Sainsbury's bans grandfather from entering EVERY one of their shops in Britain

ChocolateCheese · 22/03/15 - 18:16

Sainsbury's bans grandfather from entering EVERY one of their shops in Britain after he bumped into shopper on his mobility scooter!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3006496/Sainsburys-bans-grandfather-entering-store-Britain-accidentally-bumped-shopper-mobility-scooter.html

If it were me, I'd be well pissed off since Sainsburys is the nearest supermarket to me.

Nilrem · 22/03/15 - 19:04

I'm going to hazard a guess that there is a lot more to it than the simple headline, even the body of the article mentions that he also hit a customer service desk "in his panic" after the initial hit.
So that's two impacts in the space of a few minutes.

I suspect it's not the first time he'd done it and had been warned in the past.

It does take quite some effort in a mobility scooter to hit someone hard enough they have to be taken to hospital to make sure they're ok, as most will stop very very fast after you take your finger off the power lever, and if you're going around a busy shop you should have the speed restriction dial set to low anyway.
Pretty much all scooters have a speed dial that sets the maximum speed the hand control can go up to - you set the dial to half way and even with the hand control pushed all the way the scooter will only reach half it's maximum speed.

SeasideLady · 22/03/15 - 20:21

If he can't drive it competently then fair enough. A family member should go along with him when he goes shopping, or better still offer to do it for him.

Maxatoria · 22/03/15 - 20:28

The stores brand new and has plenty of room especially around the **** counter, and if he's come from chesterton to newcastle on it then he's got to be a brave person taking on the A34 with all those nutters unless finally first buses are actually using a bus built after 2009 in this area which i doubt as its where buses go to die

Billy_Value · 22/03/15 - 20:30

he's not rubbing his genitals on the fruit is he RATHER OTT IMO

Toby LaRhone · 22/03/15 - 20:44

Sainsburys
"this decision was reached after reviewing CCTV footage and other reports"

Classic "there's more to this than meets the eye" scenario.
I suspect scooter rage.

tealady · 22/03/15 - 20:51

ChocolateCheese wrote: »

If it were me, I'd be well pissed off since Sainsburys is the nearest supermarket to me.

Have a think about how much a scooter and person weighs and how much force/momentum is involved and whether you would like to be in the receiving end.
There is at least one FM here I know who has one, perhaps you could volunteer to be run over and report back?

idlewilde · 22/03/15 - 20:54

Some of the comments on that Mail article are great. I like

C U Jimmy, Aberdeen, United Kingdom

Perhaps if he didn't buy cigarettes he wouldn't need a mobility vehicle to get around. These things are a menace (cigarettes AND mobility scooters)

:D

Hank1234 · 22/03/15 - 20:58

Like every security guard in every Sainsbury's will know his face

Dangermoose · 22/03/15 - 20:59

tealady wrote: »

Have a think about how much a scooter and person weighs and how much force/momentum is involved and whether you would like to be in the receiving end.
There is at least one FM here I know who has one, perhaps you could volunteer to be run over and report back?

I have one, I'd be happy to oblige. If able legged people didn't clutter the place up and WATCH WHERE THEY'RE GOING, they wouldn't get run over :cool:

tealady · 22/03/15 - 21:01

Dangermoose wrote: »

I have one, I'd be happy to oblige. If able legged people didn't clutter the place up and WATCH WHERE THEY'RE GOING, they wouldn't get run over :cool:

My colleague was reversed on in M&S and the person claimed "I don't know how to stop".

Ted C · 22/03/15 - 21:09

tealady wrote: »

My colleague was reversed on in M&S and the person claimed "I don't know how to stop".

There is surely something inherently dangerous in having an elderly, infirm person driving one of these, especially in public areas.

Frankly, such persons eyesight, hearing and reasoning faculties are not likely to be 100%/

I have been hit by them a few times, and indeed last year had an altercation with a guy who tried to push in front of me in a queue, accuse me of queue jumping and then swear at me.

QT 3.14 · 22/03/15 - 21:10

Maxatoria wrote: »

The stores brand new and has plenty of room especially around the **** counter, and if he's come from chesterton to newcastle on it then he's got to be a brave person taking on the A34 with all those nutters unless finally first buses are actually using a bus built after 2009 in this area which i doubt as its where buses go to die

I used to walk along the A34 (Liverpool Rd.) from Newcastle to Chesterton to get to work. I swear that as soon as you passed Milehouse Roundabout the road in front stretched out like the corridor in one of those nightmares.

skp20040 · 22/03/15 - 21:12

If this was a one off it seems a bit harsh, the "other reports" does not really clarify much , was it eye witnesses that day or other occasions ? To ban someone countrywide I would expect a more detailed explanation by the company.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11487659/Pensioner-who-struck-shopper-with-mobility-scooter-banned-from-stores.html

We have a complete menace in our area on a mobility scooter, I assume he has had some kind of stroke or similar as he leans very visibly to one side as he drives, so obviously needs that form of transport , but his scooter is virtually silent and he drives at full throttle so he just appears behind you suddenly sounding his hooter and people dive for safety like skittles.

noise747 · 22/03/15 - 21:39

ChocolateCheese wrote: »

Sainsbury's bans grandfather from entering EVERY one of their shops in Britain after he bumped into shopper on his mobility scooter!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3006496/Sainsburys-bans-grandfather-entering-store-Britain-accidentally-bumped-shopper-mobility-scooter.html

If it were me, I'd be well pissed off since Sainsburys is the nearest supermarket to me.

We banned one from our store because he just did not care about other customers and rode around the store like a mad man, eventually breaking the arm of a old woman.

