BAU        Mobility Scooter possible problems                     Jan 2010     Questions to CDCNOTTINGHAM@GOOGLEMAIL.com

This essay is intended to alert anyone considering buying a mobility scooter.  There are many things that you don't think about until you own such a scooter.  If a prospective buyer reads this list of possible problems it may help them to avoid the many pitfalls.  The salesman , of course, will tell you all of the good points, but it is unlikely that he/she will tell you the possible problems.  A lot of the things I have found are petty, but it is well worth being aware of them nevertheless.  I'll number the points so that if anyone reads this essay, they can give the number if they email me for further information.

01        The distance you can travel on one charge
All those scooters I have met give the range as ON THE FLAT.  This is reasonable because road undulations are so varied that any other measure would be meaningless.  My rule is that do not attempt to travel more than half the distance given.  This should cope with the "up and down kerbs" and other stop-start activities.  If you are good at DIY, I can suggest a way of fitting a Odometer to your vehicle.  I started to fit one but have been diverted by the weather.  Also remember that the mileage will fall as the battery ages and loses some of its capacity.  But the gel batteries fitted to most scooters have a  good long life.  But keep the battery charged as if it were low and the weather frosty, it is possible that it could freeze.  That would probably wreck the battery.  And replacement are not cheap.  They cost in the region of £100 depending on the size of the battery.

02        The quality of the surface you travel on       
Roads and pavements vary enormously in their quality.  On this estate in Wollaton Park Nottingham, some pavements slope violently giving the feeling that you will tip over.  How seriously you would be injured if you did topple over, I do not know, nor do I want to find out.  Some pavements have tree roots that are close to impossible to pass.  I can attach a picture of a 100 year old tree in the middle of the footpath in the Derby Road.  There are no GOOD roads that I have found except the Nottingham Ring Road, and the police or the ambulance service would take great interest if you were to venture on to that road.

03        The tyres that you have fitted
I started off with pneumatic tyres as they give the smoothest ride.  But when I found a four-inch wire nail (yes, I know exactly what a four inch wire nail is) in one of the front tyres, I had them changed for solid tyres.  The ride is a bit rougher, but the palaver getting home with a totally flat front tyre changed my mind for me.  It is possible to get stuff that will seal a puncture, but I have non idea as to how good or bad it is.  The advertising puff is something I do not trust.

04            Does your machine have a brake?
Some machines have a handbrake, most do not.  When you stop moving with the normal "accelerator-lever", there is a pause before the auto-brake cuts in.  If you are travelling on the level or a slight slope, this is acceptable.  But think about the situation if you are creeping down a moderate slope so as to be very close to a stationary object.  When you reach that object you would release the lever expecting to stop.  I have not timed the delay, but is is in the region of half to one second before the auto-brake cuts in.  All machines are heavy, some are very heavy.  Say that your aim point is close to a milk bottle against a wall.  There is a very good chance that you would hit that bottle quite hard.

05            On the path in a crowded town
You have been a pedestrian at some time or other; so have I.  But you have not realised just how stupid we all are.  I regularly drive through a moderately busy piece of town.  And in heavy traffic it is most hazardous to drive on the road.  (See 06 below).  As you creep past a throng of milling people, it is amazing how some of them simply step to one side with their back to you.  Why they should make this manoeuvre  is beyond me, and I don't suppose  they could answer the question either.  But it is very easy to drive into the back of an unwary pedestrian.  If you did that you would undoubtedly injure them.  You may say "stupid fool them", but you too will also be in deep trouble.  I don't suppose you would be lynched in this country, although with the decision of the government to be nice to criminals, you might get assaulted and your machine receive a lot of dents.  The boys in blue would be sure to take a keen interest.  And being an old fogey will not help much in an antagonistic crowd.

06            Various classes of machine
Comparatively-recently mobility scooters have been put into various classes.  My one is Class 3.  That means that it can reach 8 miles per hour.  But a scooter is only permitted on the footpath up to 4 mph.  That speed can be too high in many cases.  8 mph is simply stupid for the reason I give above.  But if the road is suitable, 8mph is a sensible speed to travel.  I have been looking at the various pages on the internet relating to scooters, and a Class 3 machine requires registration with the DVLA.  There is no charge other than the postage, but it will make you legal.  A lot of people are unaware of this requirement, even the local police are in some places.  You get a normal tax disc that you are supposed to display on the front of your machine.  I assume the same rule applies as with a motorcycle that it shall be displayed in a waterproof cover.  At the moment it does not seem necessary to show a registration plate.  I have seen a very up-market machine that did have a  number plate.  But I know that the government are looking at mobility scooters; because, for example. a small number of people have been injured in supermarkets, so the government is considering compulsory insurance.  See 07 below.

07        Insurance
At the present there is no legal requirement to have insurance on a machine, but that is sure to change.  I also think that it is not only stupid, but highly unsociable not to have insurance.  You can be the world's best driver and you can still do stupid things; I presume you area human being, a bit like me.  Most dealers are agents for an insurance company that deals in scooters.  There are all sorts of cover available from simple third party to total breakdown cover.  And as with every other type of insurance, you generally get what you pay for.  There is usually an age limit on a machine that is covered with a breakdown insurance, and they generally require the machine to have an annual service from an approved agent.

08            A hooter
My machine has a hooter, if you can call it that.  It makes a noise that the majority of people would ignore.  Certainly you would not be aware of it if any motor traffic were around.  I have considered fitting a small hooter like they used to have on the cars in the 1900s. The "honk honk" of the old style horn would be absent, but the higher pitched "parp parp" would alert pedestrians much better than my so-called horn.

09        Courtesy of car drivers
I have found that a lot of motorists are very courteous; embarrassingly so.  I often stop at the kerb to wait till a car passes, but the car stops a short way from me.  I can imagine the driver, who is so often invisible behind a black windscreen, waving furiously to me to take presentence in crossing the road.  I generally wait looking blankly in the direction of the car, and then in about five seconds I start to cross.  The driver blithely believes that I can see them as well as they can see me. There are limits to the darkness that a windscreen may legally be, but it seems to be widely ignored.  I have considered displaying a large notice telling onlookers that black windscreens are opaque.  I do have a  notice on the back of my machine pointing out that I am not allowed on the footpath at 8mph.  Some loon-drivers shout "get on the pavement" as they pass. Since fitting the notice I have not had loons shouting at me.

10            Theft of you machine
I don't suppose Nottingham is the worst place in the country, but I am sure it is not the most law-abiding one either.  Because of the government policy of "be nice to a criminal" it seems that crime has escalated in this country.  And as the police are purposely over-worked to keep voters' minds off things like MP's expenses and bankers' bonuses, you are effectively on your own.  A lot of feral youth takes a delight in causing trouble, and what better "laugh" than to nick a mobility scooter from outside a shop and push it round the corner out of sight.  However there is generally a solution.  I don't mean chaining your machine to a lamppost; I mean being aware of the gadget that most scooters have fitted.  As the drive between the electric motor and the wheels is a very low gear, it is impossible to push the machine.  So the manufacturers generally fit a lever that allows the drive to be interrupted so that one can push a scooter.  On many machines that lever is out of sight.  But a few scooters have the lever in an obvious position.  One one of the feral loons who wants "a laugh" could quite easily release the leaver and push the scooter round the corner out of sight of the person who has just come out of the shop.  And I hardly need to say that if you leave your machine even for a minute, take the key out; this will stop a joy-rider from trying out the scooter.  My suggestion is to buy a machine that has the release lever out of sight and only release it when necessary.  You will hardly ever need to use it anyway.