ProductR E P O R T

“Last year it finally hit

me” says Diana Lord,

a 50-year old with a disabling condition.

“If I didn’t do something..., I

might never visit an art gallery

again.” That’s when she bought

an electric scooter.

ELECTRICSCOOTERS

© AARP

AARP Product Report

by Lee Norrgard© Copyright 1995, AARP

Almost any day of the weekyou can find Diana Lordzipping along the paths andsidewalks of suburbanWashington, DC, riding herelectric scooter. It gets heraround the house, but it alsogets her out of the house. Shegoes to church, the grocerystore, the community center,and the museums and artgalleries in Washington, DC,via subway, on her scooter.For users, like Diana, ascooter isn’t just transporta-tion, it’s independence.Diana’s in her early 50s, andhas a disabling conditioncalled neuromyopathy. Thiscondition weakens both hernervous and muscle systemsand prevents her from takingeven a few steps. “Last yearit finally hit me,” says Diana.“If I didn’t do something, Imight never visit an artgallery again.” That’s whenshe started shopping for ascooter. Diana began byreading scooter advertise-ments and writing away formore information. Next shetest-drove a scooter. “I waslike a teenage boy with hisfirst motorcycle,” Diana says.She settled on an indoor/outdoor scooter for $2,445and has been a satisfied userfor more than a year. Dianastill drives a car, sporting ascooter carrier. In reality,however, it’s the scooter thatgives her the legs she

needs to go where she wantsto go.Diana’s decision to buy ascooter is like those of moreand more adults. Last year,approximately 30-40,000consumers purchased newscooters. Many scooterowners, according to anAARP questionnaire sent to500 member users, appear tobe older. The average agewas 69 years but there arealso 40 year-olds and 90year- olds driving scooters.Half the scooter ownersquestioned in the AARPtabulation purchased theirvehicles within the last twoyears and paid an average of$2,400. Over 60 percentdrive their scooter every day,and 58 percent use it bothindoors and out. Almost allusers (93 percent) expressedsatisfaction with their ve-hicles.Buyers can find plenty ofnew and used vehicles tochoose from. There are atleast twenty different manu-facturers of scooters, manywith different models. Withall these choices, how do youmake a decision?Product Report - This book-let provides information tohelp you decide if an electricscooter might meet yourneeds. Up to now, very littlecomparative information waswidely available. This prod-uct report seeks to fill aninformation gap with brand-

Introduction

name information, user com-ments, and suggestions. We can’tguarantee you’ll be problem free,but we’ll help you make a moreinformed choice. We wrote thisguide for the first-time buyer.However, if this is your secondor third purchase, there will beinformation you, too, can use.

What’s an

Electric

Scooter?

An electric scooter is a battery-powered, three or four-wheeledvehicle designed for individualswho have difficulty walking.There are scooters for indoor use,scooters for outdoor use, andindoor-outdoor scooters for usein both places.

While models vary, eachscooter normally comesequipped with:

♦♦♦♦♦ A Metal (or in some in-stances, plastic) Chassis withThree or Four Inflatable tires-The tires could be soft or hard,filled with air or foam.

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ An Adjustable Seat withArmrests – The seat adjusts tofit the rider and swivels to pro-vide access to tables and deskswhile seated on the scooter.

1

Winter 1995

♦♦♦♦♦ A Tiller with Controls -(see figure 1) The tiller is acombination steering wheel, gaspedal, and control panel. Itadjusts up and down and tiltsforward for easy entry. It’sbicycle-like handles steer leftand right and, frequently, whatappears to be hand brakes isactually the throttle. Somemanufacturers call the throttle awigwag.Mounted on top of the tiller is aconsole with an ignition switch(requiring a key), a speedcontrol (high, low, or medium),a switch for forward and

reverse, and a battery gaugedisplaying available power.On most scooters you won’tfind driver-operated brakeson the tiller or the chassis.Instead, scooters use anautomatic system calledregenerative braking. Thebrakes automatically takehold when you release thethrottle. Combined with theregenerative braking is amechanical system, a parkingbrake, which holds thevehicle in place after it stops.♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ An Electric Motorwith RechargeableBatteries - Two

2

rechargeable, lead batteriespower the scooter’s electricmotor. Some scooters (depend-ing upon make and model)speed along at up to eight milesan hour and some (dependingupon make and model) travel upto 35 miles on a single batterycharge. Your scooter’s maxi-mum speed and range will varynot only upon make and modelbut also upon travel conditions.Hilly roads or bad weather, forexample, slow you down andcall for more battery power.With proper maintenance andcare, a scooter can last

AARP Product Report3

for years (one AARP memberreports he’s still driving a1978 scooter). The mostexpensive repair will likelybe a new set of gel cellbatteries costing $180 every12 to 24 months.Most consumers (an esti-mated 75 percent) pay fortheir scooters out of theirown pockets. However, if it’sused indoors (at least in part),is medically necessary, andprescribed by a physician,Medicare may reimburse youfor part of the cost. It willtake some paperwork, how-ever. Some private healthinsurance plans also coverscooters.

