General Chat

following my stroke in april I now realise that my recovery isnt going to be as quick as I told myself and that getting around might be difficult for awhile or even ever so am considering purchase of an electric scooter. I would need right handed controls and as we live in a village with no pavement and very bumpy minor road and grass verges appropriate tires. Any advice would be welcome

PM sent

I also at to purchase a mobility scooter last year I had a test drive first on a few before deciding which one to buy my attitude was I did not want to buy the wrong one at the time I never thought of an electric wheel chair
my doctor provided me with a manual wheel chair Mobility Shops do provide a service where they will visit you at home fetch a few for you to try before purchase only advise try before you buy It is brilliant now just going out when I want Good Luck

You can also have a look and see if you have any disability living centre's near you as they give you good advise as well also the disability part of your hospital ;;
Make sure you try one that has the right height for your legs as this will make your back uncomfortable if it isn't the right height as I found to my cost when paid $3400 for one I couldn't use and had to sell on at loss ;;

Babs

make sure you try them out first and remember how long you will be sittingin it.

The one I liked the seat wasnt comfortable enough and hubby said just try the other one and the seat was a lot better. the guy in the centre was really helpful and not at all pushy we even went in a couple of times and he didnt mind at all.

Have fun with it, at 42 I didnt want one but was persauded by family and it makes so much difference to getting out and about and hubby doesnt have to get worn out pushing me around in a manual wheelchair.

d x

thanks for everyones tips on this. As we live in a very small village without pavements the main use it would have would be to tride up and down village road and walk dog. It would need strong tires as road bumpy and subject to lots of thorns. At the same time I would like to get it in car occasionally. We have a citreon berlingo. My husband is pretty strong or maybe consider ramp to get it in

most of the tyres on them now are puncture proof.

Mine breaks down to fit in car and my 13 year old put it together for me the other day so easy to do.

d x

hI Dawnie what sort of scooter is yours. I'm still looking. My favourite so far is an Excel Excite 4 for comfort and ground clearance of 10cm but even though have citreon Berlingo would have to take rear seats out. Husband doesnt see this as a problem but I'm not sure so the saga goes on. I do know I need comfortable seat, good ground clearance for on grass, potholes etc

http://www.help-my-mobility.co.uk/off-road-scooters.htm

I'm not sure if this will be much help ( and you may have already seen it ).

I googled " off road mobility scooter " and have put te link up .

If your talking countryside and dog walking for the main use it might be better to go for this style of scooter ?

Good luck with your choice .
Amanda

thanks Amanda cost is the main objection to the off road versions and as I'm not going to do any major off roading I'm just looking for a robust model with reasonable ground clearance

well just to let you know I've rang up and ordered the one I saw on Saturday. It goes up to 10mph so I can at least whizz around our village and not have to be pushed in a wheelchair! Next question anyone got any advice on walking a lab/retriever alongside a scooter

Hello Blackrose..........I'm pleased you found the one you wanted .

Regarding the dog . Would it be best to get some one else to walk him / her, next to you on the scooter for a few times , so he / she can get used to being along side a moving object ?

Good luck .

Dear Blackrose

Hello

I am glad you have got your scooter sorted out.

Just make sure you know the rules for driving on pavements!
There's probably the highway code for scooters!

You can always accidentally drive over someone's foot who you don't like.
My friend tried this and loved it!

Drive carefully.

Take care of yourself.

Very best wishes
x

This was in our local paper last month lol:


Man was drunk on mobility scooter




Peter B. of Tasburgh who was caught drink driving a mobility scooter.

12 August 2009 13:07



An archaic law introduced more than 125 years ago has been used to punish an elderly man who was caught driving his mobility scooter on a busy road while drunk.

Peter B. was stopped by police on the A140 at Long Stratton on May 26 and found to be over the legal alcohol limit.

