Battery Power

In the UK mobility scooter sales are soaring, with overcrowding and traffic jams becoming a problem in certain areas. The battery powered scooters are supposed to be driven solely by the disabled, however a new breed of tarmac terror has appeared in the shape of the severely lazy. Questions are being asked in the corridors of power as to why comparatively young and healthy people are now using mobility scooters. Many owners are aged or disabled but there are growing numbers of users who are not. This is pro
August 10, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
In the UK mobility scooter sales are soaring, with overcrowding and traffic jams becoming a problem in certain areas. The battery powered scooters are supposed to be driven solely by the disabled, however a new breed of tarmac terror has appeared in the shape of the severely lazy. Questions are being asked in the corridors of power as to why comparatively young and healthy people are now using mobility scooters.

Many owners are aged or disabled but there are growing numbers of users who are not. This is prompting calls for proper legislation. Top speeds vary from 6.4-12.8km/h, while the scooters are capable of transporting people weighing up to 133kg, but there is no requirement for a licence, insurance or roadworthiness checks and nor are users subject to alcohol tests. As mobility scooters do not have to be registered, accurate numbers are hard to determine but the UK is now thought to have more mobility scooters than any other European nation. According to the UK’s 5432 Department for Transport, there may be 250,000-300,000 mobility scooters in use across the UK, compared with just 70,000 five years ago. And a mobility scooter powered by a supercharged petrol engine was seized by officials in South Yorkshire. The vehicle had been ridden at speeds of up to 100km/h before the 24-year-old rider of the machine was stopped.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Siemens London congestion charge technology behind 20% traffic fall in 10 years
    February 18, 2013
    Siemens claims the use of its technology to enforce London’s congestion charge has been critical to achieving a 20% reduction in traffic and traffic jams being cut by a third in the first 10 years of the charge being in operation. The number of vehicles being driven in London each day is now said by the company to be down by 60,000 compared to 2003. A Siemens spokesperson said: “London's congestion charge is a successful model, showing how chronically congested urban areas can get traffic moving again. Traf
    Read More
  • Insults at the wheel
    December 18, 2017
    Insults at the A British pensioner was recently involved in an unusual incident when trundling his mobility scooter down the middle of a busy road. The driver of a vehicle wishing to overtake was unable to do so safely at first and when he remonstrated with the pensioner, was given a rude gesture and a string of insults in return. The incident was captured on the driver’s dashcam device and it appeared that the pensioner was extremely drunk at the time. Meanwhile young horse riders were the target of a
    Read More
  • Improve highway barriers to cope with higher speed
    February 24, 2012
    The UK association Britpave, the British In-situ Concrete Paving Association group, is keen to ensure that the country’s major highways will be able to cope with proposed speed limit increases. According to Britpave much of the UK motorway central reservation barriers may not be fit-for-purpose if the speed limit is increased from112-128km/h (70-80mph) as proposed recently.
    Read More
  • Speed awareness programme reduces repeat offending
    February 27, 2012
    The satellite navigation leads me along a series of minor roads until it chirps, "You have arrived at your destination." And there is the sports centre I've been looking for, so I indicate, turn into the entrance and squeeze my car into the last narrow parking space available. I'm here to attend an innovative road safety programme being carried out in the UK on speed awareness. Drivers caught just over the speed limit have the option of points on their license, and subsequent increases in insurance costs, o
    Read More

Highlighted Content