Scooter kerb safety move costs £40k

Thousands of pounds will be spent on dropping Black Country kerbs to make it safer for mobility scooters to get on and off pavements.

An increasing number of pensioners and disabled people use the motorised scooters to get around.

But the rise in the number of scooters on the borough's streets has led to a new health and safety headache for Dudley Council. The authority is now having to increase its Disabled Crossing Programme budget by £40,000 from April to make its streets safer for scooter riders.

The money will be spent on dropping kerbs to make it easier for scooters drive on and off pavements and to make sure they do not topple over while crossing roads.

Councillor Angus Adams, head of highways, said: "There are a lot more of these mobility scooters on the streets these days and it does throw up a health and safety issue.

"The people using these scooters need access to their towns and so we have to make sure they can safely get into them.

"This does mean we are looking at dropping a lot more kerbs around the borough wherever it is most suitable."

A report to be delivered to a Dudley Council meeting tonight points out the council has to provide dropped kerbs to meet the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act, enabling scooter riders to cross roads safely.

The extra £40,000 is to enable a 15-month backlog to be cleared. It is suggested the money be found from savings in the Transport Capital Programme.

The Highway Code now deals with the issue of mobility scooters on the UK's roads.

Those used on roads have to be able to travel between six and eight miles per hour.

On the road they are subject to the same rules as other traffic. Scooters are not allowed in bus lanes or on cycle tracks and the maximum speed allowed on pavements is four miles per hour. On the road, scooters must have headlights, rear lights, indicators and a horn, as well as insurance.