12 mph Mobility Scooter – Legal or Not?

12 mph Mobility Scooter – You and the Law

We are often asked “Why can I buy, but not use a 12 mph mobility scooter in the United Kingdom?”.

The simple fact is they are not legal in this country. There are only two classes of mobility scooter allowed to be used in this country and a 12 mph mobility scooter is not one of them.

Firstly, we have Class 2 mobility scooters. These are permanently restricted to 4mph and are only permitted to be used on paved areas. If no pavement is available, if it blocked or when crossing a road these scooters may make reasonable use of the road, but must return to the pavement as quickly as possible.

The second type of mobility scooter is  Class 3. These mobility scooters are capable of being used on public roads at up to 8mph. Additionally they must offer the ability to be easily switched to a restricted 4mph mode for use on pavements and other paved areas.

The enhanced stability offered by our unique five-wheel design makes getting both off the pavement and then getting back on to them much easier. Our mobility scooters are the only scooter design that can safely climb kerbs at up to a forty-five degree angle.

You may have seen a few companies offering upgrades to a 12mph mobility scooter. What they do not tell you is that they are actually making your scooter illegal for use in any place other than private land.

You have to do some research to find this out as they don’t make it a priority to inform you of the issue.

“The UK government doesn’t currently allow scooters travelling above 8 mph on public highways. ******* speeds are only for use off-road or on private land, unfortunately. Sorry for being boring; we’d go 100 mph if we could! If you choose you to purchase the ******* Upgrade Package you will be asked to sign a disclaimer on delivery to ensure you understand the legalities.”

A disclaimer means that, if you are found to be using a modified 12mph mobility scooter on the roads all liability and legal responsibility is yours. You are likely to be fined and even have your scooter confiscated.

The increase in speed will make it far more likely for you to be involved in an accident.

This leads to a further issue concerning your insurance cover. Quite simply any insurance you have taken out on you scooter will be null and void (unless you have declared the modification as a 12 mph mobility scooter is not legal).

This will mean that, should you be involved in an accident, all costs will be at your expense. Though you may be thinking your insurance company or the other party may not find out about the conversion to a 12mph mobility scooter has been carried out. This is extremely unlikely.

In the event of any injury having been caused in an accident. Inspection by specialists of the vehicles concerned is almost always undertaken these days.

If you decide to declare the modification it is highly unlikely any insurance company will insure your 12mph mobility scooter as it is quite simply not legal for use.

Some confusion comes from people who have used 15mph capable scooters while they were on holiday. Different countries have their own laws surrounding mobility scooters. These laws do not apply in the United Kingdom.

Our advice on buying 12mph mobility scooter, or modifying an existing mobility scooter to be capable of 12mph?

“DON’T!”