Man, 95, filmed riding mobility scooter on busy Sydney roads

A 95-year-old man has been filmed pottering along down the middle of busy Sydney roads on his mobility scooter, which can’t exceed 10 km/h.

A 95-year-old man has been filmed taking a leisurely drive down the middle of Sydney’s busy roads on his mobility scooter.

Dashcam footage provided to 7News shows the man weaving through the city streets in Arncliffe, in the city’s south, as cars swerve around him.

A man in the car following behind the elderly rider can be heard in the video becomingly increasingly concerned as the dangerous driving approaches a busy – and sometimes deadly – six-lane highway.

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Massive trucks pass on either side. Picture: 7News

“We’re about to go over the Princes Highway, we’re about to go over the Princes Highway,” he tells emergency services over the phone.

“We’re just, kind of, holding up the traffic and I tried to say: ‘Mate, can you get onto the other side of the road, like get onto the footpath?’

“But he doesn’t want to, he wants to be in the middle of the road.”

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The man is 95. Picture: 7News

The man calling emergency services tells them about the dangerous right turn. Picture: 7News

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At one point, he tells the operator “you might want to call an ambulance, if he tries to go right” as he waits to see whether the rider turns across traffic.

The man covered a number of kilometres including multi-lane West Botany St, Wardell St and a dead end before coming back to the highway and eventually turning the scooter onto a path.

In a statement to news.com.au, NSW Police said officers were called to Arncliffe about 1.15pm last Wednesday, December 9 where they spoke to the 95-year-old male scooter rider.

“The man was lost, and police made arrangements for him to be returned to his Earlwood home via taxi,” police said.

He reportedly told the driver he wanted to be in the middle of the road. Picture: 7News

According to Transport for NSW, mobility scooters or “gophers” are classified as motorised wheelchairs and do not require registration or a licence.

“A motorised wheelchair user is generally considered to be a pedestrian, and must comply with the NSW Road Rules that apply to pedestrians,” the department states.

Police said the man was lost. Picture: 7News

Motorised wheelchairs cannot exceed 10 km/h and riders must obey pedestrian road rules including “not causing a traffic hazard by moving into the path of a driver” and “not unreasonably obstruct the path of another driver or pedestrian.

Last year, a 92-year-old man was filmed driving along the Monash Freeway in Melbourne.

But that rider seemed very aware of his situation, telling concerned motorists: “Get f***ed!”.

Originally published as Man, 95, filmed riding mobility scooter on busy Sydney roads