DVLA Clampdown on mobility scooter riders

Owners of mobility scooters who fail to register their vehicles will face fines in a Government clampdown.

Ministers have confirmed that the electric-powered carts must be registered with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency - and say action will be taken to ensure riders obey the law.

Last week The Mail on Sunday revealed that many of Britain's 250,000 scooter users are failing to provide their details to the DVLA but police and local authorities are turning a blind eye.

Now the Department for Transport has stepped in to try to clear up the bureaucratic confusion and interdepartmental buck-passing which has dogged the issue for years.

A spokesman said: "Only a small number of scooters are registered. We will be working with the DVLA to encourage manufacturers and dealers to make sure users know about their legal responsibilities."

The vehicles have been involved in a spate of accidents with pedestrians. Hairdresser Denise Saddleton, 60, suffered serious leg injuries when a mobility scooter crashed into her from behind and knocked her down as she walked along a pavement in Whitstable, Kent.

But when she reported the incident to police they claimed it was a civil matter. Mrs Saddleton, who is still having treatment to her injured ankles four weeks after the accident, said: "I thought at first a car had hit me. I couldn't move until the buggy was pulled off me."

Meanwhile, a new breed of 'souped-up' scooters is being sold in Britain in apparent defiance of the law, which says invalid vehicles must be incapable of going faster than 8mph.

But Oxfordshire-based Pride Mobility Products is marketing a £4,000 American-made model, called Icon, that can do 9.5mph. A spokesman said: "At top speed it should really only be used on open ground like a golf course but there's nothing to stop people trying it out on the pavement."

Last night the Department for Transport confirmed that mobility scooters should be registered and urged owners to contact their local DVLA office or phone the Swansea agency on 0870 240 0010.