Wayland Van Hildyck-Smith, of Forde Park, Newton Abbot, writes:

How many of us have shaken a fist or uttered a stream of verbal abuse under our breath at that band of gregarious granny/grandpas who charge up and down Courtenay Street, sometimes three abreast, run over your toes or collide with the stalls in the market on their mobility scooters?

STOP. Consider the other side of the coin.

A motorist of many years suddenly has a medical problem revoking or banning them from ever driving a car again and cancelling their licence to do so. This is like cutting off their legs, as they can no longer jump in the car to fetch the paper, the forgotten bottle of milk, visits to meet friends in nearby towns, and the reality of never doing a bulk shop.

This must be the greatest hit-below-the-belt any motorist could receive. Life can become very tedious. Of course if they can afford it they could take a taxi but won’t be able to walk from shop to shop. Buses are no help either and, as many of their contemporaries have passed away, very few visitors call and, if they live alone, there is no help to hand to eke out the boring days.

Last year I had three toes run over and broken by a runaway scooter outside Asda. It was obvious that the elderly gentleman who had never driven could not tell left from right and was not safe as they do require quite a bit of quick thinking as the controls react very fast.

I really think the so-called ‘assessors’ who give scooter purchasers basic instructions should provide more before pronouncing them ‘safe’ to negotiate the pavements.

There is of course the problem of the larger scooters which are, by law, taxed etc for road use. Having a number plate means being allowed to drive on any two-way road, track etc (but not motorways).

They are faster and formidable and do take up much more pavement space, however, do not think because it is registered for road use, and you have a blue badge and parking permit that you are given the same rights to park as the motorists... you are not, and it is a very complex reasoning, when asking a traffic enforcement officer they do not know as of course, you cannot display your blue badge on a scooter, it would never be there when you get back.

The DVLA do not know and, one council said they had never been asked that question before. Ask County Hall if you want to get the definitive answer.

So, think twice before your temper runs out as they block the aisle in the supermarkets, as next time, it might be you on the scooter.