The Disabled Enabled

So what exactly is a Personal Mobility Scooter?

Apart from both the manual and motorized wheelchairs, there is a whole other form of mobility transportation out there known as the mobility scooter. The mobility scooter is a popular means of transport for those afflicted with varying degrees of restricted personal mobility.

This time out I would like to share what I have come to learn about the personal medical mobility scooter. The mobility scooter is one of those mobility aids that is similar in concept to the motorized wheelchair, however it takes a lot of its basic design from the traditional motor scooter. I have also heard personal scooters referred to as a medical scooter, a power-operated vehicle, a seniors scooter, an electric scooter, and even once in a while as a handicap scooter. I know that in the United States there is often talk of the “medicare scooter” which is basically just a reference to any category of mobility scooter that is covered at least in part under personal health care coverage or insurance and not a reference to any one particular brand or manufacture of mobility scooter.

So I seem to know a few different names for the same vehicle, but at this point you might be wondering what else do I know about the personal scooter? I know the names, but what is ‘in the name?’

The personal mobility scooter seems to have a basic design that includes (obviously) a seat for the driver over the two rear wheels of the vehicle, a running board kind of area directly in front of the seat for the rider to securely place their feet while the vehicle is in motion, and of course a handlebar assembly located in front of the rider for the steering, acceleration and deceleration of the scooter. The handlebars give the rider control over the steering of the front wheel assemble and this will either be a single wheel or double wheel front formation. Often, the driver’s seat will be designed so that it can swivel out to the side of the vehicle which makes for smoother or easier access, especially if there is any kind of obstacle directly in front of the parked scooter.

It seems to me that most mobility scooters rely on battery power. The battery for the scooter is stored on board the vehicle and is charged via the use of a separate battery charging unit which needs to be plugged into a standard electric power outlet. There also seems to be a number of gasoline-powered scooter models in circulation, however the gasoline fueled scooters are clearly being replaced by the (easier to charge) electric variety of powered mobility scooters.

The forward and reverse controls as well as the gear speed controls are found on the front steering column of a scooter. There is usually going to be some kind of throttle mechanism or switch on this column that makes it easier for the scooter operator to access these functions. There are two basic design of mobility scooter available: the front wheel drive (FD) and the rear wheel drive (RD). The FD mobility scooter is most often a relatively smaller mobility vehicle and is best used indoors and on less extreme terrain. The maximum weight capacity of a rider on this kind of scooter is around 250 pounds.  The RD scooter on the other hand, is suited for use both indoors and outside, where it can more effectively handle uneven terrains. It’s maximum weight capacity is around 350 pounds, but a more heavy duty design of RD scooter is even capable of handling a maximum passenger capacity of nearly 500 pounds.

From what I have read, one of the earliest commercial personal mobility scooter models was released onto the market in 1968. It was apparently a front wheel drive model and was released by the Amigo mobility scooter company. Of course this company is still around today and still going strong and is now known as Amigo mobility International Inc. Their head office is located n Bridgeport, Michigan. The Amigo company’s early scooter design seems to be the one that really drew the public’s attention to mobility scooters as a means of easily accessible transport for those individuals dealing with reduced personal mobility. This was the start of the public’s growing demand for personal medical scooters. Another brand name of disability scooter manufacturer that I have seen adorning a scooter chassis quite often is Pride Mobility; Pridemobility is another manufacturer of these vehicles that has been around for longer and seemed to have established a strong presence in the mobility scooter retail market. Now, personal mobility scooters are available in a wide range of designs and styles, from the regular personal scooter, to a smaller folding travel scooter to a much, much sturdier bariatric mobility scooter, and this variety is increasing all the time. Mobility scooters are now even available for rental at a number of different kinds of locations, from your public community center and other public facilities to some of the larger retail chains or at the local shopping malls. As well, you can sometimes find mobility scooters available for rental at a local theme park or amusement park.

As with anything else, mobility scooters all come with their own advantages and disadvantages. As a mobility aid, the scooter can benefit those whose restricted personal mobility includes a lack of the arm and shoulder flexibility and stamina  necessary to operate a conventional manual wheelchair. Also, being able to swivel the driver seat on the electric mobility scooter out to the side means that, for many, a scooter is a much easier vehicle to access and disembark from compared to a wheelchair that will usually have a  foot pedals assembly that need to be manually unlatched and swiveled out to the side by reaching down low – something not so easy for many suffering from a lack of mobility to do. The design of the scooter can also benefit anyone suffering from any general disabling condition. Some of the clients that I work with who deal with such conditions as more severe forms of arthritis, con-genitive heart or lung issues or cerebral palsy, have all benefited  from being able to use a scooter while carrying out their daily duties. It is worth remembering however, that these people are all still pretty much able to walk short distances on their own and that they all still have the upper body strength necessary without any real support of their torso to properly steer the vehicle.

Something else that I have come to notice is that for some people the mobility scooter is preferable to a wheelchair because the wheelchair is often associated with the aged and more severe disability and for obvious reasons of pride, many would rather avoid being associated with any such condition when out and about in their personal mobility vehicle. However, as more and more seniors buy medical scooters, the association of mobility scooters with elderly individuals can only increase.

Of course, as with anything else, mobility scooters do have their inherent disadvantages. If you are going to be using a scooter to get around in, then you need to have a certain degree of upper body strength to make sure you can remain upright in the driver’s seat relatively unsupported while the vehicle is in motion; even though you are not needing the shoulder strength necessary to propel a manual wheelchair forward, you still need to be able to safely hold onto and control the steering column of a scooter to ensure safe direction of it while in use. Another limitation of the scooter is in its basic design. Because the scooter is longer than a powered wheelchair it naturally has a longer turning radius, meaning it needs more space than  chair when turning it around. This means it has a reduced maneuverability in smaller spaces. In the home, it can sometimes be quite challenging to maneuver a scooter through the front doorway when either entering or exiting. I have known more than one scooter user who has felt somewhat frustrated by the careful maneuvering needed to bring a scooter safely into their front hall without bumping up against or banging into anything around them. Also, it is not as easy to turn your scooter around and close the front door of your house or apartment and lock it as it would be to turn and do so in a powered chair.
I have been led to believe too, that when you see a mechanical lift that has been designed for a wheelchair, it often will not accommodate a regular sized scooter onto it – which is no surprise really, considering that such lifts are designed to accommodate a wheelchair and not something as long as a mobility scooter. Of course much of this is allayed by the fact that many times when you find a lift is present there will also be a ramp access available which is obviously much more amenable to a scooter user.

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