Pedestrians and parents who have been hit or barged off of the pavement by mobility scooters can take heart from a new series of reforms by the Department of Transport regulating their use.<\/p>\n
New proposals will aim to make sure disabled people will be able to carry on enhancing their daily life through use of the scooters whilst protecting those around them.<\/p>\n
Transport Minister Sadiq Khan said the mobility scooters were a ‘vital lifeline’ for those who relied on them but needed to make sure people were able to use them safely.<\/p>\n
He said: “Evidence suggests that over the last few years there has been a steady increase in the number of mobility vehicles and, with an ageing population, this trend is likely to increase.<\/p>\n
“On top of this, the technology for the vehicles themselves is becoming increasingly sophisticated. It is only right then that legislation is brought up to date to reflect these advancements.\u201d<\/p>\n
A consultation will be taking place for the next three months looking at ways safety of the scooters can be improved.<\/p>\n
This will include a maximum scooter weight, users being insured and set speeds they can travel at.<\/p>\n
Bristol mother, Alex Reece said: \u201cWhilst I understand how important it is for people to have these vehicles, what I don’t understand is why they are allowed to run people over and drive at speed down the pavement. They are supposed to help people walk, not sprint. There have been cases in the city where people driving them have hit children badly and driven off. It’s high time they were regulated.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pedestrians and parents who have been hit or barged off of the pavement by mobility scooters can take heart from<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bristol-news"],"yoast_head":"\n