How fast are mobility scooters?

The question “How fast are mobility scooters?” often comes up.

The limits of how fast a mobility scooter can be is restricted only by battery and motor power in theory.

In practice though, in the UK, there are strict limits and rules.

The answer is basically there are two legal speed limits set by the government for different classifications of mobility scooters and how fast they are.

The intended use of any mobility scooters will define how fast it is allowed to go.

There are two classes of mobility scooters, each with their own purposes, and each with their own performance allowances.

How Fast are Class 3 Mobility Scooters?

Class 3 mobility scooters are road legal and offer the greatest performance of the two types.

For use on pavements and paved areas the mobility scooters in this class can be restricted using a manual switch, or button, to 4mph. This is a legal requirement and this mode must be engaged when driving on anything other than public roads or your mobility scooter will be able to go too fast.

When used on public roads the rules on how fast your mobility scooter is permitted to travel can change. The same switch or button allows you to turn off the speed restrictor and allows a speed of up to 8mph.

“She’s fine. Although I’ve not done any long distances yet, I tried her on the road the other day at higher speed and she handled quite well. It’s a pity I didn’t get one earlier!” – Mr Taylor

In addition to this switch there is a knob which can be rotated that dictates just how fast our mobility scooters are. So, you can manually adjust, with great accuracy, just how fast or slow you wish to go.

For example, slowing the top speed of your scooters makes it easier to negotiate tight areas like the aisles in shops reducing that potential for collisions.

Couple this with the superb stability and agility our five-wheel, worldwide patented design offers and you have not only a very comfortable mobility scooter but a very safe one as well!

“I had the scooter out on Sunday at an Air Show. It went in the car fine and I was on it nearly all day. I kept it at low speed and I had a very enjoyable day” – Mr Prime

How Fast are Class 2 Mobility Scooters?

Class 2 mobility scooters are not as fast and this is dictated by how they are intended to be used.

Restricted to 4mph the Class 2 mobility scooter is intended exclusively for use on pavements and pedestrian areas.

There are some exceptions to this where fair use of the road is acceptable, these include crossing the road, circumventing obstacles blocking the pavement and if there is no pavement available such as on country lanes.

Kerb Handling

One major factor in how fast your mobility scooter can get you around is kerb handling.

If you have to search for suitable points to dismount or climb a kerb it will take time and eat into the range offered by your mobility scooter and will also make it more likely you will have to choose a more dangerous place to undertake the manoeuvre.

Our Quintell™ Tri-Wheel steering and KerbMaster™ make easy work of kerbs at angles of up to forty-five degrees with no fear of tipping or beaching.

You can find out about how these innovations work to make you safer HERE.

Why are there faster mobility scooters available then?

For the simple reason that people ask “How fast are mobility scooters?”

For some there will always be a desire to go faster than others, who, through lack of knowledge of the law, or a willingness to break it will modify a vehicle outside of its specification.

A light-hearted bit of mobility scooter trivia

The Guinness Book of Records gives us the answer to “Just how fast are mobility scooters?” in the world record of  112 mph or 180.26 km/h, which must have been utterly terrifying to achieve.

For our part we would thoroughly recommend sticking to the limits assigned by law to your scooter!

Our mobility scooters also hold a Guinness World Record as well!

The Red Wheelies held their Quingo mobility scooters to a constant 8mph, made possible by the superb agility and stability of our five wheel design, to achieve the longest distance travelled on personal mobility vehicles within 24 hours.

The ladies smashed the previous record of 88 miles to set a new record of 154 miles travelled at Fowlmead Country Park in Kent.

This also demonstrates how our Quintell™ Posture Control System gives greater comfort by giving the mobility scooter driver up 80% more legroom than an equivalent four wheel scooter.