Hove pensioner injured in mobility scooter horror (From The Argus)
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Hove pensioner injured in mobility scooter horror
10:20am Tuesday 12th March 2013 in News By Ben Leo, reporter
Pamela Box, recovering from her injuries in hospital
A pensioner is recovering in hospital after falling as she tried to avoid a speeding mobility scooter.
Pamela Box, 81, from Hove, was making a trip to her local supermarket with her daughter when the disability vehicle drove towards them on the pavement in Old Shoreham Road.
Mrs Box, who uses a walking wheels aid, and her daughter, who uses a walking stick, both fell over as they tried to get out of the way of the scooter.
Now she faces a six-week stay at Royal Sussex County Hospital after having to have an operation to fix her fractured knee.
Iain Box, her son, said he wanted to highlight the “growing menace” caused by mobility scooters being used on pavements.
He added: “This was caused by, I assume, a fellow disabled person on a mobility scooter being driven at reckless speeds.
More controls “They’re being driven by people who would generally be deemed unfit to drive a car.
“I accept that they often offer an invaluable lifeline for elderly and disabled people but there need to be more controls in place to prevent incidents like these becoming commonplace.”
'Feeling terrible'
Mrs Box said she was “feeling terrible” but wanted to thank two men in delivery vans who helped her following the fall on March 1.
She said: “I don’t know who they were but the gentlemen who helped me were marvellous and I want to thank them for their help when I was flat out on the pavement.
“As always the ambulance crew were also terrific and the staff here at the hospital have been looking after me very |well.
“I just hope I can get back to my feet walking again and return to my normal life when I come out of here.
“I know the mobility scooters are a necessity for some people, but the fact the driver didn’t even stop to see if I was ok after we fell down is what upsets me the most.”
Following a successful operation, Mrs Box now faces a course of physiotherapy to help her regain the use of her leg.
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Comments(11)
mimseycal
says...
10:56am Tue 12 Mar 13
Any traffic incident, regardless of whether the individuals involved are disabled or not, should be notified and those responsible held to account.
alice1
says...
11:24am Tue 12 Mar 13
Mrs box i hope you are alright and back on your feet soon
clubrob6
says...
11:30am Tue 12 Mar 13
Hedgehog55
says...
12:04pm Tue 12 Mar 13
getThisCoalitionOut
says...
12:33pm Tue 12 Mar 13
There is a legal speed limit on pavements of 4 mph, the reason scooters can go faster is for when they are on the roads and only then.
I do hope this poor lady recovers well and she has my sincere sympathy for her knee injury.
I had my knee and shin bone broken on my right leg by a large dog that ran straight into me which has left me permantly disabled and I now use a mobility scooter.
When in the road I have been shouted at by some car drivers and told to get on the pavement - which isn't always possible as locally to me a lot of pavements haven't got the lowered curbs to allow me to safely get off them! I usually pull over to the side of the road, when I see a car coming and stop, to allow the car to quickly get past me - I'd done this last time I was shouted at - so some people do need to learn manners.
It's a shame this country has got so bad nowadays, people really aren't the same anymore.
Valerie Paynter
says...
1:48pm Tue 12 Mar 13
What I do believe is that the time has come for both mobility scooters and bicycles to be LICENSED. If these vehicles carried licence plates, people would have a fighting chance of holding them to account.
The person who did this to poor Mrs. Box has gotten away with actual bodily harm in my view.
Valerie Paynter
says...
1:51pm Tue 12 Mar 13
This should be a criminal offence. Isn't it? why not?
mimseycal
says...
1:56pm Tue 12 Mar 13
All that this entails is a tax disc however. No licence plates.
clubrob6
says...
2:46pm Tue 12 Mar 13
Valerie Paynter wrote:It should be a very easy task to find this mobility scooter driver after all it was a hit and run.He wont live far from where the incident happened a few questions in local area and the driver will get found.
I don't believe 8mph is the top speed mobility scooters can go at.
What I do believe is that the time has come for both mobility scooters and bicycles to be LICENSED. If these vehicles carried licence plates, people would have a fighting chance of holding them to account.
The person who did this to poor Mrs. Box has gotten away with actual bodily harm in my view.
Maxwell's Ghost
says...
8:18pm Tue 12 Mar 13
No lights, dark clothes and going at about 15mph.
kopite_rob says...
10:55am Tue 12 Mar 13
I've had more close calls with these than 3 abreast mums with buggies, dogs on extended leads,kids cycling & skateboarding on pavements put together.
Considering these buggies are getting heavier & faster and most of the old dears that drive them are half blind,half deaf or have little control over them I'm amazed there hasn't been a fatality yet.
It's become habit to look both ways when exiting shops,as they career along the pavement, but the last straw was my niece getting knocked down by one in a supermarket.
I grew up to respect my elders,but this old dear was unapologetic and should have had her buggy taken away from her or at least her tyres let down.