Toby LaRhone · 22/03/15 - 22:13

Hank1234 wrote: »

Like every security guard in every Sainsbury's will know his face

You've not heard of the "Sainsburys Most Wanted" list?
The securit guy on the door has it behind his podium.

solarflare · 22/03/15 - 22:49

Ted Cunterblast wrote: »

There is surely something inherently dangerous in having an elderly, infirm person driving one of these, especially in public areas.

Including on busy roads, which just seems...madness.

vierte · 22/03/15 - 22:51

Some people can be lethal on these things, I've had my ankles hacked at a fair few times. There is one old man who I notice at night driving along the side of the road on his scooter with no lights and just pulling straight out of junctions without looking, he's dressed in dark clothes and you can't notice him until you're really close most of the time it's like he has a death wish.

[Deleted User] · 22/03/15 - 23:08

We get several of these in the road holding up all the traffic. There was an death a few years ago where some old duffer in his chariot fell off the kerb and got hit by a car.

blueblade · 22/03/15 - 23:10

ChocolateCheese wrote: »

Sainsbury's bans grandfather from entering EVERY one of their shops in Britain after he bumped into shopper on his mobility scooter!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3006496/Sainsburys-bans-grandfather-entering-store-Britain-accidentally-bumped-shopper-mobility-scooter.html

If it were me, I'd be well pissed off since Sainsburys is the nearest supermarket to me.

Good - I get pissed off with mobility scooter drivers who feel they have the right to drive straight at you as though you're not there.

ChocolateCheese · 22/03/15 - 23:11

noise747 wrote: »

We banned one from our store because he just did not care about other customers and rode around the store like a mad man, eventually breaking the arm of a old woman.

Did the store try tactics to stop the case going to court such as offering the broken arm victim vouchers?

exlordlucan · 22/03/15 - 23:15

Looking at the custom black shopping basket on the front of his scooter plus the low profile tyres and alloys I'd say he was an old boy racer - the worst kind.

ChocolateCheese · 22/03/15 - 23:20

exlordlucan wrote: »

Looking at the custom black shopping basket on the front of his scooter plus the low profile tyres and alloys I'd say he was an old boy racer - the worst kind.

And I hope on that basis he gets banned from every other supermarket too, especially Waitrose for everyone's sake.

treefr0g · 23/03/15 - 00:04

I work in Maidenhead where mobility scooters are the transport of choice.

I once saw a poor woman pinned to a freezer in Sainsburys by an ignorant mobility scooter driver reversing with absolutely no regard for what may be behind her.

The poor woman was terrified. You assume that you're fairly safe from being hit by vehicles in Sainsburys but that is no longer the case.

Iqoniq · 23/03/15 - 00:33

treefr0g wrote: »

I once saw a poor woman pinned to a freezer in Sainsburys by an ignorant mobility scooter driver reversing with absolutely no regard for what may be behind her.

I think Sainsburys and Morrisons are a mecca for codgecars. I rarely see them in Tescos or Asda, but Sainsburys and Morrisons are nightmares for them. A few months back I was in the deli counter and some old duffer ran into me full pelt, severely bruising and twisting my ankle (which required me to go to hospital and I had to pay for my housemate to get a taxi to come and pick the car up as I couldn't drive back). The driver initially laughed at me, but needless to say when she realised I was actually injured she buggered off pretty sharpish, probably scared of the resulting legal I action I would have taken. I've also had one of my cars dented and scratched a few years ago when a codgecar was driven into it. I ended up having to pay for the dent to be knocked out and the new paintjob on the door myself.

The problem is the fact that they weigh a fair bit due to the battery and motor, and while they do stop pretty quick they can't really stop dead due to the fact the driver could be catapulted over the handbars. Add to that reaction times of the drivers aren't usually their best and they're accidents waiting to happen. They may only move at a top speed of 8mph, but they weigh around 70Kgs (roughly about the same weight as an adult) so 140Kgs+ htting you at that speed is going to do damage.

There should be safety tests on these machines (similar to an MOT), there should be a proficiency test done (like CBT for bikes), and more importantly they should be forced to have some sort of insurance for the damage they could do.

treefr0g · 23/03/15 - 00:45

Iqoniq wrote: »

I think Sainsburys and Morrisons are a mecca for codgecars. I rarely see them in Tescos or Asda, but Sainsburys and Morrisons are nightmares for them. A few months back I was in the deli counter and some old duffer ran into me full pelt, severely bruising and twisting my ankle (which required me to go to hospital and I had to pay for my housemate to get a taxi to come and pick the car up as I couldn't drive back). The driver initially laughed at me, but needless to say when she realised I was actually injured she buggered off pretty sharpish, probably scared of the resulting legal I action I would have taken. I've also had one of my cars dented and scratched a few years ago when a codgecar was driven into it. I ended up having to pay for the dent to be knocked out and the new paintjob on the door myself.

The problem is the fact that they weigh a fair bit due to the battery and motor, and while they do stop pretty quick they can't really stop dead due to the fact the driver could be catapulted over the handbars. Add to that reaction times of the drivers aren't usually their best and they're accidents waiting to happen. They may only move at a top speed of 8mph, but they weigh around 70Kgs (roughly about the same weight as an adult) so 140Kgs+ htting you at that speed is going to do damage.

There should be safety tests on these machines (similar to an MOT), there should be a proficiency test done (like CBT for bikes), and more importantly they should be forced to have some sort of insurance for the damage they could do.

These things seem to be exempt when it comes to health and safety.

Proximity sensors that cut out the motor should be compulsory.

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Sainsbury's bans grandfather from entering EVERY one of their shops in Britain

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