MOBILITY scooters and gofer safety was one of the main talking points when the National Roads and Motorists' Association (NRMA) hosted a Fit to Drive forum held at the Dubbo RSL on Thursday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
More than 250 people, the majority aged over 65, attended the forum to listen and question the discussion panel of NRMA Western NSW Director Fiona Simson, Dubbo City Council's Road Safety Officer Jayne Bleechmore, Dubbo Neighbourhood Centre's Executive Officer Debbie Todkill and Dubbo City Council Traffic Engineer Dennis Valentine.
A range of issues with regards to mobility scooters and gofers was raised by several people in attendance, and Ms Simson acknowledged there were many things to consider for both the users, road users and pedestrians.
"We covered off on several things such as training for users and should people be required to do a course or have a licence to operate one," she said.
"We had examples of where people are driving them and they don't require one, and we've also heard of people operating them and being unable to control them which is very serious.
"People need to be made more aware of the rules and there is a need for more education when it comes to that.
"It was a big topic of discussion."
Other areas the discussion panel crossed off on included the size of parking spaces around the city, mainly being too small for modern vehicles, disabled car parking, the need for testing people to drive with a caravan and the testing of drivers once they get to 85 years old. The NRMA Fit to Drive forum was the 12th of 22 scheduled throughout NSW that started on August 4 and finish on September 18.
