Recently i have seen a couple of users getting their mobility scooter into quite a tight spot, in separate shops and at completely different times, and one thing that stood out to me was that the shop workers looked like they didn’t want to interfere, also in both siutuations it was quite clear to the mobility scooter user that going into the tight spot meant futher difficulty in getting back out.

One needed to very carefully reverse away from the counter after being served, the other needed to edge forwards and backwards repeatedly until being able to finally get around the corner.

To be fair in each situation there was little that could be done to assist, i think the shop workers in both of those situations were right to not interfere, as the person who eeded to do some very careful reversing seemed comfortable enough with it and managed fine once she realised that there really were no other options.

I think that some non users can be intimidated by the mobility scooter, although most users are careful and courteous, i think the sight of a less than courteous user sticks in the mind of non users so that even when faced with a mobility scooter situation in a shop you often see that people are not sure what else to do but get out of the way.

I get a lot of people asking me through the site here if i know of a place where they can train to repair mobility scooters, it seems that there are quite a few people who would like to do this so that they can do various repairs for themselves and offer a service repairing mobility scooters.

As of yet though i dont know of a specific course that provides this training, maybe it is out there, if it is though it probably wont be nationwide, i have searched to see if it exists but found nothing, maybe it might appear in the future somewhere in the country.

Of course you can learn about mobility scooters yourself by beginning with small and easier repairs, there is quite a bit of information online from fellow owners of mobility scooters of different makes and models and this can help you get a basic understanding.

Some of you may be aware of people complaining about mobility scooter users, in general, in papers and especially online, some of you might not be aware of this.

Although there are a few users of mobility scooters who dont operate their own as safely as they should, the majority do and are courteous, regardless of how long they have been using one.

Some of the complaining about users can then extend to people not feeling that some people really need to be using a mobility scooter, obviously each individual’s need and reason for using one will differ but for users who are usually only seen passing in the street this is harder for a nonuser to gauge the persons need to use one.

Basically, what the public dont see, the struugles that some people experience just getting around their own home, entering and exiting the home threshold, bathing, cooking and even comfortable enough sleeping are all challenges that some people face daily.

Some disabilities dont look obvious to other people, especially to people without mobility issues, when they see you outside, if they dont know you and dont live near you then its easy for them to forget that you have other situations in your daily life that goes beyond your use of a mobility scooter.

You might be using a whole host of mobility aids that fall into the Home Healthcare category and your day might need to be carefully planned for you to get through it at a manageable pace.

It’s completely understandable that some people without mobility difficulties will not realise this, its not unusual to assess a situation as you see it, there and then, without knowing more about another person, nearly everyone does it at some point in their life, but it’s something for everyone to keep in mind.