Were frequently asked by customers who call uk-wheelchairs about the legislation regarding electric wheelchair, powerchairs and scooters. People want to know what the rules are when it comes to using these on the roads, footpaths and other pedestrian areas including precincts and shopping malls.

Electric wheelchairs and mobility scooters are categorised in to class 1 or class 2. Depending on how and where you intend to use yours it pays to do your homework and consider which if these two types best suits your needs.

Whilst you don't need a any form of licence to use either an electric wheelchair (powerchair) or a mobility scooter you may have to register it and apply for a nil value tax disc to be compliant. Although many users do not do this, we encourage all users to apply for one so they are on the right side of the law.

If you do not have a licence then you should not use your mobility aid on the roads. To help you assess whether yours is a class 2 or a class 3 please follow this guide.

To be class 3 compliant your powerchair or scooter must comply with these rules:

* Not exceed maximum weight of 150 KGs unladen
* Not exceed the maximum width of 0.85 meters
* Have a device to restrict speeds to 4mph
* Not be capable of speeds over 8mph
* Have efficient brakes
* Front and rear lights plus reflectors
* Direction indicators
* A working horn
* A rear view mirror

With the above considerations in place, you may then decide to take your mobility scooter or electric wheelchair on to the roads but you must also bare these things in mind:

* Do not use bus lanes
* Do not use cycle lanes
* Do not use motorways nor dual carriageways where the limit is over 50mph.

If you do decide to go on the dual carriageways then an amber flashing light is required to comply and to ensure that you are as visible as possible on the carriageway.

On public footpaths and in pedestrian areas, all mobility scooters and electric wheelchairs are allowed but you must engage your speed restrictor to make sure you do not go faster than 4mph.

Where there are parking restrictions and any other road markings you will need to respect these as would any other motorist including not parking on double yellow lines.

With all this in mind please make sure that you are aware at all times and respect both pedestrians and other road users while out and about in your electric wheelchair or mobility scooter.

We're always interested to hear of new ways to transport wheelchairs and this concept from a Canadian seems to be a first. As their slogan says, the Towter Transporter is designed to make moving a wheelchair easier !

The Towter Transporter can allegedly be towed by car or van with a standard trailer tow bar. This could mean that the purchase of a specially adapted vehicle may not be necessary and may provide a cost effective solution. The Towter Transporter is primarily aimed at transporting electric wheelchairs or mobility scooters, it features a loading platform that lowers to the ground when the wheelchair (or scooter) is going on and coming off. The platform is then automatically raised before the trailer goes anywhere.

Complete with integrated weather cover the wheelchair trailer can only be used to move the wheelchair or scooter and no the user cannot be towed in it ! which means they will need sufficed mobility to get from the wheelchair to the vehicle so this rules many of us out.

The Canadian inventor has created an app that allows the wheelchair users smartphone to control the trailer and is able to hitch and unhitch using an on-board electric motor and sensors to guide the trailer away from the towing vehicle once it’s unhitched.

You can see it here on YouTube:

At UK-Wheelchairs we do not sell mobility scooters percée. Electric wheelchairs and powerchairs but not mobility scooters. As a country we now have over 330,00 of these on our roads and pavements which is more than any other European country and this number is rising rapidly as they seem to becoming an all to easy mode of transport for many.

For many users they are a genuine lifeline for freedom the same as with users of electric wheelchairs, people who have a genuine need for mobility assistance to help them get on with their daily lives. To some others scooters seem to have been adopted so they no longer need to exercise.

As there is little regulation over the use of scooters this situation is likely to get worse. Britain's roads can be turned in to chaos by irresponsible users who are causing an increasing number of accidents. As
long as there is virtually no regulation there will be problems. Bizarrely i read that even being registered blind doesn't prevent you from operating one.

Perhaps a proficiency test of some type would benefit people and perhaps as numbers are rising their sale should be restricted to those with specific mobility needs. There are a number of good mobility scooter
articles to be seen here on the BBC web site.

