Are all the so-called mobility scooters really needed

It depicted a world in which humans were being programmed, and increasingly dependant of machines as the years went by.

It contained the line, "In the year 5555, your arms hangin' limp at your sides, your legs got nothin' to do, some machine's doin' that for you."

Many years later the animated movie Wall-E depicted a similar fate for humanity, with a population living 700 years in a space ship after fleeing an overly-polluted earth.

Over succeeding generations they become increasingly obese, losing muscle and bone mass and the ability to walk as they depend on machines for everything.

But I wonder if these dystopian views are set way too far into the future - given the increasing number of people zooming around on scooters.

Now, these are technically called mobility scooters, and I know there are lots of people who rely on them because they have limited mobility.

But recently I watched as a man rode a scooter across a busy intersection, only to see it break down half-way across.

In response the man got off the seat, and pushed this heavy piece of equipment the rest of the way across the road.

All the while I'm thinking that if he is capable of pushing a conked out scooter across a wide road, then he probably doesn't need to be riding one.

I'm certain there are many scooter riders battling serious medical and health issues, but given the science on the health benefits of gentle exercise like walking, perhaps it is time for a rethink on who is allowed to ride scooters on our thoroughfares and through our shopping centres.

But that's the thing - at the moment there are no restrictions, so the lazy can plonk themselves into mobility scooters beside the people with genuine needs.

And the people who don't seem to need them cast a long and dark shadow over those who genuinely do.

Or maybe they are just keen to be ahead of the crowd, desperate to herald the age when laziness and inertia are the accepted lifestyle choices of the masses.