A local newspaper article about mobility scooters caught my eye. An elderly lady boarded her local Metro train using her mobility scooter and was promptly asked to leave the train by the driver. Until she did so, the train would not be leaving the platform.
The elderly lady protested saying she needed to catch the train to pick up her new glasses and had no intention of getting off the train. It all ended in tears when Metro security guards, were called by the driver, and removed her and her mobility scooter from the train. So what do you think? Big Brother?… or maybe the heavy arm of the law?… Victimization?… On the face of it, it sure looks like one of them, or possibly all three.
Safety First
Equally important A few weeks earlier in the month, I had read an article in the local news rag reporting how an elderly person on a mobility scooter had boarded the local Metro train what happened next could have been a scene from You’ve Been Framed had it not been life-threatening!
The article had reported another individual driving a mobility scooter board the Metro train, but must have been heavy on the throttle because instead of just boarding the train, the scooter crashed through the doors on the other side of the train landing on the opposite rail track. If the train on the opposite side of the track had entered the station she would have been seriously injured, if not killed.
Nexus owners of the Metro system rightly or wrongly announced that a ban would be placed on mobility scooter owners boarding trains for the present.
An accident that could have resulted in a loss of life was too close a call for them, hence the ban.
Inexperienced Riders
This incident reminded me of another accident I had heard of. Allegedly an elderly lady was knocked down by a mobility scooter witnesses reported that the scooter owner had told by-standers she would go and ring for an ambulance-she never came back.
There is a sad side to this story the elderly lady who was knocked down apparently died a few weeks later in hospital. A report mentioned that the accident could have been a contributing factor in her death. The idea is not to reject safety and freedom outright, but to ensure that it is achieved within the bounds of individual freedom.
Please do not leave my post thinking I am biased against aged pensioners. I’m not. I am very much aware the mobility scooter gets those individuals who would normally be stuck in the home out into fresh air. What I am saying is inexperienced owners should be instructed to use their scooter before being allowed on our pavements.
Given time, and as these vehicles catch on, more and more of them will be invading our pavements along with adults on bicycles so much so, that it will be safer to walk on the highway and take your chance with passing motorists!
Mobility Scooter – Image: ezpickscooter.com
Note:
In the words of the Founding Father of the United States: “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” -Benjamin Franklin (Shahd.)