A senior West Yorkshire coroner has raised concerns about the potential dangers of mobility scooters following the death of a great-grandmother in a crash.

An inquest into the death of Angela Carney, 65, was held last week. She died after her mobility scooter collided with a pick-up truck on Westgate, in Cleckheaton, on 26 September 2023, resulting in her suffering serious injuries to which she later succumbed.

Senior Bradford Coroner Martin Fleming has sent a Prevention of Future Deaths Report to the Department for Transport and Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

The inquest was told that on that afternoon, Angela Carney left her home address on a 2005 model, four-wheel, single-seater mobility scooter.

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After moving out of her front garden and onto the footpath on Westcliffe Road she activated the free-wheel mode via a lever near the rear wheel.

The coroner noted that “contrary to the instruction manual” she did not take the scooter off the free wheel drive by engaging the engine with her ignition key. As a consequence, she was unable to stop the scooter because the brakes could only be activated by engine engagement.

This resulted in the scooter proceeding down the footpath at speed and prevented her from braking or taking evasive action and led her directly into the path of a Nissan Navara pickup.

At the inquest, it was noted that Angela Carney had purchased the mobility scooter second-hand from a neighbour and it was not manufactured with a secondary (independent) braking mechanism.

In his report Martin Fleming outlined his concerns that mobility scooters without a braking system independent of the engine were continuing to be produced and sold second-hand.

He stated: “The scooter was found to be roadworthy and without any defects to have contributed to the collision and if the instruction manual had been followed, the scooter could have been used safely.

“That said I was concerned to find that there was no fail-safe braking mechanism on the scooter to enable an emergency stop to take place in the event of the inadvertence of the rider.”

He went on to state: “Although it is my understanding that more recently designed and manufactured mobility scooters are manufactured with a secondary braking system by way of a fitted hand brake mechanism, I am concerned that other manufacturers may be producing scooters without such an independent braking mechanism.

“I also have a concern that there may be many other older second-hand models on the second-hand market that are being used, which all combined has worrying safety implications for the riders and members of the public.”

The coroner has asked the Department for Transport and Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to review the adequacy of the existing guidelines and regulations and to consider the appropriateness of fitting secondary braking systems by way of a fitted hand brake mechanism to all mobility scooters. The Department for Transport and MHRA must respond to his report by March 7.

In other news, campaigners have been calling for the urgent addition of mobility scooter users to the Highway Code alongside other vulnerable road users, following alarming Department for Transport data showing that fatalities among mobility scooter users in 2023 nearly doubled compared to the previous year.

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https://thiis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Ageing-Better-man-on-mobility-scooter-900x603-1.jpghttps://thiis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Ageing-Better-man-on-mobility-scooter-900x603-1-150x150.jpgLiane McIvorNewsroomSupplier NewsTrade Newscoroner,death,Department of Transport,MHRA,mobility scooterA senior West Yorkshire coroner has raised concerns about the potential dangers of mobility scooters following the death of a great-grandmother in a crash. An inquest into the death of Angela Carney, 65, was held last week. She died after her mobility scooter collided with a pick-up truck on Westgate,...News, views & products for mobility, access and independent living professionals