mobility scooter hazard recognised

Letter published in The Senior of January 2010 on page 6.

Scooting to trouble         
In November I experienced an incident where a mobility scooter was first in the middle of a traffic lane (hidden by a bus at a stop) then into the bicycle lane (and contra-flow).
Nearby was a wide footpath.
In South Australia, mobility scooter users are legally defined as pedestrians. They should not use the road
when there is a suitable footpath, and then only the far left of the road.
These users put at risk themselves and other road users, especially cyclists.
For more information, go to
http://www.transport.sa.gov.au/safety/road/road_use/self_propelled_...
Heather of Prospect BUG

Mobility Scooters and Other Pedestrians
http://www.alp.org.au/media/0809/mscons100.php
‘Safety warning on mobility scooters’
10 August 2009
Dr Craig Emerson, Minister for Competition Policy and Consumer Affairs
issued a notice warning consumers of the potential dangers associated with the
use of mobility scooters. The warning is contained in a statutory notice under
the Trade Practices Act 1974 and is published in the Commonwealth Gazette. Also
the ACCC will invite a number of key stakeholders to form a Reference Group to
develop a joint national approach to problems involving motorised mobility
scooters.