What is a mobility scooter?

A mobility scooter is an effective powered mobility aid that helps people get around akin to a wheel chair. Its appearance and operation is very similar to a motor scooter but with a purposely designed configuration.

An electric mobility scooter can also be referred to as a "disabled scooter, "electric scooter", or an "invalid scooter".

An electric powered (one of these mobility aids is actually powered by a rechargeable battery pack) mobility scooter can provide a change of lifestyle to people that have a mobility problem.

One of these scooters is useful to aid people that have a systemic or whole body disability condition that are still able stand and walk a few paces, that can sit upright, and that are also able to control the steering and speed / braking controls.

Men and women also buy electric mobility scooters whom do not have the ability and strength to use a manual wheel chair.

A strong selling point that attracts people to a mobility scooter is the fact that they do not look like a wheel chair. Some people still class users of wheelchairs as being negative and of being second class and this can prevent a person that is not as mobile as they used to be (perhaps because of old age) from making the plunge and buying a wheel chair. This applies to electric powered chairs as well as manual ones.

Another strong point worth noting is that an electric wheel chair is not always the cheapest option when it comes to mobility aids!

Because of their popularity and the volumes being manufactured you can now buy an electric mobility scooter at a considerably cheaper price than a "run of the mill" electric wheel chair.

Are there any limitations with regards to a mobility scooter?

Although an electric powered mobility scooter reduces and eliminates a lot of the manual strength problems that are experienced when using a manual wheel chair, an electric mobility scooter still requires operation of its key controls. In particular we refer to the steering of the handle bars and the brake controls.

These require an upright seating posture to be adopted as well as the rider employing some upper body strength to control and operate these. Shoulder, arm, and hand strength in particular are needed in a limited way to safely use an electric mobility scooter.

The user of a scooter needs to be able to steer, accelerate, slow, brake, and stop safely, as well as being able to park the scooter outside shops, restaurants, libraries, clubs, as well as any other places needed including of course the riders home.

Compared to a wheel chair an electric mobility scooter also needs extra room to be stored when in not in use. If you are intending to purchase one in the near future consideration needs to be given as to where you will keep it. Do you have a garage? a private drive way? or another area where you can store and park it off-road?

Is the area you intend to park your mobility scooter secure? Will you need a security alarm fitting to your mobility scooter to help with the risk of possible theft or vandalism? Or do you live in a neighbour hood or in an area where you are comfortable with parking it up?

When looking to purchase an electric powered mobility scooter the most common limitation of this product is the running time and distance the scooter can be driven for on a full battery charge.

It is worth noting that this limitation is only valid if the scooter you intend to purchase is not capable of meeting your expectations and needs with respect to this.

It is recommended that you ensure you buy a scooter that meets your lifestyle needs fully, a simple way to ensure it is "up to the job" is to ask the company or dealer you intend buying from or alternatively read the specifications of the model of scooter you have in mind.

Most new electric mobility scooters will run for a good distance and time between battery charges provided they are in a good service condition. With adherence to the recommended service schedule the battery and the scooters charger should be capable of delivering good performance.