Scooters Can Help You
Impaired mobility is a problem for many as they get older. If you aren’t as stable on your ‘pins’ as you used to be, this means your risk of falling is also greater. Impaired mobility can be caused by several conditions including joint pain and arthritis, heart disease and sometimes just lack of confidence after a fall. And of course sometimes impaired mobility has nothing to do with age at all, but is a long-standing disability of some kind. In other words it can affect all ages.
In America the Mobility Connect community have recognised the necessity to address the use of devices which can help. They concede that just as we learn to drive cars and motorbikes, we should be given full training on how to use mobility scooters, walkers and wheelchairs.
This makes lots of sense and will ensure that users not only get the best out of their devices, but also have confidence when using them. We are sure that most providers of these aids give good instructions about how to use them.
How to ride a mobility scooter
- Keep the scooter battery charged
- Make sure the handbrake is on before getting on the scooter
- Adjust seat height, armrests and steering column so that it is comfortable
- Make sure both feet are on the scooter and both hands are in place to steer
- Turn the key to start the scooter
- Release the brake
- Accelerate slowly – don’t go too fast too soon as this can damage the scooter
- When you need to, brake slowly too
- When you have stopped remember to turn off the ignition key and take the key out. Leaving it switched on will cause your battery to lose power
- Always ride your scooter on flat surfaces that are smooth in preference. Not only do the scooters not like bumps, but it is also easier for you to fall off in those circumstances
Somewhere to voice concerns
In Swindon in Wiltshire, the local council is working with a group of those with impaired mobility to allow them an opportunity to voice their concerns about day to day issues.
These include being abused by motorists when they are forced off pavements and onto the roads. Other problems include lack of space to store their mobility devices even when they have sheltered accommodation. Mobility scooters generally aren’t small, and the largest ones are longer and about twice the width of a motorbike. Saying that a slimline foldable scooter that folds down to fit into a small holdall is available from Castle Comfort Centre.
Local Labour councillor Derique Montaut commented, “We’re looking at a concerted campaign across the area to recruit people in the initial stages and to raise the funds needed to go forward.”
He went on to explain that the group hoped to influence the council ‘to raise awareness of the difficulties that mobility users face’. He said, “Mobility users have been discriminated against in the past when they have not been provided with storage areas and dropped kerbs, problems they have encountered include being forced to use the highway, where they have been abused by motorists. There is also a lack of storage spaces at some council facilities due to health and safety issues.”
The group was set up in response to government cuts which mean reduced provision for those with impaired mobility. The group will set up a website and others will be encouraged to join the group and speak up for the mobility impaired community. What do you think of this idea? Would you join a group of people in similar circumstances, for sharing ideas and helping each other? If your local council or PALS is not of interest perhaps you could start a group up yourself? Maybe you could start a mobility scooter ramblers group? Let us know with a comment.