph.

You must use an amber flashing light for visibility if you use a class 3 invalid carriage on a dual carriageway.

So you come around a corner doing 60 or 70 on a dual carriageway and find one of these doing up to 8 mph (it only states should). The other lane has a car in it so no overtaking.

Sounds perfectly safe. At least they have to be over 14 and have an eyesight test.

Some quite prejudiced opinions on this one. Perhaps a few facts may help.
1. People do not choose to have a mobility scooter for the hell of it (in the UK anyway) - it can be the only way for them to have any mobility at all
2. There are a minority of inconsiderate scooter users, just as there is in any section of the population, but the majority are quite responsible
3. The vast majority of scooters can go no faster than 8mph, and the very small ones less than that
4. Medium to large scooters can be road legal, if so they are registered with the DVLA, are issued a registration number, but are not obliged to display it
5. I think you'll find that the main reason that scooter users take to the roads is where there aren't enough drop kerbs to get on and off the pavement, or where some inconsiderate motorist has blocked the drop kerb or parked on the pavement
6. Responsible scooter users actually carry insurance for the use of the scooter
7. There is no formal training for using a scooter available that I know of, if there were I'm sure most new users would take it
8. The controls on a scooter are forward and reverse levers, which are not as safe as the joysticks found on electric wheelchairs, but the differences in drive systems would make a joystick unusable on a scooter. Scooter users have no choice on this, they have to buy what is available, usually at extortionate prices.
9. Travelling at full speed on today's pavements is not an option most of the time due to the poor state of them; to try to do so would quickly wreck the scooter and shake the user badly, adding to their problems.
10. Scooter users do look where they are going; if other people did so we'd all get along fine.