If you’re a mobility scooter user, you likely already know that potholes in the road or pavement can be a huge hazard to your journey. In this guide, we’ll help you understand how to handle potholes safely, maintain your scooter, and protect yourself on the road.
A mobility scooter’s smaller wheels and lower ground clearance make it particularly vulnerable to potholes compared with other vehicles.
Roads and pavements should be safe for everyone to use, but until they are, knowing how to protect yourself can make a real difference to your safety and confidence.
Short Summary
- Understand how potholes are created and the potential hazards they present to mobility scooter users.
- Find practical ways to protect yourself where roads and pavements are poorly maintained.
- Regularly inspect & maintain your scooter for safe operation, report any existing ones & join community efforts in improving road safety.
Potholes are a significant factor in mobility scooter incidents. We shared 1,638 travel and movement claims with researchers at Nottingham Trent University, and 120 of those, around seven per cent, involved potholes.
Department for Transport data also shows that 12 people were killed and 323 injured in collisions involving mobility scooters in 2024, and the true figure is likely higher, as many falls linked to surface defects go unreported.
Find out more about our Safer Mobility Campaign and get your free copy of our safety guide and visibility sticker bundle.
The Pothole Partnership
We have also joined the Pothole Partnership, alongside The AA, JCB, British Cycling and the National Motorcyclists Council, to call for mobility scooter users to be properly recognised in decisions about road and pavement maintenance. Together we are pushing for better repair quality, greater accountability and long-term maintenance standards that would make a real difference for the people most affected by poor road and pavement conditions.
How Do Potholes Form?
Potholes primarily form through a freeze-thaw process. During colder months, water seeps into cracks in the pavement, freezes, and expands, causing the asphalt to crack further.
When the ice melts, the weight of vehicles exacerbates the damage, leading to the formation of potholes. They are most common in late winter and early spring.
Additional factors that contribute to pothole formation include:
- Poor drainage
- Ageing asphalt
- Poorly repaired utility work
- Heavy traffic on weakened surfaces
Mobility Insurance
Cover available for:
- Mobility Scooter
- Powered Wheelchairs
- Manual Wheelchairs
- Cabin Cars
Common Pothole Hazards for Mobility Scooter Users
Mobility scooters are particularly vulnerable to pothole-related accidents due to their unique design and smaller size compared to other vehicles.
The small wheels of mobility scooters can easily get caught in even shallow potholes, and scooters without adequate suspension are less able to absorb the shock from rough surfaces.
As an insurer, we’ve noticed that potholes are one of the most common causes for punctures in our mobility scooter customers – so we created this guide to try to help reduce the number of incidents while you’re out and about.
Tyre Damage or Punctures
Mobility scooter tyres are often smaller and thinner than car tyres, making them more susceptible to punctures or damage when hitting potholes.
The sharp edges of a pothole can cause the tyre to tear or deflate, which can leave the scooter inoperable, stranding the rider in potentially unsafe locations. (Make sure you’ve added puncture protection and 24/7 recovery to your insurance to avoid this happening to you!).
Even minor tyre damage can worsen over time, compromising the scooter’s safety and performance. Regularly checking and maintaining tyre pressure is vital to reduce the risk of blowouts.
Loss of Balance or Control
Additionally, one of the most common dangers of encountering a pothole on a mobility scooter is the risk of losing balance or control. The small wheels on mobility scooters are less able to glide over depressions or uneven surfaces, which can cause sudden jolts or jerks.
This abrupt movement might force them to swerve unexpectedly or worse, unseat a mobility scooter altogether – increasing the risk of accidents, particularly in busy areas or near traffic. Even a small loss of balance can be dangerous if it occurs near pedestrians, other vehicles, or kerbs.
Risk of Tipping Over, Especially at Higher Speeds
The design of many mobility scooters, particularly lightweight models, can make them prone to tipping over when encountering large potholes or uneven surfaces, especially if travelling at higher speeds.
