Mobility scooter safety scheme set for cash boost

Between 2011 and 2013 there were three serious casualties involving mobility scooters in the county, along with six slight casualties and six casualties involving pedestrians.

The proposed £3,000 grant will help fund courses to reduce the risk of accidents involving mobility scooters and will help make sure users have control of their scooters.

There is limited training on the use of mobility scooters currently available in the county, including one-to-one awareness sessions offered by the Disabilities Living Centre in Nottingham.

The grant will help to broaden the training that is on offer from the centre, which will focus on using a scooter safely, maintenance advice, storage and information on reputable dealers and repairers.

The centre plans to offer group training events at venues within the county and will use some of the grant to promote the training.

Councillor Glynn Gilfoyle, Chair of Nottinghamshire County Council’s Community Safety Committee, said: “Mobility scooters help people to remain mobile and independent, but they are relatively powerful and heavy items that are used in pedestrian areas so it’s important that users have good control of them to avoid any accidents.

“We’ve listened to the concerns from some residents about the increasing numbers of mobility scooters in use in the county, including inappropriate use of scooters on roads. The proposed training events will help to reduce the number of accidents.

The council’s community safety committee will be discussing the proposal on Tuesday, 6th January.