Orthopedic chairs - Mobility scooters

A mobility scooter can be a great aid to someone who can still walk, but who has a limited walking range. This kind of scooter can be used to travel to shops, to visit friends or relatives, or to commute to any other relatively local destination. Whilst it is a chair on wheels, it can have a broader and more versatile use than a powered wheelchair and some models are suitable for use on roads and even rough terrain.

General specification

A mobility scooter takes the form of what is usually a three or four wheeler scooter with a large comfortable chair mounted upon it. The chair will normally have a large padded seat, a long (high) backrest, and many will have arms that can fold up to make getting on and off the scooter easier. The chairs often have adjustable features and they come with easy clean fabric finishes.

The scooter's wheels can be solid, but they are more usually air filled on the larger or road worthy models and they have a suspension system to keep the ride smooth and the balance of the scooter even. Many models include lights for night time driving, plus indicators and a horn. A shopping compartment or basket can be included on most mobility scooter models, either as standard feature or as an extra.

Performance, charging, range and carrying capacity

Mobility scooters have electric engines powered by battery packs that can be charged up from a domestic electricity supply. You simply plug the charger cable into the electricity socket and a display on the scooter tells you when the scooter is fully charged.

Most batteries will charge over night and, once fully charged, have a range of anything from around 10 miles to over 25 miles. The range of these scooters is obviously dependent upon the terrain covered and the weight of the person being carried. Most scooters will carry an individual up to a weight of about 350 pounds, however there are many scooters that are designed with bariatric use in mind.

The speed at which a mobility scooter can travel is restricted in most countries, e.g. in the UK there are two separate speed limits, one for the pavement and one for the road. In the UK these speeds are 4mph and 8mph and there will be a setting on all road-worthy scooters that lets the rider change from one mode to the other.

Most differences between varying scooter models relate to single charge driving range, scooter size, chair features and of course road worthiness. The smaller scooters that fold or dismantle for storage in a car are lighter and smaller, but they will also have a smaller battery and consequently a shorter travel range.

Bariatric mobility scooters tend to be larger and heavier than standard scooters. They have stronger and more robust frames and the passenger seat is wider and stronger than that of a standard scooter.

Who can benefit from a mobility scooter

The scope of people who use mobility scooters is quite broad. The main group remain the elderly and those with ailments like arthritis or rheumatism that make walking medium to long distances a challenge.

There is however a new group of scooter users who are forming an ever increasing proportion of owners and these are people who fit into the bariatric category, i.e. people whose size and weight make walking difficult.

For those with bariatric needs the mobility scooter removes the need to walk to, e.g. the local shop or supermarket, but still gives that person the freedom to leave the scooter once they have reached their destination, i.e. when the walking is more limited. The scooter also makes the transportation (back to the home) of any shopping or purchases an effortless task.

By using a mobility scooter in this way the restrictions of a limited walking range can be removed and a high degree of mobility and independence can be retained or restored to the scooter owner.