An interesting news item that was lost in General Election dominance of the national media was that of the death of Frederick Longlands, aged 88. He was struck from behind by a mobility scooter which appeared to be doing more than the legal limit of 4 mph for such vehicles when riding on the pavement.

This happened in Ilkeston Derbyshire and the scooter driver would likely have been prosecuted but he also died soon after (he was aged 79). He was riding a “Class 3” mobility scooter which can be driven on the road and can legally do 8 mph there, but not on the pavement. Riders do not need a driving licence to ride on the road and the driver in this case had never held a driving licence.

The Coroner for the case is writing to the Government to ask for more protective legislation for pedestrians.

These kinds of accidents are likely to occur more frequently as the population ages and these vehicles become more common. It is a similar problem to the use of electric scooters (illegal on both public roads and pavements at present but the law is often ignored) and electric cycles. Both enable very high speeds and are very silent so pedestrians can easily be struck from behind with no warning, as in the above case. This whole area surely needs a review of the law.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Drivers_London

You can “follow” this blog by clicking on the bottom right.