Skip to main content

Need for speed

Two British men have set a new world land speed record for a mobility scooter. During timed runs to meet with official requirements, the heavily modified mobility scooter proved capable of hitting a speed of 172km/h. This tops the previous mobility scooter speed record of 131km/h by some margin. The mobility scooter is however not suitable for road use, despite having working lights and indicators, as it does not possess front brakes. Power comes from a 600cc Suzuki motorcycle engine that has been squeezed
January 14, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
RSSTwo British men have set a new world land speed record for a mobility scooter. During timed runs to meet with official requirements, the heavily modified mobility scooter proved capable of hitting a speed of 172km/h. This tops the previous mobility scooter speed record of 131km/h by some margin. The mobility scooter is however not suitable for road use, despite having working lights and indicators, as it does not possess front brakes. Power comes from a 600cc Suzuki motorcycle engine that has been squeezed into the strengthened go-kart chassis upon which the mobility scooter has been constructed.

Two car occupants in China had a narrow escape when a mixer truck toppled onto their car, crushing it in the process. Despite the car being flattened in the incident, the woman driver and her younger male relative managed to escape relatively unscathed with only minor injuries. Passersby first tried to lever the mixer truck off the crushed car using a tree trunk. When this failed a passing crane was stopped and brought in to tackle the tricky task. After being rescued from the car the occupants were taken to hospital, but medical checks showed that they had escaped serious injury.

Related Content

  • Crane collapse on US bridge project
    July 20, 2016
    A crane collapsed over the Tappan Zee Bridge in the US on July 19th. Construction work is being carried out on the bridge. The structure is located in Tarrytown, New York State and the bridge is around 40km north of central Manhattan, spanning the Hudson River at one of its widest points. The crane was being used for the construction work and collapsed right across the roadway and in front of vehicles using the crossing. A number of vehicles were damaged in the incident and local news reports suggest up to
  • Micro-mobility transport solutions under development
    July 24, 2012
    A new report by research specialist Frost & Sullivan suggests that major vehicle producers are working on micro-mobility solutions. The development of these micro-mobility options is being carried out in parallel with that of more conventional four-wheeled vehicles. In all, the report suggests that 25 of the major vehicle manufacturers are working on a total of 150 micro-mobility projects aimed for launch by 2020. These international vehicle firms believe that micro-mobility solutions will suit commuter use
  • Tough on two wheels
    February 23, 2012
    Motorcyclists in Scotland have faced a tough time in recent months. One biker had the misfortune to collide with a sheep that had wandered into the road and in the resulting impact, broke his hip socket, pelvis and collarbone as well as cracking seven ribs and suffering a collapsed lung. His Honda motorcycle burst into flames and melted the surface of the road, leaving a bubbly texture. After five weeks in hospital the man returned home to find a letter from Aberdeenshire council containing an invoice for t
  • Questions over effect of tough sentences for driving offenders
    June 17, 2014
    A UK academic claims that research shows higher prison sentences are unlikely to deter death by driving offences. University of Leicester professor Sally Kyd Cunningham suggests new laws from the UK Government could fail as a deterrent to crimes committed while driving. In the wake of the Government’s recent announcement of a comprehensive review of driving offences and penalties, an academic from the University of Leicester has argued that higher prison sentences could fail to act as a deterrent against de