Mobility scooter insurance proposed

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The Government is attempting to tackle road safety with a set of new proposals which could see mobile scooter users being forced to take a "fitness to drive" test and take out insurance.

The plans aim to reduce the number of accidents and will affect up to 100,000 vehicles.

Transport Minister Sadiq Khan told MPs that a three-month consultation will be held to consider the issues. These include weight limits, training, fitness to drive, insurance and registration.

The move follows reports of a number of accidents which have resulted in death and serious injury. They frequently involved pensioners who had lost control of their scooter.

And in January, police in Norfolk announced they were offering road safety training following a spate of accidents in the county.

In a written ministerial statement, Mr Khan said: "The main areas that the consultation addresses are the legal classification, design standards including the permitted unladen weight limits and safety features, possible reforms relating to vehicle users including better information provision, training and fitness to drive, insurance and the registration of mobility scooters."

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