Surewise raises awareness of the increased risks on the road facing mobility scooter users
As more people rely on mobility scooters for independence, risks on the road have grown but have not been matched by targeted safety measures, according to data released by insurance intermediary Surewise.
As part of its Safer Mobility campaign, Surewise has pointed to latest Department for Transport (DfT) road casualty data which shows that 12 people were killed and 323 people were injured in collisions involving mobility scooters in 2024. The casualties included mobility scooter riders, pedestrians, cyclists, car drivers and passengers involved in the crashes.
This represents one of the highest annual totals on record, with 335 people killed or injured in incidents involving mobility scooters. Of these, 277 were mobility scooter users, highlighting the disproportionate risks faced by this vulnerable group.
Analysis of longer-term trends also shows a significant rise in mobility scooter casualties since the Covid-19 pandemic. The average number of people killed or seriously injured increased from 76 per year before the pandemic to 104 afterwards – a rise of 37 per cent. Overall casualties rose from an average of 269 per year to 334, representing a 24 per cent increase.
Analysis of the DfT data shows the South East had the highest number of total casualties in 2024 (53), followed by the East Midlands (46) and Yorkshire and the Humber (39).
In the 10 years from 2015 to 2024, the data also shows that 86 per cent of mobility scooter casualties took place in urban environments. Mobility scooters were usually (72 per cent) in the main carriageway when involved in a collision, with almost half, or 47 per cent, occurring at or near a junction.
The South East saw more mobility scooter road casualties than any other region during the period, at almost 20 per cent.
The figures, analysed by Agilysis, highlight the need for local authorities and road safety partnerships to build a clearer picture of where and how mobility scooter users are being put at risk, and to strengthen measures to protect them.
The Safer Mobility campaign is calling for mobility scooter users to be explicitly included in the Hierarchy of Road Users within the Highway Code, alongside pedestrians, cyclists and other vulnerable road user groups, to strengthen their recognition and protection on the road.
Professor Duncan Guest, a cognitive psychology expert at Nottingham Trent University, led a two-year study examining how mobility scooter users perceive road hazards and is a strong advocate for the Safer Mobility Campaign.
He said: “As more people rely on mobility scooters for independence, it’s vital that safety keeps pace.
“Even a minor collision can have life-changing consequences. We need better awareness, clearer guidance and safer environments to reduce these risks.”
The government is currently consulting on the law governing powered mobility devices, with mobility scooter users, their families and carers encouraged to take part before the consultation closes on 22 April 2026.
Commenting on the government’s review of the law for powered mobility devices, Richard Hannan, Director at Surewise, said:”As an insurance intermediary specialising in powered mobility devices, our primary concern is safety – and as the key central safety issue for us is speed, we believe this should be a primary consideration for this consultation.
“We believe mobility device users should have the same, or similar, rights as other road users, and device speeds should reflect this.
“We support a 4mph speed limit – around a walking pace – on pavements, and a general 15.5mph for devices on roads, to bring them in line with e-bikes.
“Crucially, speed must be appropriate to the environment, which is why we’re backing an 8mph enforced limit in high-risk settings, such as pedestrian areas and town centres, school zones and shared cycle spaces.
“Any updates to the regulation should address speed enforcement for all powered devices in shared spaces, not mobility scooters alone.
“The NTU research analysis found nearly a quarter of claims were caused by interactions with the terrain itself – potholes, surface degradation, kerbs, and low device clearance causing tipping. Poor infrastructure on our roads must also be at the forefront of the government’s consultation.
“We don’t see the need for weight, age, passenger, or route restrictions, provided devices meet mandatory safety standards for stability, braking, and impact performance at their rated speed. This would mean fewer restrictions on the devices available to people with mobility impairments.
“We’re calling for cycle lanes to be renamed ‘mobility lanes’ to reflect the way they are used and raise awareness that powered mobility devices are used in these spaces, which will increase the safety of users.
“We believe all road users should be educated on the use of powered mobility devices, and this starts with updating the Highway Code to include them in the hierarchy of road users.”
