Personal injury lawyers have called for a comprehensive review of the Road Traffic Act to ensure mobility scooter riders have to take out insurance cover.

Simon O’Loughlin, a partner at Hodges, Jones & Allen, said a sharp rise in scooter riders is inevitable with an ageing population and cheaper vehicles being developed.

The law currently does not require owners to take out insurance, hold a licence or to pass a proficiency test of any kind.

Last week a 70-year-old woman from Leigh, near Wigan, who was seriously injured when a scooter crashed into her, joined growing calls for a law change to force riders to take out insurance.

Mr O’Loughlin said: ‘It is only right that this issue is now addressed as soon as possible. It has to be recognised that accidents do happen in life and serious injuries can occur.’

Parliament is currently considering the need for mobility scooter riders to take out insurance, with the DVLA stating it is ‘strongly advised’ that owners take out cover.

Almost two-thirds of respondents to a Department of Transport survey last year agreed scooter riders should be subject to the same rules as other motorists.

But opponents warn a change in the law would heap added costs onto vulnerable people who depend on these vehicles to maintain their independence.