Disabled transport

[piggy and babs 544]

your right stephen once again rog you are taring every one with the same brush are you a dr can you tell just by looking at some one from a distance whats wrong with them not all disabilities are what about heart or lung problems what about cancer just cause you carnt see it dont mean its not there. all i can say to you rog is your lucky to be fit and able if you are . i would love to be able to walk in comfort for more than short distance without being in pain and not get so tired when i go shopping that i have to come home and go to bed take pain killers and have a sleep before i can do anything else apart from my limp most of my medical problems are hidden. and yes sometimes i use a mobility to help me get about but most of the time i use a three wheel walker or two sticks when i go out .

[catfan 14,793]

Don't know where you do your shopping but round here you have to put a quid in to get a trolly. And I can assure you, there are no trollies abandoned near the P+T spaces.

Tesco stores don't do the £1 deposit trolleys.

[piggy and babs 544]

most stores around nottingham do although asda at the moment only have them on small trolleys but will have them on any new ones they buy ,some people moan that you dont always have a pound coin but you can often but trolly tokens for a pound in carity shops key ring too atttach to your house or car keys as long as you got your keys you can get a trolley and as beefy sez you got to take your trolley to trolley parks to get your pound or token back . both dave and i have tokens on our keys got them free at some event we went too minewas from a police information stall on some event we went too.

[plantfit 7,564]

Piggyand babs, I too have breathing problems, years of working and breathing in all sorts of noxious fumes, struggle to climb stairs or walk up hills for any length of time, i ride my bikes and trike but no where near as quick as I used to be and can't cycle up the hills of Derbyshire anymore which I used to love to do, I know I'm getting older like the rest of us but i still keep climbing, cycling and hill walking inspite of the discomfort, by doing that it keeps me out of one of those damn mobility contraptions, answer me this question: if these scooters are that much of a godsend why do the people who operate them look as miserable as sin, They want special this that and the other provided for them as well, parking places, wider doorways in shops,able bodied people to get off the footpath to let them through, how about special times of the day when you can use these things around the stores such as after 10.00pm and before 06.00am that way should cut out any conflict between the types of shoppers

Rog

[piggy and babs 544]

rog you obviously have not seen me when i am out and about in my hired one in skeggy and nottingham its independance not having to rely on others to do things for you. as for the rest i am not even going to bother aswering you because as you say in your own profile your favorite hobby its at the top of your list is moaning and you will allways find some way to moan about what dont suit you.

babs

[dgbrit 258]

Do you still have the blue invalid carriges the ones with one handle to steer

[plantfit 7,564]

Ah the old Harbuilt with the little two stroke engine, no longer with us as they were deemed too dangerous on the roads (prone to tipping over going round corners) confined to the history books as another one of mankinds failures as will be the mobility scooter

Rog

[littlebro 234]

The Invacar was discontinued in 1977 and have been illegal to use since 2003.

[Michael Booth 7,364]

My only experience with mobility scooters is when I paid a rare visit into Nottingham City centre a few months ago, I was walking in Smithy Row towards Clumber Street. There were plenty of people around so I was being aware of the oncoming pedestrians. Suddenly, a hooter went off behind me and when I looked back I saw a woman in an invalid scooter. She kept her hand on the hooter and, with a snarl on her face, was shouting something at me. I looked away and carried on walking. She went by me and shouted "You f*cking bas*ard" about five times. I totally ignored her and went into Clumber Street. I'm sure that she is the sort that gets the others a bad name. Like babs says, mobility scooters are invaluable to those that need them and gives them some independence and a little freedom in the lives.

[ChrisB 150]

I think there's an issue which will have to be tackled sooner or later.

So many people are riding mobility scooters on public roads, not on pavements.

They are not taxed, licenced or insured, nor do the riders need to have any training of any description.

Because some of them are quite fast, some riders think it's ok to use them on the road. It's not. it's strictly forbidden.

One old chap in Derby was killed whilst riding his scooter round the Pentagon Island which is a lethal place at any time of the day.

In my opinion they are intended for people who cannot walk, therefore they should go no faster than walking pace, for safety reasons.

Trouble is, if you criticize anything to do with the disabled, you're regarded as a social pariah.

[piggy and babs 544]

actually chrisits not illegal to take them on the rd as long as they do over 8 miles per hour are taxed wich is frree and you are insured and have a numerplate this is done when you tax them you are given a registration no and then you can go and buy a number plate. it is illegal to have a made up number plate on with your name nick name ect on though. i personaly do not think they sould be on the rd and should be limmited to 4 miles per hour the average walking speed tooin buy sts i always limmit any i ride to the halfway mark at 2 miles per houronly use the full speed when treets are empty.

as i said in previous post i dont mind if some disabled are chritasized including myself if justified but some people just lump every one together for the bad ones actions

[StephenFord 866]

I suspect there is another issue here too. Before all of the legislation, organisations like bus operators and British Rail (remember them?) used to take a bit of pride in going out of their way to look after the disabled. I know it wasn't perfect, but "making do" and working round problems has always been the British way of doing things. Then laws came in, and now, what used to be a matter of pride - because you didn't HAVE to do it, but did it anyway - became an imposition, or pain in the neck. Suddenly, everywhere has to have ramped access and disabled access loos - money and practicality no object. Well, that's just fine - but where are the astronomical funds (not to say space) coming from? - the organisation has to bear the cost. I think it is what our American friends call "an unfunded mandate."

