Mobility scooters need more regulation to combat record levels of deaths

A coroner has warned that the government should consider measures to combat a record number of deaths involving mobility scooters.

Figures from the Department for Transport show that a staggering 16 people were killed in collisions involving mobility scooters last year, with 90 people being left with serious injuries as a result of accidents.

Minor injuries were also sustained by 222 people in the same time period.

The warning comes from Samantha Marsh, the senior coroner for Somerset, who made the remarks in the inquest of Natalie Young who died five weeks after being hit by a scooter in Morrisons in 2022.

Ms March called on the Transport Secretary to consider introducing measures similar to those required to drive a car, warning that a complete lack of regulation could lead to a continued rise in deaths.

She said: “Mobility scooters can reach a fast enough speed to pose a significant risk to the entire community and population but specifically, small children, pregnant mothers and the elderly who are all particularly vulnerable to being impacted at speed by a blunt-force object and dying as a result of the injuries they sustain.

“I am concerned that the lack of regulation around mobility scooters will continue to result in further deaths, especially when there continues to be no regulation around those who are deemed fit to operate and use them.”

In total, there were 328 injuries from mobility scooter accidents in 2023, more than double than a decade before where only 156 were recorded leading to five deaths.

London had the highest number of collisions with 104 in the past five years, with the West Midlands and Nottingham the second and third most dangerous with 76 and 75 deaths respectively.

Another fatal collision involved Mark Jackson, a double amputee whose scooter was involved in a collision with a car earlier this year.

The 61-year-old collided with a red Ford fusion in Grantham and died the next day.

There are believed to be over 300,000 mobility scooter users in the UK, with no license or lesson being required to operate one.

Motor vehicle drivers over 70 however must renew their driving licences every three years, complete a medical declaration form and pass an eye test.

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “To ensure mobility scooter users remain safe, we have provided funding for a training scheme to educate users.”