AT first sight, the story of a pensioner revving up their mobility scooter and going wheel to wheel with rush hour traffic on the A12 might raise a smile.

But it is, in fact, highly dangerous and extremely worrying.

We have all heard the saying speed kills, which usually refers to people in their cars going too fast.

But going too slowly can also be incredibly dangerous.

Thankfully, the story seemingly had a satisfactory ending as police officers were seen talking to the elderly person who had made the decision to take the machine, which has a top speed of 8mph, out on the county’s busiest roads right in the middle of rush hour.

Hopefully some strong words of advice were given about the potential dangers it can cause.

A mobility scooter will be much harder to see than a regular car making an accident much more likely.

There is also a lot less protection for the rider.

It is chilling to think what the consequences might have been had there been a collision.

And, of course, having a team of police officers forced to escort them to safety at Marks Tey means they could not attend other emergencies which may have been going on in the area at the time.

This is something which could have easily been avoided.

The machines are road legal and are a vital lifeline for disabled and elderly people enabling them to stay connected to the community and stopping them from becoming isolated.

But there is a time and a place for their use.