The House of Commons Transport Committee said that a review of mobility scooters in 2005 has been forgotten about and urges for better figures on the use of scooters in the United Kingdom.

MP’s are wanting rules on mobility scooters to be clarified and are suggesting a driving test for users. This follows recent news of accidents involving the scooters.

The majority of mobility scooter users drive with due care and attention. It is just a few people who do not consider other people when driving their scooter.  As of 2010 there is no compulsory assessment or ‘driving test’ to see if someone is fit to drive a mobility scooter. It is estimated that there are over a quater of a million mobility scooters in use in the UK. Whilst some can travel at up to 8mph (12.8km/h) and weigh up to 150kg. Other scooters are lightweight, portable and are designed for indoor use or driving along the pavement. These mobility scooters do not go faster than 4mph.

Kevin Clinton from Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) said “Given that it is difficult to predict what other forms of mobility scooter or EPVs will be invented in the future, we also believe that if they do grow in popularity it may be necessary to develop some basic construction and use requirements. However, at the moment we are not convinced that there is enough evidence about the likely popularity and benefits of mobility scooter or EPVs to justify the cost of creating such a regulatory system for them.”

So in please read The Highway code for mobility scooters before using a mobility scooter and remember that safety always comes first.