Campaigners calling for updates to the legislation governing mobility scooters, and better training for drivers have presented members of the Commons Transport Committee with a list of people killed or injured in scooter incidents. Norfolk Police explained that, under current laws, drivers of mobility scooters do not take a test and cannot be prosecuted, while Disability Essex told the committee that there was an extensive list of fatal or dangerous incidents involving drivers.
Supt Jim Smerdon from Norfolk Police said: ‘If a person is drunk in charge of a mobility scooter we use an act from 1872 I believe, “drunk in charge of a carriage,” which needs to be updated.’ Richard Boyd from Disability Essex told the committee: ‘One lady in Chelmsford fell off her scooter and was killed by it.’ He added: ‘Another lady in Clacton was taking her dog for a walk on the sea front, the dog pulled the scooter over and it fell on her and killed her. In Wickford, a blind gentleman drove across the road and was hit by a bus, and so it goes on.’
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