Why a Scooter? -A scooter’s not your onlychoice in motorized mobilityaids, but it has some distinctadvantages. Chief amongthese is cost. New scootersrange from $1,800 to $5,000.Electric wheel chairs, on theother hand, are usuallycustom fitted and start ataround $4,000, but can go ashigh as $15,000 to $25,000.Scooters are also moreversatile. They’re used bothindoors and out, dependingupon the model. While youcan use an electric wheel-chair on sidewalks andstreets, they’re generally notconsidered an outdoor ve-hicle.

To select the right vehicle foryou, you must decide whichscooter meets your drivingneeds. There are three typesof scooters:Indoor, Outdoor, and Indoor-Outdoor

Indoor scooters are smaller,three-wheeled vehicles.Manufacturers designed themto work best indoors or onpaved, level ground. It’s asmaller and lighter scooter(generally less than 130pounds) and its tires won’tmark your floors. This is afront-wheel drive vehiclewhere the front-wheel pullsthe scooter forward. Becauseit’s a smaller, lighter vehicle,indoor scooters turn the tightcorners in your home (door-ways, for example) withoutrunning into walls. They alsotravel shorter distances on anelectric charge at slowerspeeds, and cost less. Youwill pay between $2,000 and$3,500 for a new, indoorscooter.

Outdoor scooters, bycontrast, weigh as much as100 pounds more than theirindoor cousins. They arerear-wheel drive vehicles,where the rear wheels pushyou forward. Almost all-outdoor scooters have fourwheels and sit higher off theground (higher groundclearance). With their largersize, higher

Types of

Scooters

ground clearance, and a morepowerful motor, out-doorscooters climb hills, go upcurbs, and travel over openground. They’re faster, travelfarther on a battery charge,and go in all kinds of weather.If you want to travel longerdistances outdoors, this isyour scooter. Outdoor scoot-ers also cost more ($2, 500 to$5,000).However, manufacturersdidn’t design them for indoordriving. Outdoor scooterscan’t make sharp turnsthrough narrow doorways. Asa result, you’ll bump intowalls driving indoors. Also,an out-door scooter’s tiresmay mark up your floors.

Indoor-outdoor vehicles area mixture of the best featuresof both indoor and outdoorscooters. Most are three-wheeled vehicles with rear-wheel drive and soft tires. Afully assembled indoor-out-door unit weighs between 80and 150 pounds. Unlikeoutdoor vehicles, an indoor-outdoor scooter can be readilydisassembled for transport inyour car’s trunk.You can drive an indoor-outdoor scooter in your home.They’re harder to maneuverindoors than their smallercousins, but much easier thanoutdoor scooters. You canalso drive them outdoors,although indoor-outdoorscooters can’t climb curbs andhills with the power

Winter 19954

and stability of the heavieroutdoor vehicles. In fact, itmay be wise to avoid unevenground or steep hills (seesafety measures on page 8).Still, they meet most of theneeds for indoor-outdoor use.The remainder of this guidefocuses exclusively on in-door-outdoor vehicles becausethat’s what most consumersbuy. Table 1 describes 15different indoor-outdoorscooters, each manufacturedor distributed by a particularcompany. This table listsretail prices, maximum speed,driving range, over-allweight, and the weight of theheaviest part of each scooter.Table 2 (page 5) summarizesthe results of

Table 1

Manufacturer ModelMfg. Retail

PriceWeight inpounds

WeightHeaviest Part

TopSpeed1

Range inMiles2

Indoor-Outdoor Scooters

Amigo Mobility©

Booster Electric

Bruno

Electric MobilityTM

Fortress Scientific

Genus Medical

Invacare©

Leisure Lift

Mobility Mfg.

