A reader sent me this link from the BBC website. It tells how Ian Broughall, 56, caused chaos on the A14 near Cambridge by riding his mobility scooter on it. Note that the A14 has a speed limit of 70mph, and is one of the busiest roads in the country. Broughall’s scooter, on the other hand, had a top speed of 8mph along with the extra disadvantage of its driver.
Broughall seems to be one of those people who is an olive short of a pizza (which I’m sure he isn’t), and yet is still allowed out unsupervised (the world is full of that kind of person, unfortunately):
Mr Broughall said he was “usually very responsible”, but added he was “not stupid” and would find a different route next time he wanted to go out.
The problem is, he is also quoted as saying:
I’ve done it once before, and I was doing just fine until I saw all these flashing lights behind me – and that’s when the trouble started.
So he is clearly not as “not stupid” as he would have us believe! He is unable to distinguish between “doing fine” and being bloody lucky. He could have been killed – but worse, he could have caused many others to be killed if he hadn’t have been stopped. He is an irresponsible fool, and no amount of wishy-washy baby talk about it being a nice day and him wanting to take some pictures is going to alter that. He shouldn’t have been on that road, and he endangered the lives of many by doing so. It’s frightening to think that he may not accept this rap – either from the police, or from those who comment on the matter.
As if to emphasise the questionable mental state of some mobility scooter owners, there is a link to another BBC story from a few days ago where a very old (70-80) female rider knocked a cyclist into a river. She didn’t even stop – something which is common where elderly people are involved.
On the one hand, there is perhaps an argument for her receiving some sort of award in recognition of her choice of target. But on the other, more serious hand, her victim could have drowned. As it was, he suffered cuts and bruises.
The problem isn’t confined to a few isolated cases. A few years ago I saw an old guy in Clifton, Nottingham, go ploughing through a group of schoolgirls on a zebra crossing. He hurt one of them. Then there are calls by the mayor of Southwold, Suffolk, for regulations to be introduced on the damned things:
Mayor John Windell said he had become “concerned” about the use of the scooters after hearing from pedestrians who had experienced “near escapes”.
Mind you, that’s about the limit of the sense he makes. After that he loses the plot completely, talking of making pavements wider, or having special lanes on roads. He stops short of suggesting that cars and pedestrians be banned from town centres.
Sometimes there is no solution that keeps everyone happy. You either accept that mobility scooters are going to keep getting involved in situations that will one day lead to a serious accident; or you insist that the people who use them have to pass fitness-to-ride tests, and revoke that licence if they fail.
EDIT: I have been “warned” of legal action for “slander” by the guy in the first story I referred to. He means “libel” (slander involves the spoken word).
He could have killed himself. He could have killed others. He is lucky that the only thing he has to worry about is being likened jokingly to a pizza with one of its toppings missing! I’d be surprised if his friends and family didn’t use far stronger words when he came home.