How do you feel about powered wheelchairs? They are the type of machine that Stephen Hawkins uses. Do you think that they should also be banned from the pavements? Well of course you don't! You wouldn't expect them to be used on the road yet they travel at the same speed as the "pavement shopper" or "car boot scooter." Users of manual wheelchairs aren't expected to travel in the gutter either. So why the bad press for mobility scooter users?
Is it because the disabilities of people in powered and manual wheelchairs are more obvious to the naked eye and we are more sympathetic to their plight? Unfortunately, the majority of mobility scooter users do not have immediately apparent disabilities but suffer from illnesses such as chronic arthritic conditions, heart and lung disease or neurological disease such as MS or Parkinsons. This makes it impossible for them to walk to the local shop or enjoy a day in town with their friends and using a mobility scooter is the only way for them to enjoy some freedom and independence and keep in contact with the outside world.
Now think about when you see a mobility scooter travelling down the road in traffic, waiting at the traffic lights with all the other vehicles. Be honest, didn't you think it was a menace and that it should not be allowed on the road. So which is it to be? - pavement shopper scooters on the pavement or faster road legal mobility scooters on the road. It seems that mobility scooter users can't win whichever option they choose.
The next time you're out and see someone on a mobility scooter, just think for a minute what they have to contend with - pushbikes which should never be on the pavement, mothers with prams and a gaggle of tearaway kids. Untrained owners with dogs allowed to defecate on footpaths, mobile phone users in a world of their own and people just stopping abruptly in front of them.
It's not a lifestyle choice to ride a mobility scooter to many of our customers its their lifeline!
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