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Mobility Scooters in Cycle Lanes

Saw this yesterday evening:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDYrzeqodqM

 

Is this legal? I'm assuming it's not...

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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13 comments

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DoctorFish | 4 years ago
0 likes

Bit of a close pass by the cyclist.  

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FluffyKittenofT... | 4 years ago
1 like

I don't see the issue.  I see mobility scooters in the road every so-often, my understanding is they are allowed there - and I think I prefer it to when I encounter them doing warp factor five on the pavement.

 

And that's not even a real cycle lane, just a bit of paint.

 

What does irk me slightly is the unsolicited advice from the commenter in that youtube thread.  I'd find it patronising if directed at me, and I bet the chap is a vehicular cyclist type.  Keep your roadcraft expertise to yourself, unless someone asks for it - even if your name is 'Franklin'!

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dobbo996 | 4 years ago
3 likes

I'm happy to share bike lanes with most moving things, bar pedestrians, cars, vans and trucks. The problem with the lane in the video is that, like nearly all bicycle infrastructure in the UK, it's poorly designed and implemented - far too narrow and unprotected. Too many drivers think staying on 'their' side of the white line is good enough, even though they may be mere inches from your handlebars. Bloody death traps IMO.

I had a lovely wave, smile and "good morning" from a chap on a mobility scooter on a shared path this morning. He was wearing a rather nifty panama hat. Very dapper chap. Cheered me up no end.

 

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hawkinspeter | 4 years ago
2 likes

I'd agree with Siracha - dashed white line bike lanes don't really have any legal meaning. I'm also more than happy to share bike lanes with mobility vehicles and electric scooters etc (as long as they don't go quicker than me).

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Bmblbzzz replied to hawkinspeter | 4 years ago
0 likes

hawkinspeter wrote:

I'd agree with Siracha - dashed white line bike lanes don't really have any legal meaning. I'm also more than happy to share bike lanes with mobility vehicles and electric scooters etc (as long as they don't go quicker than me).

Why shouldn't they go quicker than you? If I'm pootling at 10mph I don't mind being overtaken by other cyclists, mobility scooters, etc, as long as they don't pass too close. (Though I think mobility scooters are limited to 8mph, so that wouldn't actually happen.)

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hawkinspeter replied to Bmblbzzz | 4 years ago
1 like

Bmblbzzz wrote:

hawkinspeter wrote:

I'd agree with Siracha - dashed white line bike lanes don't really have any legal meaning. I'm also more than happy to share bike lanes with mobility vehicles and electric scooters etc (as long as they don't go quicker than me).

Why shouldn't they go quicker than you? If I'm pootling at 10mph I don't mind being overtaken by other cyclists, mobility scooters, etc, as long as they don't pass too close. (Though I think mobility scooters are limited to 8mph, so that wouldn't actually happen.)

If they go faster than me then I feel duty bound to chase after them and try to overtake them nonchalantly. Of course if I can't overtake them, then I assume they've got an unrestricted motor on their vehicle and are also taking perfomance enhancing drugs. Or it might be that I'm on a rest day and my knee is sore and my other bike is in the wash.

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Bmblbzzz replied to hawkinspeter | 4 years ago
4 likes

hawkinspeter wrote:

Bmblbzzz wrote:

hawkinspeter wrote:

I'd agree with Siracha - dashed white line bike lanes don't really have any legal meaning. I'm also more than happy to share bike lanes with mobility vehicles and electric scooters etc (as long as they don't go quicker than me).

Why shouldn't they go quicker than you? If I'm pootling at 10mph I don't mind being overtaken by other cyclists, mobility scooters, etc, as long as they don't pass too close. (Though I think mobility scooters are limited to 8mph, so that wouldn't actually happen.)

If they go faster than me then I feel duty bound to chase after them and try to overtake them nonchalantly. Of course if I can't overtake them, then I assume they've got an unrestricted motor on their vehicle and are also taking perfomance enhancing drugs. Or it might be that I'm on a rest day and my knee is sore and my other bike is in the wash.

"It is always a race but you should never try to be first across the line."

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Tom_77 | 4 years ago
0 likes

FWIW, I was concerned for his safety. I think he'd be safer on the pavement.

 

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Sriracha replied to Tom_77 | 4 years ago
4 likes
Tom_77 wrote:

FWIW, I was concerned for his safety. I think he'd be safer on the pavement.

 

A bit like some car drivers think we should be on a cycle path, for our own safety?

I'm not meaning to have a go at you, honest, I think maybe it's easier that we might suppose to understand how car drivers feel.

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stonojnr replied to Sriracha | 4 years ago
0 likes

Sriracha wrote:
Tom_77 wrote:

FWIW, I was concerned for his safety. I think he'd be safer on the pavement.

 

A bit like some car drivers think we should be on a cycle path, for our own safety? I'm not meaning to have a go at you, honest, I think maybe it's easier that we might suppose to understand how car drivers feel.

no because drivers want cyclists out of their way in that situation, I dont think that applies with cyclists and mobility scooters, but I think it would be pretty upsetting to witness a car hitting a mobility scooter and then be left with the guilt that we were all too embarrassed to have had that conversation.

is this guy safer on the road or on the shared space pavement that runs around the roundabout ? 

https://youtu.be/t1w18Q8UYlA

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ConcordeCX replied to Tom_77 | 4 years ago
4 likes

Tom_77 wrote:

FWIW, I was concerned for his safety. I think he'd be safer on the pavement.

 

not very convincing given that your question was about the legality of it. He looks like an adult, he can make his own decisions about his own safety, he doesn't need strangers telling him what to do and patronisingly disguising it as concern.

 

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Sriracha | 4 years ago
3 likes

https://www.gov.uk/mobility-scooters-and-powered-wheelchairs-rules/drivi...

Given that it was not a solid line bike lane, I'd say that he was allowed.

Why do you ask?

Where would you prefer him to be - out in the road 'commanding a primary position', or on the pavement? Was he inconveniencing you, making you have to slow your progress momentarily - oh, wait, that's car drivers, isn't it?

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to Sriracha | 4 years ago
1 like

Sriracha wrote:

https://www.gov.uk/mobility-scooters-and-powered-wheelchairs-rules/drivi... Given that it was not a solid line bike lane, I'd say that he was allowed. Why do you ask? Where would you prefer him to be - out in the road 'commanding a primary position', or on the pavement? Was he inconveniencing you, making you have to slow your progress momentarily - oh, wait, that's car drivers, isn't it?

So was it a class 2 or class 3? Class 2 should not be driven on the roads unless there is no footpath / pavement. There clearly is though so if it is class 2, and lack of lights and mirrors makes me think it is, then the OP is correct and it wasn't legal.

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