Ortho-Kinetics

Pillar Technology

Pride Health Care

Ranger

Shoprider

Suntec

Deluxe

Town & Country Sport

Regal TenTM #75

RascalTM #230

#2000

Flyer

Tri Rolls

Pace Saver III Premium

Bobcat

#4635

Blazer 2

Sundancer

Safari

SunrunnerTM

MIDI

$2995

2995

2495

2795

3255

2950

2860

2350

2395

3295

1795

2495

2295

1995

2395

158

151

154

130

132

165

153

143

143

147

134

140

124

82

144

85

46

41

30

55

34

47

40

38

48

60

38

43

26

37

4.5

4

5

5.5

5

5.5

5.5

5.2

5.5

4.9

5.2

4.5

5

5

4

25.5

15.5

11.5

14.7

24.3

18.5

19.8

17.2

19.7

22.1

13.4

23.4

15.5

19.8

10.31As reported by the manufacturer. 2As measured by ITD.

a scooter evaluation conductedfor AARP by the Institute forTechnology Development (ITD).ITD combined the results of50 different trials, perfor-mance measures, and prefer-ences under six headings.Based on the results of thesemeasurements, ITD com-pared each scooter to all theothers and ranked it asaverage, above, or belowaverage in each category(Handling Ability, SafetyMeasures, PerformanceTrials, Features and Adjust-ments, Riding Comfort andAssembly/Disassembly). Ifthe scooter scored in theaverage range, you will see acircle ( ). Above average

is pictured with an upwardfacing pyramid ( ) and abelow average rankingreceives a downward facingpyramid ( ).If the scooter scored belowaverage on safety measures,for example, does that meanit’s unsafe? No, if drivenaccording to themanufacturer’s instructions,it should be safe. Somescooters simply performbetter or are preferred bysome people.There is no overall rating.Users must decide for them-selves which scooter bestmeets their needs.The remainder of this reportdiscusses each of thesecategories in more detail.

AARP Product Report

Amigo Mobility

Booster Electric

Bruno

Electric Mobility

Fortress Scientific

Genus Medical

Invacare

Leisure Lift

Mobility Manufacturing

Ortho-Kinetics

Pillar Technology

Pride Health Care

Ranger

Shoprider

Suntec

5

Handling

Ability

Can I drive a scooter in crowdedplaces?Can I get into my bath room on ascooter?Can I back the vehicle downnarrow hallways?Can I park at a restaurant table andbe comfortable eating dinner,seated on a scooter?All of these are questions abouthandling or how easily can youmaneuver a scooter in tight spaces.To try to gauge each scooter’shandling ability, ITD conducted sixseparate trials with testers. Thesewere:• Negotiating an obstacle

course.• Turning around in a small

room• Turning (90o) through a

typical doorway• Stopping at a precise point

Table 2

HandlingAbility

• Driving forward and backingdown a narrow path, atvarious speeds

• Pulling up to a table.

Researchers clocked completiontimes, recorded any errors (bump-ing into a wall for example), andasked testers to rate each scooter’sease of carrying out the task. ITDcombined the various measure-ments to provide the rating underHandling for each scooter.In reading through the findings orthe ratings, don’t consider thatassessment to necessarily be thefinal word. First, although ITDconducted the trials with the rigorof scientific experiments, they basetheir findings on a small sample ofusers and scooters. Second, thereare personal trade-offs to considerwith each rating. Readers mustalways keep their own needs andwishes in mind; otherwise, youwon’t find the scooter that’s rightfor you.

SafteyMeasures

Assembly/Disassembly

PerformanceTrials

Features andAdjustments

RidingComfort

We don’t have enough space todiscuss each measurement.Therefore, we’ll limit ourselves tothe most important items.

Obstacle Course – In someways, driving a scooter is moredifficult than driving a car. Forexample, there aren’t any markedscooter lanes in a shopping mall.Even if there were, mall walkerscan appear out of nowhere, forcingyou to go around them or brake.In its obstacle course, ITD soughtto gauge each scooter’s ability togo around roadblocks. Researchersplaced plastic pylons (the kind ofcones used with road construction)on a seven foot by 38 foot path.Testers drove from one end to theother, scooting around each pylon.Without stopping, they turnedaround and retraced their steps.Researchers noted any errors andrecorded completion times.

Key: Below Average Average Above Average

Winter 19956

AARP contracted with the ProMatura Group of the Institutefor Technology Development (ITD) to evaluate 15 indoor-outdoor scooters and review user feedback. ITD completedthe following tasks:

♦ user trials with 25 older, first-time user, female testersdriving each scooter through an obstacle course, turnarounds,turns, straightaways, ramps, a grassy area, and other testruns.♦ Eight separate performance measures including climbingramps, curbs, measuring stopping distances, and hill climbs.♦ A review of federal scooter injury files.♦ An analysis of 500 user letters and the tabulation of a userquestionnaire. ITD researchers measures, timed, and evaluated the resultsof the user and performance trials. They queried testers abouttheir experiences and preferences and recorded and analyzedall this information. AARP was the sole sponsor of this study. Every manufac-turer/distributor was invited to participate by donating asample indoor-outdoor product for evaluation.

