Mobility & Disability Products lead to Rise in Home Insurance Affordability ››
Test for Disability Scooter Drivers
Drivers of mobility scooters may have to take driving tests and buy motor insurance under new government plans. Failure to comply could also result in prosecution. The charge would be careless or dangerous driving.
The Department for Transport is responding to rising concern over the risks posed by the 330,000 mobility scooters and electric wheelchairs used in the UK. These changes would apply to vehicles, also known as invalid carriages, which are used on the pavement and on the road. Currently, police can act only if the driver is caught using a hand-held mobile phone or found to be over the drink-drive limit. Disability scooter drivers are unlicensed, so they cannot be disqualified from using their scooters on the road or pavement.
Insurance For Disability Scooter Drivers
The new law would require all disability scooter owners to have third party motor insurance. Currently, anyone injured by a mobility vehicle has no redress, neither does a motorist who is involved in a collision, even when the driver of the mobility scooter is at fault.
Disability Scooter Driver Training
Consideration is also being given to making training compulsory and also requiring owners of mobility scooters to prove that they are fit to drive them. There is also a move to make disability scooters more visible, with better lighting.
Says Christine Shaw, the chief executive of the Disabled Living Foundation. "Currently scooters can be purchased by people who have not been given any appropriate advice or training in the use of such vehicles, putting both themselves and members of the public at risk. We believe that people’s individual needs should be properly assessed to ensure they buy the right equipment that meets their requirements and are confident about how to use it."
Andrew Howard, the AA’s chief of road safety said "In rural areas and in many housing estates these vehicles often have no option but to use the public highway. The current limit is too low. If you come round to compulsory insurance, let us hope we don't end up with people who are not eligible to drive a car for medical reasons are also being denied the right to use one of these vehicles.
Disability Scooter / Invalid Vehicle Driver Testing, Insurance & Training.
Next articles ››
|
