THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A POWERCHAIR AND A MOBILITY SCOOTER

Often power chairs and mobility scooters are grouped as one so that they can be differentiated from the conventional wheelchairs that are self-driven, or manually pushed. However, there are certain fundamental dissimilarities between the two.

 

The mobility scooters are to be steered using tillers (bicycle styled handlebar), that requires both the hands. They have three to four wheels, and up to thirty-five miles can be traveled by them.

Often these are used by those people who find walking tiring or have limited mobility. These scooters may be dissembled into more manageable components, (depending on their type and model), such that it can be conveniently stored inside homes, or transported in cars.

 

 

Usually, powerchairs resemble the traditional type wheelchairs, and certain models even look exactly the same, with each of the wheels having a battery and a motor attached. Powerchairs have on their arm, a joystick controller, which requires only one hand, so that the powerchair can be driven.  The powerchair users spend more time on them, than the scooter users do on their vehicle. Therefore, usually the powerchairs are more adaptable than the disabled scooters. Certain models may even have controllers and specialist seats attached to suit the user’s individual requirements.

 

 

The mobility scooters are usually used outdoors, since there are only some small scooters that may find any indoor use. Electronic scooters generally have a single motor for driving their rear wheels, while the powerchair rear wheels have 2 motors for driving the rear wheels individually. Powerchairs can thus make small turning circles, and are suited for indoor use. They also have lots of control and traction. In order to allow the user to reach the traditionally unreachable type places, like shelves and cupboards, powerchairs may also have an electrically operated hydraulic seat option. The less configurable disabled scooters offer lesser operational extras than powerchairs.

 

 

You can now decide which of the two is more suitable for your needs, now that you know all about their differences.