In reality things work the other way, though - I’m reminded of all these seemingly weird gadgets advertised on cable that people like to make fun of. They’re presented as gadgets to help solve problems that don’t exist, but in reality they’re actually intended as aids for the disabled, but also looking for any scrap of a market beyond that. So this isn’t explicitly called a wheelchair/mobility scooter, but the people who use those are who’re going to end up using it. (And I don’t see a lot of recreational mobility scooter use by those who don’t need them.)
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This is pretty offensive. People with disabilities often need by medical necessity a mobility device.
This post is basically saying they’re just FAT PEOPLE. HA HA HA.
No. these are necessary devices for people with needs and it belittles them by showing the images of fat people on a cruise liner.
I guess the mobility devices should be badges of shame and not available in stylish selections.
People with disabilities aren’t a punch line for your headline.
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I’m not over weight yet. But have put on weight since my accident and side effects of meds (early Ddi/D4T to be specific) related to HIV…such as painful nuropathy and not able to walk long distances. 6 1 and 204…up 15 lbs since the accident I can walk.but “wal mart” having ECV is a god send having ECV available. Here’s the deal. I’ll trade you my use of the ECV when you trade your CNS and HIV status with mine. Yeah…the accident recently was a result of not being able to balance when your feet don’t send messages to the balancing part of your brain.
Yeah…big joke here. HA HA.
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looks like people already use segways as wheelchairs, but via aftermarket modifications
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I did a test run of a segway in florida. It wore me out…you really have to have internal balance online and yoga like control to direct them. You’re basically using your balance and posture of your body to control the device. So, it’s kinda like balancing a book on your head while walking.
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Yikes, the prices on those. A 19,000 dollar modification of a two thousand dollar Segway. I imagine Segway’s own version here will be a lot cheaper…
Knowing the history of the Segway, how it was accidentally created while trying to make a wheelchair that can go up stairs, I am not surprised at this development. It does seem like a better wheelchair. If anything, the resemblance to the Pixar hover chair just shows how much thought went into Pixar’s design.
The true test will be if these things can fit in other wheelchair places like those in buses, trams and trains/subways. So I am cautiously optimistic, since this seems like the fad phase will be even shorter, and it will settle into a usable role. But then again, I live in a city where no one rides a scooter chair in a supermarket, so I have little idea of how it will be abused in the USA.
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This was very much how I interpreted it, based on the PR. That’s not to say it wouldn’t have any practical applications for some people with certain mobility issues; but simply that I didn’t strike me as something that was deliberately (if surreptitiously) designed to aid accessibility.
That being said, I do want to thank folks like @Shuck and @SamWinston for pointing out my oversight here. I normally think to think I’m pretty good about paying attention to access issues, but I’m sorry I failed this time.
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Mistakes made, but leaned from can be valuable. We all aim to do better.
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A lot of people in the disability community have the same view.
They’ve seen it before. This isn’t like a snuggie or sidewalk cut-outs where normalizing the same thing disabled people use (and can use simultaneously) can help with availability, but rather something that is going to take up what little space they have. There is a reason scooters and motorized wheelchairs are speed-limited – 24mph is faster than school zone speeds for cars. The people who drive mobility scooters or wheelchairs are also usually either familiar with their equipment or careful, because they are aware of their own fragility, if not everyone else’s. This is more likely to be a bigger, even more dangerous Lime/Bird scooter situation than a “here’s a better mobility device” one. A bunch of people speeding about in a device that they don’t own and aren’t dependent on getting in the way of and causing problems for people who do need assistive devices.
And I do understand that not all disabilities are visible and at their most severe 100% of the time, and that using a device when they’re not at the most severe can prevent them from getting there. But when people who actually use mobility devices immediately react with “this is gonna be a problem”, en masse, we might want to listen to them.
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Seeing as how there would be no way to move your body out of the way or yield to the blow, asides flipping backwards, resulting in a sudden change of direction, it seems like a SPECTACULARLY bad idea. The good news is you would already have a wheel chair for when you get out of the hospital. I await the youtube videos.
FINALLY! Standing up and leaning forward and backward on my Segway was KILLING ME.
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Another thing was the husband using a scooter at Disney after he broke an ankle.
This was 2001,
The perception is that a scooter at Disney is a ‘golden ticket’ for line skipping etc.
This is not the case, it’s a major PITA.
The only benefit was a ‘holding pen’ for scooters and being shuffled off to the worst viewing areas ever for shows. (Like in the very back against the wall for the Tiki Room) and Bus transportation was also a PITA. And while all the resorts are accessible. That accessibility at some resorts are 'it’s about 1/3 of a mile down this side walk…then go through a hallway that makes the Overlook Hotel compact.
You do get great views of other people’s butts tho. Which is not really a good thing at Disney.
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You were doing so good, right up to the body-shaming.
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Oh…I didn’t intended it that way. I was talking about trying to get out at closing time, you can’t see anything but butts, in the crowds. That’s all you can see in the chair. Butts Butts Butts. Everywhere. Large, Small all sizes and shapes. But butts for miles and miles.
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Needs a seatbelt.
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No, Segway has noted it’s specifically not designed for folks with mobility issues. The chair self-balances, and when it stops it sort of dumps you forward, which would not work at all for people with disabilities.
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I 100% agree. However this device specifically isn’t a mobility device (per Segway) because of how it self balances and stops.
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