So I'll get the big con out of the way first. Some of you may have guessed this already, but the biggest difficulty electric wheelchair driving pedestrian faces is that of steps. Granted, there are ramps cut out in most roads leading to footpaths, and footpaths are almost everywhere, but what you may not quite appreciate however, is that these ramps connecting roads together are often in stupid and illogical places, or sometimes not there at all! This means electric wheelchair users often have to go the long way around, and this usually involves going over needlessly bumpy off-road paths.
My wheelchair can go about 10 km/h and I'm pretty sure people walk on average about 5 km/h. This obviously means that when I am going full speed, I'm faster than most people. I will count this as the pro, and it gets a tick of approval. Oh, I also get don't get tired driving around as most people do walking. But then again, I don't get the cardio either! That's probably a 50-50?
With the speed of mine available at my fingertips, comes great responsibility. I can't be sure, but I can hazard a guess that if a normal sized person walked into a normal sized person, it would hurt both parties involved a little bit. But in my case, if I crash into someone with my 200 kg electric wheelchair made of steel, it doesn't hurt me - it just breaks the other person's shin bones. That's not a very cool thing to do, and I can safely say I haven't done it before - but I do have the potential to really hurt someone if I do slip up, or someone walks right in front of me as I am careering along. In my mind, I count this as a con - but to any potential robbers or muggers out there, know that I will crush you without hesitation. That has to be a pro?
Another pro of being an electric wheelchair driving pedestrian is the fear factor that affords me a safe and clear passage through crowds. People are literally frightened of me, and if they see me coming due to us walking in opposite directions, most people will make an attempt to get as far away from me as possible. I'd like to think that this is because they are caring, though the fear explanation is most likely. It's good though, I'm a bit sadistic that way, instilling fear in people makes me feel powerful!
Driving an electric wheelchair on a footpath however, is most definitely a con when other pedestrians do not see me or cannot hear me due to the abundant number of earphone wearing city folk. This is because my chair is pretty large and unless I drive very aggressively and risk what I mentioned before about cracking people shins (maybe calf muscles in this case), I can't safely squeeze through most of the gaps walking folk take for granted.
So, how about something a bit more lighthearted now? Depending on the person I am behind on the street, the next fact of being an electric wheelchair pedestrian can either be a crippling con or a very attractive pro. This is of course, the fact that my electric wheelchair is quite low to the ground, resulting in my direct line of sight being that most people's bottoms and legs. Double-edged sword I suppose.
Carl Thompson lives in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and describes himself as a columnist, hermit, aspiring rich man, extremely opinionated (always right) electric wheelchair user with Cerebral Palsy and Scoliosis. “I decided to write a blog to end my laziness.”
Read more from Carl at http://workingatperfect.blogspot.com/
