In the days when I drove a car; it had a 2 litre engine, and did 0-60 in seconds. I would drive about about hundreds of miles in a week, and I thought driving a mobility scooter would be easy!

I hadn’t driven for several years thanks to my disability,  so the increase in traffic was the first thing I noticed. As a passenger in a car I hadn’t really noticed this. The next thing I noticed unfortunately was how vulnerable I felt.

My scooter only did 8mph on the road, but at first  it felt really fast. That said; other traffic whizzing past me made feel dizzy! I felt the annoyance of car drivers as they passed me. I felt they were annoyed and frustrated with me in my slow scooter using the road. I suppose I had little patience with scooter users when I drove a car, so maybe it was my just desserts!

In time I realised that I was just as entitled to use the road as everyone else. Maybe even more so. I have little choice – use my scooter or stay in the house. Other people have the luxury of walking miles or taking the bus, car, train – you name it. I don’t feel in the way anymore, but I do take precautions when I drive my mobility scooter on the road.

These are the things that I think are essential and make you feel safer when using your mobility scooter on the road:

• Make sure you have enough battery power for your journey and to get back home (You wouldn’t drive you car without having enough petrol in the tank)
• Make sure your scooter is well maintained
• Make sure you have planned your journey well, especially if it is a new place that you are going. You don’t want to find that you are almost there and your scooter just can’t make the 3 steps that are in your way! (I find a couple of phone calls to the place you are going often solves this one quickly.)

Once these are done, I feel much more confident about my journey. Now I don’t feel so vulnerable, I feel freedom and independence!

Author: Jason