Shock campaign for scooter safety

ROAD safety campaigners have unveiled a new preventative campaign in an attempt to cut road deaths linked to scooters.

The launch of the site, at www.mortelscooter.fr, comes as new research shows scooter accidents are now the biggest cause of death on the roads among 14 to 17-year-olds in France

Last year, 72 young people died riding a scooter and more than 5,000 were injured.

The site includes short video interviews with eight victims and their family. One teenager, who is now in a wheelchair, says of his accident: "It was the only time I hadn't gone out with my leathers. I had big plans for my life - now look where I am."

It links to the stories under headings such as "I bounced off three oncoming cars" and "I couldn't stop thinking about his head going under the wheel".

Road safety bodies and insurers want better safety controls on scooter users. At the moment it is legal to ride a 50cc scooter without a full driving licence.

They are also calling better controls to stop scooter owners making modifications to the vehicle to make it go faster.