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| A window cleaner who fell two storeys after his ladder was knocked by someone driving a mobility scooter has been taken to hospital with a head injury. |
A window cleaner was seriously injured after being knocked from a ladder by a mobility scooter in Poole yesterday. Paramedics rushed to Vapour Lounge in Ashley Road at around 1.30pm after the victim was found lying on the pavement outside the shop. Those in nearby premises described hearing an “almighty bang” coming from outside before several people ran out to help the fallen man. Grzegorz Krakowiak, who owns neighbouring PC Connect, said he was shocked by what he saw. “I could see the blood on the ground,” he added. “It was horrible.”
Another eyewitness, who did not want to be named, said: “I saw him lying on the ground. He was trying to get up but couldn’t and I shouted for somebody to call an ambulance. “His other half came out of the shop and was very upset.” Darren Hayward, a stylist at Malcolm Tina Barker, said he also heard the crash. He added: “Several people came out to help and one man was speaking to him loudly and trying to keep him conscious before the ambulance arrived. “It was just awful and not something you expect to happen.”
Police closed one lane of the road in the aftermath of the incident to allow CSI and collision investigators to examine the scene, resulting in severe delays. Sgt Nikki Burt, of Dorset Police’s traffic unit, confirmed the incident involved a white mobility scooter being driven by a woman in her seventies, which remained on the pavement as officers worked. She added: “The man on the ladder has sustained serious injuries and has been taken to Poole Hospital for treatment. “His next of kin are aware and with him.”
A spokesman for South West Ambulance Service said the man was conscious when paramedics arrived and had sustained a “nasty cut” to the head. Any witnesses to the incident should call Dorset Police on 101, quoting 12:201.
Police closed one lane of the road in the aftermath of the incident to allow CSI and collision investigators to examine the scene, resulting in severe delays. Sgt Nikki Burt, of Dorset Police’s traffic unit, confirmed the incident involved a white mobility scooter being driven by a woman in her seventies, which remained on the pavement as officers worked. She added: “The man on the ladder has sustained serious injuries and has been taken to Poole Hospital for treatment. “His next of kin are aware and with him.”
A spokesman for South West Ambulance Service said the man was conscious when paramedics arrived and had sustained a “nasty cut” to the head. Any witnesses to the incident should call Dorset Police on 101, quoting 12:201.
Mobility scooter crash knocks window cleaner 15ft off ladder (Poole, Dorset): A window cleaner who fell two storeys after his ladder was knocked by someone driving a mobility scooter has been taken to hospital with a head injury. The 40-year-old fell 15ft (4.5m) on Ashley Road, Poole, near the Funky Hair Co, at about 13:20 BST. Dorset Police said the cleaner was taken to Poole Hospital with a serious head injury and a 70-year-old woman driving the scooter was uninjured. Officers are investigating how the accident happened.
They were a bit of a nuisance when they first appeared on streets (Blackpool). Our window cleaner was knocked off his ladder by a badly driven one. Some raced silently past you on the pavement, like kids on BMX bikes. Now there’s so many battery-charged scooters – along with all-purpose pushchairs – they block busy pavements. However, they have also revitalised life for many users. Some users also have a cute, little dog aboard. However, there are also abuses. I’ve seen a couple of scooters racing two abreast down the carriageway, obstructing motorists like some thoughtless horse riders. There are younger, often obese, users who appear nippy enough when they get off but, like some golfers, prefer wheels to their own feet. However, it’s worth those few exceptions for the joy scooters bring to so many otherwise cruelly restricted.
Call for safety helmets to be worn by mobility scooter drivers (Portsmouth): Two sons mourning the death of their father in a tragic accident, have called for safety helmets to be worn by mobility scooter drivers. John Hitchcock, a retired window cleaner, was driving home on his mobility scooter along the pavement in Portsmouth when a wheel went over the edge of the kerb and the scooter fell into the road. It was a totally freak accident but the 75-year-old suffered serious head injuries and died some time later, due to these injuries at Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth.
His sons, Terry and Michael Hitchcock, attended his inquest in Portsmouth and heard that a helmet would have saved their father’s life. Michael said: ‘He was a truly great father, who was taken from us too soon by the lax legislation surrounding mobility scooters and I hope users of these will take note of how dangerous these scooters are and wear helmets”.
The Highway Code states that scooters must not travel faster than 4mph on pavements. Slower Class 2 mobility scooters can only be used on pavements, whereas Class 3 mobility scooters can travel at a top speed of 8mph, can be used on the road and must be registered with the DVLA.
There is no requirement to wear a helmet, although lights must be used at night and reflective clothing is advised. Bearing in mind that most cyclists wear a helmet, has the time come for mobility scooter riders to do the same, especially when driving on the road?
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| Officers have launched a course to combat the scourge of the lawless silver-haired scooter rider. |
Police crack down on mobility scooter mayhem as drunk and drug-driving pensioners become 8 mph menace to society: 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.
Norfolk Police are now running lessons to teach users the rules of the road. Riders learn to navigate their way over ramps, through slalom runs and across zebra crossings. They are also taught how to master the shopping run, negotiating around cones which represent supermarket aisles. Superintendent Jim Smerdon helped devise the free mobility scooter awareness course which was funded entirely through sponsorship by Halfords. 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. 'People are buying one that might be totally unsuitable for them and then getting on it with absolutely no training whatsoever and then they are able to go on the roads, or around supermarkets or whatever else they wish to do. 'One of the problems is that the larger ones have two speed ratios, 4 mph and 8 mph, and you change it from the 4 mph to the 8 mph. 'If, for instance, you are in a supermarket and you have not changed it back to the 4 mph, then 8 mph round the supermarket would be scary in anybody's world [with] the ability to clip people or clip displays.'
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. Today a spokesman for Norfolk Police said the course had proved very popular and did not cost the taxpayer a penny.
Norfolk Police are now running lessons to teach users the rules of the road. Riders learn to navigate their way over ramps, through slalom runs and across zebra crossings. They are also taught how to master the shopping run, negotiating around cones which represent supermarket aisles. Superintendent Jim Smerdon helped devise the free mobility scooter awareness course which was funded entirely through sponsorship by Halfords. 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. 'People are buying one that might be totally unsuitable for them and then getting on it with absolutely no training whatsoever and then they are able to go on the roads, or around supermarkets or whatever else they wish to do. 'One of the problems is that the larger ones have two speed ratios, 4 mph and 8 mph, and you change it from the 4 mph to the 8 mph. 'If, for instance, you are in a supermarket and you have not changed it back to the 4 mph, then 8 mph round the supermarket would be scary in anybody's world [with] the ability to clip people or clip displays.'
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. Today a spokesman for Norfolk Police said the course had proved very popular and did not cost the taxpayer a penny.
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