Last year, 31 mobility scooter users died in accidents, often with no other vehicle involved, research by Dutch road safety organisation SWOV has found.

Driving instructor Hans van ‘t Noordende said the scooters are complicated to drive because the controls often work differently from a bike. He says drivers should be given at least 10 hours of instruction before they take the scooters onto the road.

Currently there are no road traffic rules about using scooters. Drivers don’t need any form of licence and can use both the roads and cycle lanes.