I've certainly almost been hit by scooters on the pavement, annoying but not scary since I'm reasonably fit, a hit probably wouldn't cause me that much of an injury (with luck). But if you're old and fragile, that's a broken hip and 6-9 months immobile when you've not much time left, that could reasonably scare the crap out of you and make you scared to go outside. "Almost hit" has consequences too.