Senator John Williams calls for review of mobility scooter rules

She had not see or hear the vehicle that was travelling close to the front walls of the shopfronts and she fell very heavily.

Her husband Senator John Williams said Nancy became airborne after being struck and luckily did not land on her head, otherwise he would have been preparing for her funeral.

“She landed on her hip and shattered it. She’s now had to have a total hip replacement because of it,” he said.

“She was screaming in pain and I had tears in my eyes.”

Nancy was initially taken to Tamworth Regional Hospital where she underwent the operation and is now recovering in Tamara Private Hospital.

Senator Williams said he had no intention of trying to ban scooters, but he said he had approached the Gwydir Shire Council about possibly painting a line down the footpaths when travelling they are away from the shopfronts and closer to the Kerb.

“We have all sorts of rules to keep people safe on the roads, so I think it’s time we kept people safe on the footpath,” he said.

Senior Constable Heath Roberts said mobility scooters are legally allowed to travel on footpaths and people riding them were classified as pedestrians.

“But they shouldn’t be driven up close to the walls of businesses,” he said.

“And you still have to give way to pedestrians, even though you are a pedestrian.”

NSW Transport rules focus heavily rider safety, but do stipulate scooters should not have the capacity, or be driven at more than 10km/hr. 

Scooters may not unreasonably obstruct the path of a pedestrian and riders must be able to spot obstacles and avoid collisions, judge speeds and distances and make good judgements to protect the safety of others.

They are some of the rules Senator Williams wants a conversation held around for the sake of better safety.