Mobility scooter use is on the rise, bringing independence to people with disabilities Australia-wide. So, where can you use them? Can you use mobility scooters in the shops?
The good news is, yes you can! Mobility scooter users are considered pedestrians in Australia, so you can scoot away down to the shops to get your shopping done with ease! We have a handy blog on the rules surrounding mobility scooters and road rules for you to check out. We also have one about the rules surrounding drinking and scooter use if you'd like to know more.
What Do I Need To Know?
The biggest thing to consider when using your mobility scooter in a shopping centre is safety. Ensuring that you are always aware and aware of others is incredibly important for both their safety and yours.
Keep It Slow
When in shopping centres, you're surrounded by people and obstacles. Without the right precautions, this can be a recipe for disaster. So it's a good idea to keep your speed down, preferably around 3km/hr. If everyone works together to ensure their safety, it makes it an amazing experience for everyone. Which in turn will help ensure that in future, mobility scooters will continue to be allowed to be used in shopping centres.
Remaining vigilant, and being considerate of others helps to curb the number of mobility scooter accidents. If you do bump into anything (as stores can be tight) ensure you release the accelerator immediately, so that the auto brakes kick in (not all scooters will have this, although all of the products below do). Spacial awareness is key. The Heartway Verve has laser light guides to help you with this, by outlining the direction and path of the scooter to help you steer the scooter.
Portable Scooters
Here at Out and About, we have a range of portable scooters perfect for shopping trips. They're light, easy to use and nice and small, helping you navigate around obstacles with much more ease than a large scooter. Not only that, but they're small enough to stow in the car! Below are some of our top picks for portable scooters.
The Heartway S26 Verve
The Verve is our most popular portable scooter, and the newest on the market! It’s designed to tackle tougher terrains than other portable scooters. With a robust design for extra stability and an auto-fold function, it’s no wonder so many of our customers love it! It also has some other amazing features like the laser guide light and the auto brake feature.
The Heartway S21M Easy Move
The Heartway Easy Move is one of the lightest portable scooters on the market, weighing in at only 19.6kg! It’s an ideal choice if you love travelling! It's nice and light, so it's much easier to get it into the back of the car. It's perfect for those short shopping trips in a busy supermarket
The Heartway Brio 3
The Heartway Brio 3 is another of our more popular travel scooters. Compact and lightweight, it weighs only 20.8kg and has a unique Indigo Suspension System designed to keep all four wheels on the ground. Not only that, but with the two front wheels positioned so closely together, it offers the turning radius of a three wheeled scooter while still offering the stability of a four wheeled scooter.
