Just over two years ago, I wrote a blog post here about my adventures with my first motorised mobility aid which was a small folding mobility scooter. It has served me well for a few years but I decided it was time for a more comfortable mode of transport which is better equipped for the potholes and cobbles in my city. I thought my experiences with it, and what I learned, might be of interest to those of you looking to become a bit more independent when out and about. I’ll describe how that specific scooter and power chair compare.
So what was my criteria in choosing a powerchair?
- Portability – had to be able to fold and be lifted into a car.
- Had to be able to take my weight.
- Could travel reasonable distance without needing to charge.
- Budget end of the price range.
- Able to cope with potholes, poor drop kerbs, gravel, grass and some amount of uneven ground.
- Had to be able to charge batteries offboard.
- Had to be comfortable to sit in.
The chair that suited my needs was this one. There are many similar designs out there and a number of suppliers and some have showrooms where you can try them out. I will add more links at the end of this post. It is very individual what chair would suit you but I’m hoping that sharing what I learned about mine will help you in choices.
How was it different from my mobility scooter?
Side sloping pavements and drives
The chair I chose had a joystick for steering and castor wheels at the front – like the ones on a supermarket shopping trolley only bigger. This made operating it very different from my mobility scooter which steered with handlebars like a bicycle. The joystick is sensitive and takes a bit of practice to get used to moving it in a controlled way but having different speed settings on the chair allows you to practice safely. Once you are confident with it you can control both speed and direction of travel just from moving that one hand whereas on the mobility scooter it was necessary to flip a switch to travel backwards.
Steering with front castors is different from a four wheeled mobility scooter. On the scooter the front wheels move together when you steer but the powerchair castors move freely and so enable you to move around more easily in tight corners and navigate well in places such as shops. On the street, the mobility scooter travelled in the direction it was pointed in mostly, even when the pavement sloped sideways. In the power chair I had to learn to steer into the slope and keep moving in order to keep going forwards as there is a tendency for the castors to move if the camber of the pavement is at a steeper angle. My commute to work contains two driveways I had to cross where this angle was pronounced. The mobility scooter could make it across these two though it did feel unstable at such an angle. With practice on the chair, I managed to navigate most pavements fine but the two worst driveways for tilting me sideways needed to be avoided on the chair as it was difficult to prevent the front castors from leading me down the slope.
Potholes, cobbles and uneven ground
My little pavement mobility scooter was not really designed for cobbles or uneven ground yet had done fairly well on my travels over the last few years, but I did have a couple of falls due to suddenly hitting unexpectedly uneven ground. Once it was going over a short ramp placed over a cable on the street. It turned out it was higher than the one inch space under the scooter and I ended up rocking on the top of the little ramp and the scooter toppled backwards (that model has no anti-tip wheels). The other time I went over a cobbled street and one cobble was missing. The wheel caught and I toppled sideways. My scooter wasn’t really designed for the streets I’ve been travelling over but sadly, even the cars have difficulty with the condition of roads where I live.
So how has the power chair dealt with these conditions? It has been a much more comfortable commute to work in the chair. The larger back wheels, higher ground clearance and versatility of the castors has meant that I have managed cobbles, potholes and hills much better. It took a bit more practice to feel confident with steering over difficult ground but I was able travel over lumpy gravel that my scooter hadn’t managed. I was also able to get up much steeper hills.
I noticed that my arm was sore when I was steering the chair for long periods and realised that this was because the arm rest was longer than my arm and so I held my arm forward a little to reach the joystick. I hadn’t noticed at first but it was sore over time. This was solved by putting an extra cushion at my back and then my arm naturally rested on the arm rest further forward than before and I no longer got sore.
Social differences
One of the issues that can be difficult when using a disability aid for travel is that sometimes people offer help but don’t actually listen to you when you say you are managing fine. This can be intrusive at times and even dangerous. This happened to me on occasion on my mobility scooter but it happened much more when using the power chair especially when I was less confident using it. On more than one occasion on the same trip, people stood on the drop kerb obstructing the path ahead while offering to push my power chair. It took repeatedly telling them no thanks but please move off the drop kerb.
To those who want to be helpful please
ALWAYS ask before helping someone or even offering advice – especially if you have never used a powerchair yourself.
ALWAYS respect the answer if the person says they don’t need help.
NEVER touch a mobility aid such as a power chair/wheelchair/scooter without permission.
This doesn’t mean that you should stop offering help. I am very grateful to people who helped on the occasions when I fell and on other occasions helped me avoid sticky situations but be mindful of the person.
And to those of you who have some issues with mobility. Rollators, wheelchairs, scooters – they are simply tools and can be a source of great joy if they allow you to live more independently and with less pain. I am thoroughly enjoying getting about on my new powerchair and exploring all my old haunts. There is a hill in my home town I’ve not been to the top of in 30 years. My scooter couldn’t make it. Will be making another attempt with my latest transport. I’ll let you know how I get on 🙂
Links to suppliers: