Pensioner on mobility scooter stopped by fire engine on A13 in east London

The three-lane A-road connects London and Essex. Photo / Google

Man filmed travelling along edge of A13 in east London before being pulled over by fire engine.

A pensioner drove a mobility scooter down a three-lane A-road at night after “following his satnav”.

The man was filmed travelling slowly along the edge of the 70mph (110km/h) A13 near Dagenham, east London, on Monday evening local time as passing trucks and cars slowed to avoid him.

He was pulled over by a fire engine and questioned by police before being escorted on to local roads.

One onlooker said the man was “following his satnav” in dashcam footage capturing his dangerous excursion.

His scooter only had small flashing lights alerting other motorists to his presence and he wore dark clothing.

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.”

Mobility scooter ‘evades’ police

In December 2024, a mobility scooter driver “evaded” police in an 8m/h (12km/h) chase along the A14 in Northamptonshire. Mobile phone footage showed drivers taking action to avoid the man as he rode along the major road for at least 3.2km.

Officers were unable to catch him when he U-turned and drove off in the opposite direction against the flow of traffic.

Police said the man refused to stop or engage with them, and they were forced to leave empty-handed, with a subsequent search of the area proving “negative”.

In November 2023, a learner driver also had their scooter seized after driving it on to two motorways. Lancashire police said the vehicle had been driven at 30m/h in the middle lane of the M6 and the M61.

Mobility scooters are banned from dual carriageways with speed limits in excess of 50m/h and are only permitted to drive at 8m/h on roads and 4m/h on pavements.

In 2023, 16 people were killed, 90 were seriously hurt and a further 222 suffered minor injuries in incidents involving mobility scooters.