Powered wheelchair and scooter drivers could be made to buy compulsory third-party insurance in the near future, a leading practitioner has said.

Research commissioned by the Department for Transport has made 20 recommendations regarding the safety and legislation involving Class 2 and Class 3 powered wheelchairs and scooters, following a consultation that lasted two years.

Phil Brunton, mobility manager at Alexander Forbes Mobility Risk Services, said although the research was only a consultative document there were sufficient numbers of people that wished to make third-party insurance mandatory. “It will now be up to the DfT to pursue some of the recommendations and listen to lobbyists,” he said. “There are parties out there that believe these recommendations to be discriminatory but they are in the minority - this is likely to go ahead in the near future.”

Mr Brunton dismissed the idea that cyclists will also be forced to buy mandatory third-party insurance. “This is a slightly different area; household policies don’t often provide public liability cover for mechanically propelled vehicles outside of the house, while bicycles will tend to be covered.”

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