Motorized Wheelchair Users are Pedestrians

This is a subject that I am, unfortunately, very painfully familiar with.  There DEFINITELY needs to be some kind of licensing, and new laws regarding all wheeled vehicles mixing with "on foot" pedestrians - including motorized mobility carts. As well, all new roads need to be designed with a separate path for on foot traffic separate from any and all wheeled vehicles.   Any currently well-travelled pedestrian routes to the downtown should have changes made to include a "foot traffic only" path.

I am very happy to hear new laws and licensing could be in the works but I will believe it when I see it and hope this is not just swept under the rug and forgotten.  Forgive me if I sound jaded, but I have to say I often wonder why we waste the time and money it must take to bring a law into being, when it seems that when most people don't abide by them anyways if it inconveniences them we rarely see any enforcement on them either so it all seems rather pointless.  Bikes on sidewalks, no helmets, talking on cell phones driving and biking.  On any given day in Kelowna if you just stand on the corner of, i.e., Hwy 97 and Ellis, you will see 4 out of 5 drivers on their cells, but that's an issue for another time.  I will just say that I think any accident that occurs where it is established that the at-fault person was talking on their cell phone should be publicized as just that - ditch the label "distracted driving" and tell it like it is, "texting or talking on their cell".  People do not like being called out for doing really stupid stuff and if we pick up the paper every day and actually see where that has been identified as the cause of the accident then who knows...people might think twice.

I am a young 61 year old woman who enjoys staying active and part of that means I walk a lot - including walking 30 minutes each way to and from work to the downtown area daily - at least I used to.  I have a lot of miles on my sneakers and I have a lot of experience - none of it good - with "wheeled transportation" mixed in with "on foot" pedestrians.    I am now very much on edge walking anywhere in my home town of Kelowna, B.C. due to several instances regarding wheeled traffic - one with very serious consequences for me.  

As a pedestrian I have encountered many "near catastrophes" from all forms of wheeled transportation on sidewalks.  Most of the incidents occurred from behind with no warning, and no way to take evasive moves.  For example, I have sidestepped a dog mess on a sidewalk while walking and been hit by an adult on a bicycle who was attempting to pass me from behind.  He gave no "ring of a bell", shout, nothing - he was just going to go around past me.  No serious injury occurred to me other than soreness from his handlebar but he was actually mad at me!  He had no helmet on so if he'd been upset from his bike he too could have suffered injury.  When you are walking on a sidewalk you are just not expecting silent, wheeled traffic coming up fast on you from behind - at least you shouldn't have to - they move way faster and are way heavier than a person on foot.

In another incident I was only able to dodge out of the way of a kid on a skateboard coming from behind because I could hear the wheels of the thing.   I really didn't know what to do - stop still, or jump one way or the other.   Not having eyes in the back of my head I had no idea which direction he was going to take - I opted to stop dead in my tracks and turned my head to see what he was doing.  Not only was he just gliding on the board, he was looking down at his cell phone and hadn't even noticed me and had I not heard him and looked back he would have clocked me.  I had time to jump out of his way, yelled and startled him into looking up.  He just thought it was funny.  Me, not so much.

The accident which gave root to all these fears I have while walking now, occurred while walking to work about 2 years ago, when I too was hit by a motorized mobility cart coming from behind me, shoved out into traffic, and then ran over by the thing once I hit the ground.

I suffered a broken elbow, cuts and scrapes from hitting the ground, and severe bruising from my shoulder to my ankle.  To this day I still suffer stiffness and aching in that elbow.  I was an avid golfer which is still painful to do some days. 

Because it was an unlicensed cart, not considered a "vehicle" but actually considered a "pedestrian", I had absolutely no recourse against this person and they just wheeled away and that is just not right.  I wasn't covered by ICBC because the thing wasn't required to be licensed. I was lucky my break did not require surgery which it well could have had it not healed properly.  My doctor was livid when he saw me and couldn't believe the things are not required to be licensed.

It happened as I was standing at a red light on the corner of Ellis Street and Hwy 97 in Kelowna, heading north to cross 97. I was on my way to work at 7:30 in the morning.  There were 3 other people waiting as well.  None of us heard a thing but all of a sudden I felt a pressure from behind me, something was propelling me forward and shoving me off balance.  My foot was caught under the wheel and as I tried to catch my balance I was propelled out into the street.  As my foot, and by now my lower leg as well, were caught under the cart and wheels of this very heavy thing pushing me forward and down to the ground, I could do nothing to stop it.  I can only thank God that I was able to twist my body towards Ellis, where the traffic was stopped for the red light, and that's where I landed,  not shoved forward into the Hwy where traffic was speeding past or I would not be writing this letter today.  People ran to help me up and this fellow just looked down at me from his cart.  I could see no little license plate on the front, nor on the back, as he just wheeled away.

