Reckless Ashfield pensioners hit with speed limit to stop them terrorising shoppers on their mobility scooters
Reckless pensioners have been hit with a 4mph speed limit to stop them terrorising shoppers on their mobility scooters in Ashfield.
The speed limit is being enforced at Idlewells Shopping Centre in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Notts.
Town centre bosses say they have been forced it bring in the 4mph limit after a spate of near-misses involving scooters and shoppers.
By law, mobility scooters are limited to 4mph on pavements, but some powerful models can reach speeds up to 8mph with ease.
Residents have praised the speed limit after claiming it can be like trying to “cross the road” while shopping in pedestrian areas.
Some mobility scooter users have welcomed the 4mph limit, saying some pensioners “hare around” the shopping centre at speed.
Retired factory worker Diane Colley, 65, said: “I don’t go fast on mine but some of them do.
“I’ve had my foot ran over before by a big one and a small one, it’s happened twice. They bump into you too which is dangerous.
“They shouldn’t be going around Idlewells that fast.
“I only go fast to get across the road. Mine you can turn it up to the fastest, the hare.
“But I've never turned it up to that. It’s like having a car going quickly on the pavement, it’s just as dangerous.
“It’s the bigger models who can go quicker with their bigger tires. It’s the same with the school and the bikes, they race down the road.
“I have a mobility scooter for my arthritis, I use it twice a week. I don’t want to get dependent on it. I have to get it serviced and insured.”
Resident Katy Draycott, 29, said: "When you walk out of a shop, you kind of have to look both ways, like crossing a road, which is an experience in itself, so [the signs are] quite good."
Ben Molloy, 43, manager of a mobility scooter shop in Sutton-in-Ashfield said: “I think it’s a good idea, the legal limit is 4mph in a pedestrian zone anyway.
“It’s just sticking to the law. It’s 4mph on the pavement and mobility scooter users should know that anyway - it’s common sense.
“If there are people milling around on the pavement you don’t want to be mowing them down, with some of the speeds that they can get up to, it’s safer to slow down.
“You've got a lot of speed demons flying around who perhaps don't realise how dangerous one of [the scooters] could be if it hits somebody.”
Mobility scooters with a top speed of more than 4mph need to be registered with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).
Scooter user gran Diane Wolffinden, 71 said: “It’s a bit silly because you can’t go at that speed in there anyway. Do they think we’re thick because we’re disabled?
“My scooter goes up to 8mph but I wouldn’t do that speed in town. You go at the speed of your surroundings.
"People don’t look where they’re going. My lights stay on my scooters all the time so you can see me coming.”
Shopping centre manager Jason Truscott said: "We'd like people to realise that there are things that need to be adhered to, and maybe not every mobility scooter owner is aware of the limit in public spaces."