In this article, we look at all the different types of mobility scooters and assess how fast they all can travel. We will look at pavement bound scooters, off-road scooters and road-going scooters as well as looking around the World at the different rules in different countries.
First, let’s look at pavement only scooters or type 2 mobility scooters as they are also known as. The top speed in one of these mobility scooters is limited to just 4 miles per hour. This is mainly as anything faster that this would become a danger to other users of the pavement or promenade. They are designed to go with walking traffic who, of course, do not have any protection around them should an accident happen. Some scooters have also been known to jam on at full speed, which although sounds like fun to a lot of us, for an elderly disabled person could be quite the opposite. You probably would however get at least £250 from You’ve Been Framed as a consolation.
Road Legal Mobility Scooters
Next, there are mobility scooters that can also use the road. Although you do not need a licence for these, they can travel up to 8 miles per hour, so you need to be insured and follow the Highway Code, as well as having lights, indicators and a horn fitted as standard. These are commonly known as type 3 mobility scooters. In parts of Europe, these scooters can legally travel up to 15 miles per hour which sounds a bit hairy to me.
As a side note, there is, believe it or not, a world record for mobility scooter travel. It was set by a German fellow called Sven Ohler and he travelled at over 112 miles per hour on his scooter, I think it may have been tweaked, on the 17th of May 2017.
In the UK over the last five year, the mobility scooter population has increased from seventy thousand to over three hundred thousand so the chances of you being hit by one have just increased four-fold.
Mobility Scooters Travel Range
However, speed is nothing without power and charge. How far can mobility scooters travel then, I hear you ask. Well, the smaller style mobility scooters can go anywhere between 15 and 25 miles on a single charge but of course, you must make sure they are fully charged beforehand. When they show low battery charge them to full and also, at least once a week, make sure you charge them fully whether they need it or not.
For the larger scooters, the range can increase to over 35 miles however this is based on travelling at the same 4 mph speed which is unlikely as these can be used on the road and to keep in check with the Highway Code you must try to keep up with the traffic as well as you can.
Class Three Mobility Scooter Features
You must have a rear-view mirror.
You must have front and rear lights along with reflectors.
You must have working brakes and brake lights.
It can travel at up to 8 miles per hour, but you must have a speed limiting switch which you can set at 4 miles per hour for when you need to travel on the pavement.
It must have a horn fitted.
If you wish to travel on a duel-carriageway then you must have an amber flashing light fitted.
You are not allowed slick tyres or go-faster stripes on a mobility scooter.
It must be no wider than eighty-five centimetres.
You can get lightweight mobility scooters that also fold up to fit inside a boot of a car for instance. Although these cannot go any faster than 4 miles per hour because they are lightweight it could well decrease the time it takes the scooter to get to 4 miles per hour and thus perfect for any type of drag race you would like to enter.
Mobility Scooter World Record
The greatest distance a mobility scooter has ever travelled is equally as impressive as the top speed statistic. In sunny California, early 2013, Mr David Mensch travelled in 24 hours over, wait for it, 170 miles.
In the UK, there are several races per year involving mobility scooters and also many meetings of banger racing mobility scooters. An Englishman broke the world speed record in 2017 however was disqualified under a technicality by the Guinness Book of Records.
We hope that you have enjoyed our article all about how fast mobility scooters go and it has given you an insight into just how powerful these inauspicious-looking little buckets of fun can be. Thanks very much indeed for reading about mobility scooters.