Do you suffer from arthritis? Have you been injured? Is walking a challenge? If so, I'm willing to assume all kinds of activities, like taking the dog for a stroll and grocery shopping, are a real challenge.
A host of varying mobility-associated impairments make walking very difficult, even straight-up painful.
The most common type? Arthritis.
Nothing says joint-pain like arthritis.
Nothing affects one's mobility like arthritis.
But don't think for a second arthritis is a simple diagnosis.
It's not.
Because there are varying types of arthritis, it can afflict sufferers in many ways.
How do people cope? Some do so with medication.
Some people just accept the pain.
Some of us pay attention to television commercials and end up getting a mobility scooter.
It's the only way I've been able to restore some semblance of mobility.
I can actually get around now.
I can go places I haven't been for a long time.
It's the only way I could have ever become somewhat independent again.
Oh, I'm so grateful for my mobility scooter.
How does one decide? What determines the best electric mobility scooter for you? Are you going to use it mainly inside, around the home? Or is it more for pavement-covered sidewalks and dirt roads? Or, possibly, will it be used equally, inside and outside? Are you even certain, yet? And just how "assistive" do you need a mobility scooter to be? Will you require someone to be with you in case of an emergency? Do other factors need to be considered? What are your physician's recommendations? Have you even discussed this with your doctor? Does your spouse have an opinion on the matter? Oftentimes these decisions affect not only us, but a potential host of other family and friends, also.
So before you take another step in your mobility scooter quest, discuss the possibilities with people whom you trust.
Oftentimes an interested third party can inject a fair amount of wisdom into such situations.
Another possible consideration? Your weight compared to the manufacturer's weight restrictions for the various mobility electric scooters.
How much you weigh will, well, weigh heavily on the availability, and unavailability, of certain scooters.
You know how much you weigh.
If someone else is going to be using the machine, find out how much they weigh.
And this is no place to "pad the truth".
If you weigh 300 ponds, then you weigh 300 pounds - NOT 276 and not 284 - but 300 pounds.
Own the weight.
Factor in the clothing you typically wear.
How much does it weigh? If you're going shopping, how much will those items weigh? Make an honest estimate to the side of conservatism.
Typically, an additional 20% to 25% of your dressed weight is a good figure to utilize.
If you weigh 300 pounds, let the mobility scooter dealer know you require a machine with a 375 pound weight capacity.
Just say it.
It is what it is.
If you don't like the weight, you can worry about losing it later on.
Right now, however, we've got an electric mobility scooter to buy.
How tall is the rider? Usually a non-issue.
Why? Most scooter handle bars and seats are adaptive in nature, or adjustable, if you will.
They can be raised up to accommodate the tall, or down a bit for the more diminutive.
The width of the seat? Now that's a completely different issue that calls for consideration.
But there's a simple remedy.
Using a chair at home, preferably the one you both use the most and find most comfortable, measure its width.
Then, compare that width measurement with any variety of scooter seat choices.
All things being equal, it's a rudimentary, though effective, means to ascertain the most comfortable seat.
A three-wheeled electric scooter, or mobility scooter, will be your best choice if you mainly intend to ride your vehicle on flat, even surfaces.
The single-wheel front end makes steering your way through doorways easy.
Maneuverability is faultless for use in close quarters.
Again, this is a flat terrain machine.
It will not perform as well on soft lawns or gravel shoulders.
Don't expect it to do so.
It will not perform its best on either gravelly or rough footing.
Also, where ground is soft, excess weight tends to push the single-wheel front-end down, many times bogging the scooter in soft dirt or mud.
An alternative to the three-wheeler? How about a four wheeler? More suitable for outdoor use, a four-wheel mobility scooter is designed to hold up better under greater weights than its three-wheeled counterpart.
Now, two wheels support the front-end load instead of one, mathematically increasing stability to the rider's advantage.
Mobility becomes a bit of an issue with a four-wheel scooter, however.
The extra wheel and broader front-end make getting through narrow doorways a bit more tricky, though nothing a little extra practice can't remedy.
Once all the important questions have been answered, you're in a much better position to actually make an electric mobility scooter buying decision.