The next time you curse the railway for the tight leg room in your second class coach, go and have a look at how much space is taken up by disabled access toilets, and you will understand the reason why. I was once told that in Sweden, where they have very low platforms, and therefore two or three steps to get into a train, it was decreed that they must fit wheelchair lifts on every train. That isn't a simple or cheap modification to make. When they had finished, another law was passed, to the effect that disabled people were entitled to free taxis. So how often are the wheelchair lifts on trains used? And who pays for this expensiveand substantially unused equipment? Well - it all comes out of the fares of the able-bodied people who DO travel by train.

[bamber 128]

National Express put disabled lifts on their coaches and they were used once in a blue moon.

Much cheaper to provide a taxi than modify buses, coaches and trains to cater for a vanishingly small market. I can't remember the last time I saw a wheelchair use NCT's kneeling bus facility.

[ChrisB 150]

National Express put disabled lifts on their coaches and they were used once in a blue moon.

Much cheaper to provide a taxi than modify buses, coaches and trains to cater for a vanishingly small market. I can't remember the last time I saw a wheelchair use NCT's kneeling bus facility.

That's because the old type hand propelled wheelchair has almost died out now. You very seldom see them used nowadays.

People have gone for mobility buggies in a big way and buses, trains too, simply can't take them on board.

I would guess that people who use buggies aren't much interested in going on a bus either.

So when the new legislation comes in, in 2015 which states that no buses can have step entrances and they must all have ramps,

it will be an obsolete requirement and will cause a lot of money to be spent unnecessarily.

[Cliff Ton 10,449]

If you want a few thrills and spills, you can buy one of these......... http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C348807

[OLDACE 196]

My wife needs assistance when we travel by train, without it, she could be knocked over by inconsiderate passengers.

Stephen, you refer to the old days when British Rail helped the disabled without the need for legistlation. When the Tories sold off our railways to the private sector, legislation was neccessary as the first priority of these companies is profit. As to your remarks re disabled access toilets, it is not the fault of the disabled that the greedy rail companies pack their customers like sardines.

.

We will be travelling by train to Notts and Skeggy for the Rockers Reunion and even with the assists provided by the rail companies, it will be a stressful journey. People who need help travelling are disabled 24 hours a day and life is always a struggle compared to able bodied folk. Anything that makes living with a disabilty a little less difficult is welcomed.

I understand that recently, the main stream media has been having a go at the disabled, not only the gutter press, but leading politicians too(Osbourne). I find this disconcerting, the disabled have enough to put up with without being harrassed and insulted in the street by ignorant Sun readers. Lets hope that this particular hate campaign is halted soon.

My wife and all the others who are too ill to work would much rather be fit and well and working.The minority that are swinging the lead should be targeted, but at the moment this government is doing what Tories always do, that is attack the unemployed, the sick, and those that are least able to defend themselves, in fact those who are in many cases, the victims of Government policy.

[piggy and babs 544]

WELL SAID OLD ACE SOME OF US WITH DISABILITIES ARE ABLE TO STAND UP AND SPEAK FOR OURSELFS BUT A LOT CARNT OR DARE NOT SO THOSE OF US THAT CAN HAVE TO DO IT FOR THEM WETHER LIKE YOU A RELITIVE OR THE DISABLED PESON THEM SELFS WE MUST DO IT FOR THOSE WHO CAN NOT. I KNOW YOU LIKE ME WILL CARRY ON AND DO IT AS LONG AS WE CANJUST BECAUSE A PERSON CAN MANAGE SHORT WALKS WITHOUT A STICK OR WALKER DOSENT MEAN THEY DO NOT NEED THEM AS YOU KNOW YOURSELF THE BUGGIE GIVES YOUR WIFE MYSELF AND MANY OTHERS A DEGREE OF INDIPENDANCE AND LIKE YOU SAY WE WOULD LOVE NOT TO BE ABLE TO USE THEM AND BE ABLE TO GET AROUND ALL THE TIME ON OUR OWN STEAM,AND BE ABLE TO GO OUT WALKING AGAIN DANCING JUST TO HAVE A NORMAL LIFE AGAIN BUT AS THREE OF MY DRS AT THE HOSTPITAL HAVE SAID FORGET IT IT WONT HAPPEN LEARN TO LIVE AND ENJOY WHAT YOU CAN DO WHILE YOU CAN

[OLDACE 196]

Babs you are right about the buggy giving disabled people a degree of independence. Right now my wife is using it to travel to the hospital to see the physiotherapist. Before the buggy I had to drive her around, before that she could drive herself, but that is no longer possible due to her weak ankles.

As an aside, I remember a biker called Mike Lacey. He had Motor Neurone Disease, but he had been a good dancer. At a bike rally in Leicestershire he was attempting to dance with the aid of two walking sticks, the inevitable happened and he fell over, he was able to struggle to his knees, he declined offers of help. He continued to jig about while on his knees, whereupon the surrounding dancers all dropped to their knees and danced with him.