A sudden drop or jolt from hitting a pothole can cause the scooter to tip to one side or even flip over, leading to serious injury.
This risk is heightened on inclines or when turning, as the scooter’s centre of gravity shifts, making it harder to recover from the impact of a pothole.
Mobility Insurance
Cover includes:
- Theft, Vandalism & Accidental Damage
- Third Party Liability & Legal Expenses
- Multiple Riders & No Age Limit
- No Hidden Fees & No Excess
Staying Safer on Poorly Maintained Roads and Pavements
Poor surfaces should not be something you have to plan your life around, but until they are fixed, a few practical steps can help you travel more safely and confidently.
Plan Your Routes
While you can’t always predict where potholes will appear, planning your journey to avoid busy or poorly maintained roads can help.
Where possible, stick to routes where you know the surfaces are smoother and keep an eye out for road repairs.
Stay Alert on the Road
Staying aware of the road ahead, and keeping distractions to a minimum, gives you the best chance of spotting a pothole early and reacting in good time.
This is especially important on unfamiliar routes or where the surface is uneven.
Adapt to Road Conditions
When potholes or rough terrain are unavoidable, adjusting your speed and taking alternative routes ,where possible, can help reduce the risk of a puncture or more serious incident.
If possible, use the pavements instead of roads with known surface issues, and avoid steep inclines or poorly lit areas where potholes might be hard to spot.
Be aware that in winter, potholes can easily be covered by leaves and other debris, so you’ll need to be extra cautious. Read our winter mobility scooter safety guide for more cold-weather specific safety tips.
Maintaining Your Scooter for Pothole Safety
Keeping your mobility scooter in top condition will help prevent damage from potholes and ensure a safer, smoother ride. A few things you can do to ensure your scooter is in top condition include:
Regular Inspections
Schedule annual professional servicing to check for wear and tear. This includes inspecting tyres, brakes, suspension systems, and looking for rust or loose bolts.
This is a good way of identifying potential problems with your tyres from potholes, but is also a good thing to do for your scooter regardless.
Tyre Care
Maintaining the correct tyre pressure and inspecting tread regularly is essential if you want to avoid suddenly finding yourself with a flat tyre when out on your mobility scooter!
What’s more, well-maintained tyres can better withstand the shock of hitting a pothole and reduce the risk of blowouts.
Reporting Potholes
It can be easy to spot a pothole, pass it by, and hope the council repairs it before long. But reporting it is quick to do and helps make the route safer for everyone who comes after you.
You can report a pothole on a road through GOV.UK, which sends it straight to the right council. For pavements and footpaths, FixMyStreet lets you pinpoint the exact spot on a map, and add a photo, which can help the council assess and prioritise the repair. When reporting, give as much detail as you can, including the exact location and the size of the pothole. The more information the council has, the sooner it is likely to be repaired.
There is no need to stop somewhere unsafe to do this. Bring your scooter to a stop in a safe spot first, or simply make a note of where the pothole was and report it once you are home. If you take a photo, FixMyStreet can often use it to pinpoint the location for you.
Through our Safer Mobility Campaign, we are also supporting a three-year research project led by Nottingham Trent University and funded by the Road Safety Trust. It is developing a “near miss” reporting app, which will let mobility scooter and powerchair users log hazards such as potholes and uneven surfaces, helping build a clearer national picture of where the risks are.
Travelling With Confidence
Potholes and poor surfaces are far more than an inconvenience for mobility scooter users. They can affect your safety, your confidence and your independence. None of that should rest on your shoulders, because roads and pavements should be safe for everyone to use.
Until they are, the steps in this guide can help you travel more safely and confidently, from planning your route and keeping your scooter well maintained to reporting the hazards you come across. And through our Safer Mobility Campaign and our work with the Pothole Partnership, we will keep pushing for the better repairs and higher standards that would make a real difference. Wherever your next journey takes you, we are here to help you make it with confidence.
