Ministers are planning a sweeping overhaul of the outdated disability legislation governing powered wheelchairs and scooters, aiming to give an estimated 1.7 million users more choice and independence. Some of the current legislation is more than 50 years old. As a first step to modernising them, the Department of Transport is running a three-month public consultation. For a start, ministers want to scrap the term ‘invalid carriage’, deemed inappropriate, and replace it with ‘mobility device’ or ‘powered mobility device’.
Legislation and limitations
Currently, the legislation exempts certain types of devices from being treated as a motor vehicle for certain requirements in roads legislation, primarily the Road Traffic Act 1988. For example, exemption from the requirement to hold a driving licence or motor insurance. The exemption, however, is subject to conditions. In the regulations, types of mobility devices are divided into three classes, with different conditions set out for each class.
Class 1 is a mobility device, typically a wheelchair, propelled by the user or pushed by an attendant. These are designed for pavement use and other pedestrian areas and can be used on the road when no pavement is available or where it is necessary to cross the road. Class 2 is a motor-powered mobility device, typically a powered wheelchair or mobility scooter, also designed for pavements and other pedestrian areas, yet powered speed must not exceed 4 miles per hour. As with Class 1, they can be used on the road where there is no pavement available or where it is necessary to cross the road. Class 3 is a motor-powered mobility device, like Class 2, but can be used on the road as well as on pavements and other pedestrian areas. Likewise, powered speed must not exceed 4 miles per hour on pavements and other pedestrian areas and 8 miles per hour on roads.
Disability in the technological age
The current review focuses only on the legislation governing the use of mobility devices, or powered mobility devices, on the road and pavement. The consultation document says that modern technology has developed at pace since the legislation was last amended and now provides a much greater range of mobility options for disabled people and people with reduced mobility. For example, these modern devices may be lighter and more agile than a powered wheelchair or mobility scooter, better suited to a person’s needs in other ways.
Currently, however, any device powered by a motor which does not comply with the Class 2 or 3 requirements cannot legally be used on the pavement under the circumstances permitted by the 1988 regulations. Such devices are referred to as ‘not in class’. The government want to review the law with these devices in mind, and the department has already undertaken a rapid review of the current landscape. Conversations with groups representing disabled people and the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) have helped to identify several ways in which the current legislation does not work for those who use a device to improve their mobility.
A needed shake-up
Two main areas that ministers have identified as in need of review are: 1) the overarching legislation which governs the use of ‘invalid carriages’ on the public highway, including the term ‘invalid carriage’ and who is permitted to use them 2) the legislation covering the weight and speed limits for devices, minimum user age, the potential carriage of passengers, and devices that can improve mobility but do not currently meet the ‘invalid carriage’ regulatory requirements.
On choice, it says that “there are some devices that, if their legal use is approved, will improve disabled people’s ability to travel easily and with dignity. While there may not always be an immediate clinical need for a device, we may be able to facilitate their legal, safe and responsible use on the public highway, which could improve quality of life.” Questions include who can use powered devices, where they can be used, device weight, minimum age and carrying others on the device. Simon Lightwood, Minister for Transport and Roads, said that “Everyone needs to be able to make the journeys that are important to them, and it is incumbent on the government to break down the barriers disabled people face.”
Mobility for the people
For users of powered mobility devices, the legislation governing their use dates back to 1970 and 1988, and since then, technology has evolved rapidly. There is now a range of mobility options available to disabled people and people with reduced mobility, and currently, the legislation in its current form does not account for the modern mobility devices people need or want to use. “This government is committed to championing the rights of disabled people and those most vulnerable so that their views and voices will be at the heart of all we do. Everyone has the right to travel easily and independently.” Disability campaigners have welcomed the consultation, which ends in March, hoping that this major shake-up will grant them the autonomy they deserve.
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