I found out later, as I spent many hours on the phone in the days and weeks afterwards trying to find out all I could about the rules regarding these carts, that they are not required to be licensed, nor are the riders required to take any classes on operating them.  I was told by the police that they were supposed to travel on the sidewalks and were considered the same as "bicycles".  When I said far as I knew "bicycles" weren't supposed to be on the sidewalks either he just said we have to be more careful when we are walking and share the space.  Helpful.

When I called ICBC, I was told that they aren't licensed because "they aren't heavy enough, or go fast enough, to cause any serious damage".  I'm lucky I'm here to tell you they are.    Those things are silent (they may be equipped with bell ringers but I haven't heard anyone use one).  They can weigh up to 500 or 600 lbs and go up to 10mph.  Once you add the weight of the person, plus any cargo in the baskets, it can be near 700 or 800 lbs.   How does any sane person think that isn't heavy enough to do harm against an on foot pedestrian? My husband took many pictures of my injuries that I can show anyone who would like to see how much damage they cause.

About a year after being hit by that mobility cart, I was almost flattened by another one again, when walking out of the door of a hair salon in the Capri Mall.  As I opened the door to step outside, a lady on a motorized cart sped down the sidewalk.  I had to jump back inside the establishment and the lady bounced her cart off the door - and again I took the verbal abuse!

If you know of anyone I can phone, or anything I can do, to be pro-active in helping to get safe travel ways built for foot pedestrians, and also get these dangerous VEHICLES licensed, please let me know.  They are motorized after all, even if they are electric or battery.

By the way, whenever I am relaying my story to people, many of them have one to relay to me about similar close calls with bikes, skateboards, and these carts while walking so mine is not an isolated incident by any means - we just don't have any recourse so calling anyone to report it is useless.

As a pedestrian, I don't walk down the road at night , wearing non reflective clothing, with my back to traffic.   Many wheelchair users do (ride that is) . Some WC users may have anger issues, or just entitlement issues (like drivers).

I think standardized and written Codes of Use / Conduct should be developed. Gets everyone on the same page.

I think that anyone using those motorized scooters/wheelchairs/mobility devices should not be allowed to go faster than a normal walking individual - there is no way to control those devices safely around others when going so fast.

I find these scooters a hazard whether on the sidewalk or the road. I got hit by one of these scooters in a grocery store.

As luck would have it one of the owners of this store happened to be a few feet away and was able to ask the person to take this very large scooter outside, park it and come in to shop using a buggy to also him with walking. This man was more than capable of walking around the store.

These unit are no longer allowed in this store.

As I was bleeding I the lower leg area the staff took care of me.

The owner of the scooter never said "sorry".

While I see many people using motor scooters as you describe on highways. Usually on the side, it was my understanding.

These vehicles are to be limited to side walks, unless in a crosswalk.

The speed to be limited to walking speed. As you say as a pedestrian.

I have also read of a death on a sidewalk, where a pedestrian was rundown.

There are now so called electric scooters, that are beyond what is required for a Handicapped person.

Here in Campbell River, I met an older man, who was driving an off road scooter. Four wheel, heavy tread tires. This scooter had solar cells fitted around the battery. For charging when parked. It also had a trailer hitch, for a trailer, to haul camping equipment or Game.

Apparently no license or plate was required.

I live near the Superstore on Metral and right adjacent to the store are two mobile home parks from which older incapacitated seniors emerge on their electric buggys and some drive on the sidewalk and some on the road close to the curb.

I think that they shouldn’t be on the road for their own safety, the sidewalk makes sense to me but as the machines are very quiet some sort of noise device to warn pedestrians of their approach would be in order.

Then the cost factor kicks in, who would pay for the installation of a noise device or other audible warning and I’m darned if I know what to say about licensing of carts and drivers?

Operators of motorized scooters & their caregivers (if any) must ensure adequate & proper lighting exists on the vehicle together with seat belts. Safety comes first.

It would also be nice if the people using the motorized wheelchairs were a bit more careful with pedestrians.  I just about got whacked by one in a shopping mall.  It would be interesting to know how many people get hurt with wheelchairs moving too fast?  Fortunately, this is not the norm.

Technology has outpaced our legislative and regulatory response to keeping seniors safe. The MVA  needs to be amended to further define classes of mobility aids and to restrict their size and power. Tell me if the “scooter” in this promotional video should be on the sidewalk or the roadway. It shows both.

The flexibility of form that e vehicles have lends itself to misuse. Is there anything preventing a driver whose privileges have been suspended from operating a vehicle such as shown?