Over the week end we read with great interest about the trip made by Ron Taylor which was completed last week. Ron made his trans-pennine treck on his 4 wheel drive electric wheelchair raising over £20k in the process.

Ron's day job is an RSPB area manager and he lives in Denby Dale in W. Yorkshire. His mission for a long while has been to improve access for wheelchair users of all types to RSPB nature reserves. Roy recognises that electric wheelchair users and powerchairs to access some sites but there isn't always suitable access for manual wheelchairs nor transits.

Ron's trip took him on a 215 mile coast to coast route from Southport and too 10 days to complete. Ron has motor neurone disease and uses his wheelchair constantly. He seems to have taken long days on the trek in his stride commenting 'my legs don't work... and sitting on your bones for 10-12 hours a day is painful'.

Ron is now going to audit 20 RSPB nature reserves and draw up a list of changes to be made for better access. Ron wants access to the reserves to be "just as good as for an able-bodied person".

Mr Taylor said he had been asked to give a report on access to the board of the Trans Pennine Trail, and the National Trust has also asked him to help as a result of his trip.

We think Rons efforts are brilliant and hope that he is able to make the changes that he recommends to make accessibility far batter so all wheelchair users can enjoy both the RSBP sites and the trans Peninne route, whether using manual or electric wheelchairs.

It will be 10 years this October that the DDA or disability discrimination act required businesses and other organisations to make a reasonable effort to make their premises usable by disabled folk.

In essence this means that buildings that are frequented by the general public have to be fairly wheelchair friendly. This can take many forms but usually involves adding ramps, widening doorways and welcoming guide dogs so that we don't find it unnecessarily difficult to use their services. It seems that what is deemed reasonable depends mainly on the cost of the work needed in relation to the size or value of the business.

In the main I feel that this act has been taken on seriously by most. There was a noticeable flux of activity when the act was first introduced as many buildings were actively converted for disabled use. These changes were easier to implement in some cases than others. Owners of large older buildings probably found the transition the most costly. Wheelchair access has improved massively in the past few years as a result. With more electric wheelchairs in use there are more modifications being made to cater for them.
I have read of cases where wheelchair ramps have been objected to in older buildings. English heritage have made several protests along these lines. It is for these reasons that some venues are slow to adopt the legislation. Recent figures show that a survey of 52 of Britain's 100 busiest tourist attractions show that two-thirds (63%) were not fully wheelchair accessible. A quarter had no parking spaces for disabled cars. These figures are care the charity Vitalise.

Let's hope that peoples understanding of the needs of the UK's 10 million disabled people is improved and that more wheelchair access is provided.

Without any doubt, lightweight wheelchairs can help those of us with impaired mobility. Its hard to believe that an estimated 1 in 50 folk have some form of paralysis most of whom do not require wheelchairs as their symptoms are not sufficiently debilitating. Unfortunately paralysis often means more to the individual involved with chronic pain and impaired bodily functions being commonplace along with sensory issues and other effects due to being immobile.

Whether paralysis is caused by an accident or is a side effect of another medical condition it has the same effect on the individual in that the body cannot respond correctly to the instructions it normally receives from the brain. As well as the obvious immobility paralysis often causes other conditions including ones sense of self identity due to their restrictions on independence. Instead of being viewed as another person, some paralysed people can often feel defined by their wheelchair.

So can science really help us rediscover our mobility ? Developments like lightweight wheelchairs help paralysed people to better cope with immobility, but scientists are now developing new solutions that may make a big difference and put people back in control.

How is this being done ? Although it is very unlikely that paralysis of all forms could be cured, there are emerging innovations that help to bypass the problems the brain has giving instruction to other pats of the body. This is being explored in a number of ways including:

Regenerative medication using stem cells to regenerate damaged nerve cells in order to help restore their function including the ultimate goal of correcting damaged communication between the brain and muscles

Nerve stimulation technology - where electrical currents are used to create new message pathways which when used in conjunction with rehab can help to restore movement to some patients.

This is highly specialised research being developed to treat paralysis. It is hoped that scientists can piece together many types of work from different fields in order to produce life-changing breakthroughs. If this is the case could it ever be the end of the need for the wheelchair ?

