The tabling of a Senate report into the possible regulation of mobility scooters will hopefully be the forerunner of a national standard for the machines according to the Nationals Senator John Williams.
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After his wife was badly injured when struck by a mobility scooter Senator Williams’ office received numerous emails detailing similar accidents, and he subsequently launched the inquiry through the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee..
Senator Williams said upon investigation at that time he was staggered to find there were very few rules governing their use, and only in Queensland are they registered.In evidence to the committee, Professor Ozanne-Smith from Monash University’s Department of Forensic Medicine said there were 132 deaths involving mobility scooters between 2000 and 2017 – 129 were users and 3 were pedestrians.
READ MORE: Call for new scooter rules
Senator Williams said he estimated that at least 350 older scooter users are admitted to hospital suffering serious injuries each year and probably even higher numbers in recent years as more are being used. “There is no compulsory training in their use, no need for users to be medically assessed, no need for safety equipment such as helmets – yet these machines can use footpaths and shopping centres mingling with pedestrians.”
“The Senate committee found the existing rules are complex and inconsistent with States and Territories using the Australian Road Rules as the basis for their own legislation. There is general consensus the current minimum speeds of 5km/h and maximum speed of 10km/h are satisfactory.”
“The committee has expressed its concern that under current regulations a large number of motorised wheelchairs, with the addition of safety equipment, could be deemed illegal because of the weight restriction,” Senator Williams said.
The report recommends that AUSTROADS conduct further research towards a nationally-consistent framework for mobility devices including a low cost licensing and registration system including third party insurance.