However, Norwich Magistrates' Court heard yesterday how the offence did not fall within the normal drink-drive laws, meaning the 63-year-old was prosecuted under a law dating back to 1872, originally introduced to take action against anyone found to be drunk while in charge of a carriage, steam engine, horse or cow.

Richard P., prosecuting, told the court that for the purposes of the case, the mobility scooter would have to be classed as a carriage.

He said: “The offence falls outside the normal drink drive laws and that leaves us with a very old provision from 1872, which is part of the Licensing Act.

“The police were called in relation to Mr B. driving his mobility scooter along the A140 and there were some concerns about the way that it was being driven. He was stopped by the police, breathalysed and arrested as a result.”

A blood sample taken at the police station showed that B., of Tasburgh, had 122mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood - 42mg more than the legal limit of 80mg.

B., who is on disability benefits, represented himself in court and admitted a charge of driving a mechanically propelled vehicle on a road whilst unfit to drive through drink.

He said in mitigation: “I only had three cans of beer with some friends and didn't think there was anything wrong with that at all. I might have been over the limit but I wasn't drunk.”

In response to Chair of the Bench's point that being over the limit would impede his ability to drive the scooter, B. said: “My father had a buggy like mine and he was quite senile, and we used to get calls from the police to go and pick him up all the time, so I didn't think it would be a problem. My five-year-old granddaughter could drive it.”

Mr E. said: “But you do realise that you become a hazard, to yourself and to other people? You can't drink more than you should do.”

B. was fined £50 plus a £15 victim surcharge, and no cost orders were made because of his financial circumstances.

Most parts of the 1872 Licensing Act have been superseded, but some parts remain in force. In particular, the act creates an offence of being drunk in public and of being drunk in charge of a carriage (since reinterpreted to include bicycles), a horse , a cow (or other cattle), a steam engine , or a loaded firearm , with a possible penalty of a fine of up to £200 or 51 weeks in prison.

When introduced the act also restricted the closing times in public houses to midnight in towns and 11 o'clock in country areas, regulated the content of beer, said that licensing hours were to be determined by local authorities and gave boroughs the option of becoming completely 'dry' i.e. banning all alcohol.

It was an unpopular act for the working classes and there were a number of near riots when police tried to enforce closing hours.

Simon N., a Norwich solicitor, told the Evening News: “The vehicle he was driving did not fall within the definition of a motor vehicle under the Road Traffic Act, and therefore they could not prosecute him as if it was a motor vehicle.

“They had to prosecute him for being drunk in charge of a powered carriage, which was a law made before they had road motor vehicles.

“It's definitely not the first time it has been used but it isn't very common.”

Funny story purple but I havent been drinking anything but soft drinks since my stroke in April so wont be getting drunk. However joking apart I think any sort of vehicle whether motorised or manual should be driven with care but one thing I have noticed when using shopmobility scooters in town are the amount of pedestrians who just suddenly cross in front of you and give you a dirty look as though you shouldnt be there. Although scooters stop pretty quickly you need a second or too. You get looked as as if you are riding them for fun. Maybe they will find out what its like to become disabled one day. I will be careful and courteous, I just hope I get the same in return.

hi glad you have found a scooter that suit,s your requirement,s but please note that if it can go at 10mph you will need to get a tax disc for it this is a legal require ment . although the police dont enforce it better safe than sorry. you can only get the form,s from the dvla there is no charge for the tax disc as it is exempt . there was a thread on this some time aga may be someone can find it for you to read.

Hi msc yes I know I have to tax and register it' I have checked that out and luckily this is a dutch one and comes with two years guarantee and further 3 years labour charges. I thought insurance was more for liability, thefft etc and not for repairs. i get 3 months free insurance but will look into it more thoroughly for best options.

I'm so excited it should be coming today!

































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well yesterday was a beautiful day so I tried my scooter out around our little village, along the grass path to the church and a look at the river, a chat with the farmer etc etc. What a lovely feeling, first time out on my own since stroke in April.

Little nudge for Blackrose

Thank you
x