We saw this picture and thought we had to share it. Ryan Chen, the guy in the wheelchair was injured whilst snowboarding five years ago but refuses to stop the disability from doing most things !

Crowd surfing in a wheelchair is not something i would have thought possible until i saw the photo taken last week in the US while he attended the Outside Lands Music Festival in San Francisco.

Ryan who has total paralyses from the waist down was spotted by the band performing at the time and is known by them. The lead singer had this to say after the concert:

"It was pretty amazing, looking out onto a sea of people and seeing Ryan being propped up on his wheelchair, Ryan has an incredible attitude about life and is almost always the happiest person in the room.”
See the photo here

Extreme sports are not everyone's cup of tea and bungee jumping is certainly not for the faint-hearted. So what drove disabled daredevil Riley Martin to do just that ?

The brave 21 year old from Canada doesn't shy away from much and certainly does not let his wheelchair hold him back. SO a couple of weeks ago he dropped 170 feet over a swollen river in Canada to the amazement of onlookers. Riley claims he was mainly inspired to take the vertigo-inducing jump last month having seen Canadian paralympian Rick Hanse doing the same.

During a week end break with his partner in British Columbia Riley and his self propelled wheelchair where strapped in to a harness by the event organisers. Reilly who confesses to being nervous and can be seen in the video as he makes the 170 foot plunge over the Canadian river.

Cardiff girl wins award for wheelchair users clothing

Lucy Jones a 23 year old from Cardiff in Wales has recently won 2 awards for her clothing designs that are made for wheelchair users. Lucy was voted Womenswear Designer of the Year of Class 2015 at the New York Parsons School of Design's annual fashion benefit.

Lucy says that the innovation for many of her designs come as a result of working with her cousin Jake who is a wheelchair user who struggles to find clothes to suit him and that can be put on by himself. Lucy has looked and listened to her cousin and other wheelchair users to identify the common problems people face when sat in their chair much of every day.

Redesigning the way the fabric is cut and stitched has mean that wheelchair users now have garments that no longer impair movement and that allow them to dress themselves easier than before.

"I realised that we, in the fashion industry, need to create more accessible solutions in clothing," Ms Jones said. "I thought if Jake could dress himself, he would be able to be more independent. Clothes have the power to do that."

With alterations made to trouser leg length and lowering of the back waistband wheelchair users were soon to be able to dress themselves and win back some independence. Lucy also had to consider that kneecaps change shape when bent, leading her to remove extra fabric at the bend of the knee, so trouser legs can fall flat. And Lucy took account of how thighs and bottoms spread when seated, as well as eliminating uncomfortable fabric bunching at the crotch.

With tops, Lucy reinforced elbows because they are always leaning on armrests, removed excess bulk and made room for the more developed muscles that people in wheelchairs develop in their shoulders and arms from propelling themselves in their chairs. Ms Jones has now made it her mission to raise awareness on the issue of designing for disabilities.

Using carbon fibre to build the frame engineers creating the new all terrain wheelchair for the challenge are aiming to give it both strength and minimum weight. The Paralympic athlete is planning to climb Mt kilimanjaro which is almost 6,000m above sea level. The expedition, which will follow the Marangu route to Kilimanjaro, will take place from 3–15 September.

The wheelchair has two wheels at the front and one at the back to provide extra stability and the user will propel hand levers to provide the power by connecting to the rear wheel using a pinion and chain. So that the user can use both hands to power the wheelchair,the steering is capable of locking in place. A chest plate is in place allowing the user to lean forward to hold the hand pedals and get maximum power. The plate and the seat both use a combination of gel and foam to ensure maximum possible comfort.

With the exception of the wheels, the wheelchair is about 85 % carbon fibre and weighs in at about 15 KGs, making it the lightest all terrain wheelchair that we have ever seen.

The expedition will consist of the athlete, who has not yet been chosen, along with three doctors from the Hospital Clínico San Carlos in Madrid, five Airbus engineers, a member of Altran, who helped design the wheelchair.