Hell's grannies at a shopping centre near you
GOD forbid that I should ever lose the use of my legs and have to depend on a mobility scooter to get around on.
But better that than be stuck at home, completely dependent on others.
I have seen some disabled people cruising the aisles in their buggies and felt sorry that they still have to depend on help to reach beyond the lowest shelf.
But I have seen others who appear to revel in the speed of their wheels and have been quite impressed by their manoeuvrability.
In Lynn the other day an elderly woman came speeding by me with her equally elderly husband "riding shotgun" on the back. He was very nonchalant, standing casually, one hand in his pocket.
I'd probably also grow old disgracefully. As a born-again biker I might be quite at home with a set of wheels such as this.
But one writer contacted me with a different concern. He writes...
You seem to be a person who can get things moving, so how about getting some dangerous things moving more slowly?
I am talking about the growing number of mobility scooters you see on the pedestrianised shopping streets in Lynn.
Before you get a mailbag full of complaints, let me stress that I believe that most users of these buggies are sensible and considerate.
But a lot aren't – and there seems to be a growing number of them.
Many a time you are forced to swiftly move out of the way as one comes hurtling towards you. Sometimes they just appear through a crowd of shoppers.
These "drivers" seem to think they have priority. They don't. It is surely a case that mobility vehicles and shoppers have to move side by side, with due consideration for each other.
Possibly the best way to achieve this would be to control the speed these things move at. My late father had one and I believe there are different types which can do either up to 4mph or 8mph.
Certainly, the faster vehicles go too fast in the precinct.
And, just a thought: Are they insured? If I am hit by one, can I claim off the driver? Should they, or do they, have to be licensed?
WORRIED SHOPPER,
Lynn
Worried shopper contacted me further to describe an incident he had witnessed in which a young man failed to leap out of the way quickly enough and nearly had his foot run over.
The elderly lady driver cackled with laughter as she continued on her manic way.
Yes... growing old disgracefully. No doubt wearing purple and spitting!
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Weather for King's Lynn
Monday 28 May 2012
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