'I thought I was paralysed after scooter crash'

An 18-year-old has spoken about how he thought he was paralysed after being involved in a crash with a car while crossing the road on his mobility scooter.

"I landed several metres down the road and was unable to move," Josh Howell, from Swanscombe in Kent, said. "I was in pain all over my body. Only my right arm worked. I genuinely thought I was paralysed."

It comes as insurance intermediary Surewise said mobility scooter users were "overlooked in road safety policy".

The Department for Transport said: "They are already included in the Highway Code's Hierarchy of Road Users, which makes it clear that pedestrians include wheelchair and mobility scooter users."

Howell relies on a mobility scooter due to chronic back pain and said the crash had knocked his confidence.

"My mobility scooter is 100% my lifeline. Without it, I can't leave the house independently," he said.

"I'm still sore and bruised, and the pain hasn't gone away, but the worst part is how it's affected my confidence.

"I used to feel confident near roads. Now I feel nervous even standing close to traffic."

Surewise said that 12 people were killed on Britain's roads in 2024 in crashes involving mobility scooters, while 323 were injured.

Richard Hannan, director of Surewise, added: "These figures should be a wake-up call that mobility scooter users are being overlooked in road safety policy, street design and public awareness."

In 2024, Surewise launched its Safer Mobility Campaign as it said it saw a 20% year-on-year rise in mobility scooter casualties in the last decade.

The campaign aims to bring awareness to the risks mobility scooter drivers face and to better educate road users.

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