DfT Consultation: Reviewing the law for powered mobility devices

The Surewise view on the government's consultation: Reviewing 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.

"Nottingham Trent University’s (NTU) analysis of our claims data highlights that of the claims involving travel, more than half of incidents involved scenarios where higher speeds would bring a greater risk of harm to device users. To be clear, this is not a comment on the speed the vehicle was travelling at the time of the incident, nor on the user’s ability to moderate their speed in the event of increased risk.

"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."

Ends

Editors notes

Surewise is a leading specialist insurance intermediary which offers a variety of insurance products, including mobility scooters, carers and storage insurance to customers across the UK.

Launched in April 2014, Surewise is committed to providing insurance products that allow people to live life confidently. Collectively, its directors have more than 40 years’ experience in the UK insurance sector, with vital insights on how to deliver excellent customer service.

Based in Hadleigh in Essex, its growing team is united by a passion to build trust, care and fairness within the insurance sector.

As of 2026, Surewise has more than 14,300 reviews on Trustpilot, with an overall 'Excellent' rating of 4.8.