Mobility Scooter Drivers Need To Consider Safety

Those driving mobility scooters need to make sure they obey the rules of the road and think about their own safety, as well as the safety of drivers and pedestrians.

This is according to Cumbria Police, who have called for both mobility scooter users and motorists to look out for one another after a growing number of incidents involving mobility scooters in recent years.

Reporting on figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request, the Times and Star revealed that mobility scooters have been involved in 347 incidents in the past five years. These include collisions with other vehicles, accidents involving pedestrians and theft of mobility scooters.

Speaking to the newspaper, a spokesperson for the force said that they want drivers and mobility scooter users to look out for one another.

“We ask that mobility scooter users give way to pedestrians when riding on pavements and that they obey traffic lights and all other road signs,” the spokesperson commented.

They also recommended that mobility scooter users invest in hivis clothing and to make sure they wear it at night to “help keep you and other road users safe”. Putting reflective strips on the scooter can also be a good idea.

A report compiled by Rica in 2014 stressed the importance of collecting better data about the size of the UK’s mobility scooter market, noting that sales growth of these vehicles stood at between five and ten per cent per year.

The study also highlighted the rise in the number of people buying mobility scooters online, pointing out that such sales don’t allow the user to have the “necessary user assessment and training that all stakeholders recommend”.