Is that parked intentionally or has the engine flooded and broken? It has an air of “oh heck, shouldn’t have driven through that” about it?

If you like it, you could loan one of your own for a month, for FREE, delivered to your door through #Wheels4Me London!

Visit wheels4me.co.uk to learn more.

Wheels4Me London is delivered in partnership with @sustrans.bsky.social, @peddlemywheels.bsky.social
& funded by the Motability Foundation.

Nice work, and yes you’re absolutely right - maintenance of transport networks including cycle tracks and footpaths shouldn’t fall to volunteers!
If the route is a right of way Open Spaces Society has this handy highway’s act resource: www.oss.org.uk/need-to-know...

This is brilliant. My (white, Welsh) grandpa was stationed mostly in what’s now Bangladesh. He learned Urdu (& Hindi) had so much respect for the people he’d worked with there. When dying with dementia he still loved pleasing Urdu-speakers by talking politely to them in Urdu.

Unfortunately that’s not this council’s policy - policy doc says no residents’ mobility scooters on council property (indoors or out) unless the specific device is applied for & permitted in writing, never in lifts or above ground floor, visitors scooters outside only, charges apply & much more!

Laptops and power tools can have surprisingly similar (as in, the same) size batteries as smaller mobility scooters and lots of public space legal e-cycles. Same/similar battery types, too.
Same for safety certified but not quite so public space legal e-scooters and mobility power attachments etc.

Charging areas (for big outdoor use devices) need to be warm but not too hot, well ventilated & dry too - can’t charge hot, cold or wet batteries & devices shouldn’t be stored wet.
Some people need to use & charge mobility scooters, powerchairs & power add-ons in their accommodation & visiting too.

I’ve no problem with PAT testing for devices in communal areas & shared housing (as long as housing providers organise low cost/free testing).
Also would support offering general fire & broader home safety inspections/training - how often does someone have a dodgy old heater/extension lead/lamp etc?

“Accommodation not suitable to needs”- how many years will a social tenant typically wait for suitable accommodation?

“Reducing theoretical risk” - agree - & there are big risks & harms that occur when you restrict people’s mobility & apply stressful assessment processes, too. There’s a balance.

Reasonable to wonder I, I’m sure there are dodgy ones out there, & agree suppliers should be clear on highway regs compliance.
But most devices I’ve seen that are way off UK highways rules do say they have certification to ISO/BS-EN standards- in fact I think some manufacturers confuse the 2 things

Are you proposing the same for all powerchairs? How about laptops and power tools? They often have comparable size batteries to smaller mobility scooters.
How is fire harm risk calculated against the health harms from reduced mobility including reduced ability to care for self, others, be employed…

I love your cartoons - Please could you provide alt text for them so more people can enjoy them?

Yes - those devices are often (even, usually, from what I’ve seen) MHRA registered, BS-EN or ISO safety certified devices: Our “invalid carriages” regulations are awful - many devices which don’t meet them are still safe and certified as such.

Although also there are lots that are “motorbikes” in UK highways law that still meet product safety testing as mobility scooters and medical devices - they’re totally different systems & the product safety tests are European-based - eg higher speeds than UK “invalid carriages” highway rules allow

& powered wheelchairs are, as I understand, regulated exactly the same for safety as mobility scooters. Users of each can have comparable walking ability.

Plus generally these devices must be stored & charged dry & warm - cold charging or prolonged wet damage devices & could make them dangerous…

Agreed that fire escape routes must not be restricted, but:

This isn’t about “convenience”.

This is about Disabled people being denied use of essential, safety-regulated mobility aids, creating ongoing harm & risk to reduce a theoretical risk.

Forcing people to go outdoors to aids is denying use

ADA definitely seems to have some advantages over the Equality Act. Bit of a mixed situation if I’ve understood people much more knowledgeable than I am correctly.

I don’t think the no mobility scooters in bike lanes (or bus lanes) thing has been changed? Cycle tracks yes, cycle lanes (generally) no I thought?

The gravel French drain will catch all the water from the drive - it’s at the low point where a big puddle *used* to form, and I’m covering it over with some old bits of gritstone slab not turf, so it doesn’t clog up as fast.