The House of Commons Transport Committee is looking for more data on the use of scooters to be collected. Following a spate of recent accidents from uninsured users. It is estimated that there are a quater of a million  people using mobility scooters in the UK.

Tim Muffett on the BBC news reported that “Mobility scooters are a Godsend for some and a potential menace for others. Mobilty scooters can create freedom and independence as well as cause accidents.Now the controls on a scooter are fairly steaighforward to use, but some scooters can travel at up to 8mph on the roads and pavements, and to use one you don’t need any training you don’t need any tests and you don’t need to be insured. ”

Disablity Essex is a charity that runs training courses to improve scooter skills. Richard Boyd Chief Exec of Disability Essex “It’s a free for all, anybody can sell them, anybody can buy them, anybody can drive them, nobody checks that they are insured.”

Most mobilty scooter users don’t have accidents, but if they do they can be serious, even fatal. Suprisingly, perhaps there is no official data to the number of mobility scooter accidents or even the number of scooteers in use. This charity believes around 200000 have now been ridden in the UK. Todays report by the House of Commons Transport Committee, urges clarification on this. It also says that the Dept of Transport should spell out who is fit enough to drive a scooter in the first place.

Stuart Kirk, Chief Tutor of Disability Essex. ” A lot of people think there is only 1 speed control, and therefore put it on maximum, even when they are in the middle of a store -and cause total mayhem. Even when they are going backwards!”

The prospect of local schemes like this being rolled out on a national basis should also be considered according to the Transport Committee. For whatever reason some seem to find it hard to take mobility scooters seriously. However  the Transport Committee report says that this needs to change.

This is a transcript of Tim Muffets report for the BBC.