Senior organization KBO-PCOB wants both the minister and the sector to finally implement all recommendations for mobility scooters.
Most scooters are equipped with a braking system where, if you have to brake suddenly, you should not squeeze, but rather release the throttle. “That goes completely against human intuition,” says Ingrid Rep, director of the senior organization KBO-PCOB. He wants the life-threatening braking system to be adjusted quickly. “Since 2007, several studies have been carried out that show that mobility scooters are unsafe. We know that more and more elderly people are coming. If we now know that the braking system leads to more accidents, why has nothing happened after all these years”?
There are no reliable data available on the number of injuries among scooter riders. However, about the number of road deaths among scooter drivers. According to the CBS, there were only six in 2000, in 2022 that rose to 39, most of them over 70. The Foundation for Scientific Research into Road Safety (SWOV) already conducted research in 2018 into how accidents involving mobility scooters occur. This turned out to be a combination of the braking system, the stability of the scooter and the design of cycle paths and intersections.
In November 2018, the foundation released a report with recommendations. SWOV advised, among other things, to equip the mobility scooters with a brake that enables active braking. After the investigation in 2018, the then Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management, Van Nieuwenhuizen, announced that he would discuss this with the sector. That was five years ago.
“KBO-PCOB already raised the problem with the dangerous braking system with the politicians shortly after the SWOV investigation, and asked for measures to be taken. Nothing has been done with that. We think that's outrageous. Because you know that fatal accidents happen.”
Marja Kerpel (75) from Rotterdam recently had a bad accident during her first ride outside on her new mobility scooter. The ride went fine until she had to cross a bridge on the right. As she steers in to drive up the bridge, two cyclists arrive.
“I don't know why, but I was shocked by them. So I wanted to brake. For years I have cycled with hand brakes. And in that reflex I squeezed the throttle”. She turns out to be on the 'Haas' setting without her knowing it. Because of the speed, she hits the side of the bridge at 22 kilometers per hour. The scooter tips over and Marja hits her head back on the street. “I was in pain all over. I came home with tears in my throat.”
Senior organization KBO-PCOB wants both the minister and the industry to finally implement all the recommendations. Director Ingrid Rep: “We can no longer let our elderly drive mobility scooters that are life-threatening”. Moreover, driving lessons for the mobility scooter must be made available in the neighbourhoods. KBO-PCOB also advocates better information when purchasing the vehicle.
