Pensioner drives scooter down A-road after 'following satnav'

A pensioner rode a mobility scooter down a three-carriageway A-road at night after "following his satnav". The older man was videoed travelling slowly down the 70mph A13 near Dagenham in east London on Monday evening. Passing lorries and cars were seen slowing down in order to avoid him and he was later pulled over by a fire engine.

He was then questioned by the police before being ushered onto local roads. One witness said the man was "following his satnav". Footage showed that the pensioner's scooter only had small flashing lights for passing vehicles to spot him. He also wore dark clothing rather than anything hi-vis.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: "At around 9.40pm, officers were alerted to a man on a mobility scooter travelling eastbound on the A13. The man was escorted to safety and advised. The road has since reopened."

In 2024, a coroner warned that the government should consider measures to combat a record number of deaths involving mobility scooters. Figures from the Department for Transport show that a staggering 16 people were killed in collisions involving mobility scooters in 2023, with 90 people being left with serious injuries as a result of accidents.

The warning was made by Samantha Marsh, the senior coroner for Somerset, who made the remarks in the inquest of Natalie Young, who died five weeks after being hit by a scooter in Morrisons in 2022.

Ms March called on the then-Transport Secretary to consider introducing measures similar to those required to drive a car, warning that a complete lack of regulation could lead to a continued rise in deaths.

She said: "Mobility scooters can reach a fast enough speed to pose a significant risk to the entire community and population, but specifically, small children, pregnant mothers and the elderly, who are all particularly vulnerable to being impacted at speed by a blunt-force object and dying as a result of the injuries they sustain.

"I am concerned that the lack of regulation around mobility scooters will continue to result in further deaths, especially when there continues to be no regulation around those who are deemed fit to operate and use them."