I started this group in the hope with pressure we can change something I’ve long considered unacceptable and an abuse of power by electric wheelchair manufacturers and providers; I'm referring to the speeds being set by so-called "professionals" (who more often than not have NO experience of using a wheelchair EVERY day) and regardless of my ability to set safe speeds to suit me, as against those arbitrarily set by someone "approved" by manufacturers!
I’m a mature man and not a tearaway teenager, I’ve driven cars and vans for many decades without a single accident, quite capable of handling a “vehicle” moving at very much lower speeds, and for those speeds to be “safe”! Since having to use an electric wheelchair in 2010, the speeds have never been set to suit my needs/preferences, resulting in injury to myself, damage to my wheelchairs and surrounding property.
I use an electric wheelchair for “normal” things like shopping and in places with hard surfaces, but also to mow a very large garden with a petrol mower I adapted for my use; I do all the maintenance of my Invacare wheelchair, which I also altered to suit me and not the manufacturer!
In fact after many years of not being able to go on sandy beaches/gravel, getting stuck in potholes/muddy ground, and unable to overcome ridiculously low obstacles, I’m hoping to build a “hybrid” chair not limited to hard even surfaces (as is the case for “standard” powerchairs) nor totally reliant on batteries and suited to both outdoor/indoor use without damaging floors!
In December 2021, I contacted Dynamic (the manufacturer of the control unit) in the UK in order to obtain the necessary equipment to set the speeds myself (a lead to connect the control unit to a pc and the necessary software, not exactly expensive items!) I explained my long dissatisfaction at the way speeds had always been arbitrarily and unsatisfactorily set, that I had lost all confidence in local suppliers because of incompetence and what I considered to be abusive practices, e.g. claiming expensive parts like motors/control unit needed replacing when it wasn’t the case, returning my wheelchair after a “full” service with wires disconnected, wheel nuts missing or loose, the list goes on...
Despite my explanations and offering to sign a disclaimer to absolve the company of any incorrect settings that could cause injury to myself or bystanders, or damage to the vehicle or surrounding property, my request was flatly refused on the grounds Dynamic "have strict rules around limiting the supply of our products only to manufacturers of powerchairs, healthcare professionals and approved commercial retailers"; so much for “freedom” as repeatedly mentioned on their website!https://www.dynamicontrols.com/
It’s clear from at least one website I’ve come across I’m not alone in resenting the stranglehold manufacturers and suppliers have on speed settings, as well as what seems to be a patronising/disdainful attitude towards power wheelchair users by companies in this market so blatantly equating physical disability with mental deficiency... https://www.wheelchairdriver.com/