Speed of power wheelchairs - Was: Re: Re: foldable electric scooter CINDY

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I hope you don't mind me tossing myself into this discussion...

Does Dylan have (or soon get) a Jazzy chair? Those are really nice!!!

Mine has 4 wheels, but does turn almost as much on a dime as the

Jazzy does. Going with a Jazzy chair is a good option for so many,

much because it has all the good options for adaptation and seating,

so that you can get it just how you need it. And it would be easy to

add features as you go if the need should change. So many other

chairs does not have such good options as the Jazzy and the Permobil

Chairman does. Also, the Jazzy looks good, and that is important for

something that becomes an extension of your own body, if you ask

me... It is especially important for kids that it looks cool, but of

course for adults too... I do care about how my chair looks... It

does draw a lot of attention...

I could not agree more with you. I really think 25 mph is way too

fast for safety in a wheelchair for a child. Heck, I really think it

is too fast for an adult!!!! Especially for a kid who easily could go

onto something that could make the chair tip over. Going that fast,

you can't evaluate the ground well enough as you go. And with no

protection as a helmet, a metal bow over the head and such... You can

get them to program it so it won't go that fast, it is no problem

whatsoever to do so. They do it to all the chairs here in Norway, but

for different reasons.

In Norway we do have a speed limit for wheelchairs (w/c or WC

abbreviated - I saw somebody wonder about what this abbreviation

meant in another post)... It is because of rules regulating what is

walking and what is driving. You are not allowed to drive a motor

vehicle on sidewalks etc. So they do something to the wheelchairs so

they can't go faster than this limit, which is 10 kph, which is only

6-7 mph. I am planning on applying for a dispensation from this rule,

that is possible but quite difficult to do. My reason is simply that

here where I live, the bike paths are rarely totally flat, which

means I have to wiggle the joystick to the sides to drive in a

straight line. When you turn like that, the speed is lowered

automatically, so it goes even slower. So many places I am not able

to keep up with my dog when she is running. To allow her to run, romp

and play, is very important to me. But I would not want it to go 25

mph, that is not necessary and I think it is too fast for safety...

I am going to ask them to change it to 50% faster than it is or maybe

even 100%. Then it will be something over 10 mph, which would be

perfectly fine with me, and I would be able to keep up with Peanut.

She runs really fast even if she is a little Yorkie. She easily

outruns all the kids here. The speed limit for cars in areas where

people live and kids play here is 18.75 mph... That a kid in a

wheelchair should go faster than that, sounds quite scary to me. One

thing is that he can tilt over and hurt himself badly, but he could

also forget things and run out in front of a car or something like

that... Or don't be able to stop and run over another child... Those

chairs are really heavy and could easily hurt somebody badly. How old

is he? A child has not fully developed to evaluate what happens in

traffic until it is around 12 years old... I would really consider

some of these things... How about checking how fast it goes when one

of the kids run and runs the bicycle. I am sure that it is not 25

mph... You should be able to stay at home and know that your child is

safe when he is out playing....

Take care!!!

Aase Marit

>In a message dated 2/11/2004 6:44:27 AM Pacific Standard Time,

>c-clark05@... writes:

>Dylans chair has 6 wheels. It turns on a dime. He'll probably make himself

>dizzy, playing in it when he's bored. The only thing I don't like about it, is

>it has a speed of up to 25mph. I think that's way to fast!. I don't

>think I can

>run that fast to catch him. LOL..............................

>