Scooter EvaluationThe most important findingfrom this trial is that no matterwhich scooter you buy, youmust exercise great care incrowded places. In two out ofthree trials, testers either strucka pylon or went out of boundsat least once per try. Testersdriving the Pillar Blazer,Electric Mobility Rascal, PrideSundancer, and Booster Townand Country Sport did better,making fewer than one errorper try. Drivers with theAmigo Deluxe, Leisure LiftPace Saver III, Suntec MIDI,and Ortho Kinetics’ 4635scooters averaged one and onehalf or more errors per try.

Turning - Next, let’s look atturning ability. ITD conductedtwo trials to measure thisability. In the first trial, (seefigure 2, page 7), testers droveeach scooter into a five foot byfive foot room (about the sizeof a small bathroom or anelevator). The driver thenbacked-up, turned the vehiclearound, and drove out, tryingnot to hit anything (researchersrecorded bumping into wallsor door ways as an error). Inthe second test, drivers passedthrough a narrow hallway andmade a right-hand (90') turnthrough a 36 inch doorway (astandard width for many

doors1). Again, testers tried tocomplete the task as quickly aspossible without hitting any-thing.According to testers, the Elec-tric Mobility, Pride, and Pillarscooters are easier to turnaround and make 90' turns.They also completed the turnsin the best time and made fewererrors with these vehicles.On the other side, testers ratedthe Invacare Tri Rolls as themost difficult scooter to turnaround. Drivers also made moreerrors with it and took longer tocomplete the exercise.

Note: From the time we began the research, there have been a number of product and industrychanges. Electric Mobility introduced a new Rascal 230 in 1995. The new model includes anumber of product changes from the vehicle tested in this study. Fortress Scientific was pur-chased by Optiway Technology Inc. and has made a number of changes in the Fortress 2000.Genus Medical was purchased by Invacare, manufacturer of the Tri- Rolls, and Mobility Manu-facturing went out of business. We chose to list these products even though they may no longer be manufactured, becausedealers and distributors may still stock the scooters.

1 Note: Many residential interior doors are only 30 inches wide

Similarly, testers rated theBruno Regal Ten as the mostdifficult scooter with which tomake the right hand turns.They also too longer and mademore errors with the Bruno.The turning trials contributedto the above-average ratingsfor the Electric Mobility, andPillar scooters and the averageor below-average ratings forthe Invacare and Bruno scoot-ers under Handling Ability.Do the down arrows hereindicate inferior products? Notnecessarily. We’re back to thequestion of trade-offs.

AARP Product Report

Take a look at the ratingsunder Safety Measures.Here, both the BrunoInvacare rate a . Bothscooters are larger, heavier,and generally have a widerturning radius (less able tomake sharp turns). That

Figure 2: Turnaround

makes them difficult tomaneuver in tight places,but it also makes themmore stable and less likelyto tip. The personal tradeoff is: If you need maneu-verability, look at theHandling Ability rating

and, if you need to climb hillsand travel over open ground,look at the ratings underSafety Measures.

Types of

Scooters

Can I cross a steep hill with ascooter?Can I stop when I need to withthis vehicle?Can I climb a curb?These are questions aboutscooter safety and stability. Toinvestigate these issues, ITDconducted six performancetests. Researchers:♦ Calibrated the angle at whicha scooter begins to tip sideways♦ Evaluated sideways tipability with the seat at variouslevels♦ Traveled full speed across a13o grassy hill♦ Drove across potholes,♦ Measured stopping dis-tances♦ Climbed 2.5, 3, and 3.5 inchcurbs (most curbs are from threeto six inches high) In addition, ITD reviewed thescooter accident reports filedwith the federal Food and DrugAdministration.

Sideways Tipability -According to the FDA’s files,one in six reported accidentsinvolves a scooter tippingover on its side. To be sure,the overall number of re-ported accidents is small2.Nonetheless, based on boththe FDA reports and ITD’sfindings, sideways

2 Only 230 reports were filed between 1988 and 1993.7

Winter 1995

tipping should be a concern forindoor-outdoor scooter buyers. To compare the risks oftipping, ITD began by mea-suring the angles at whicheach vehicle begins to tipsideways (when one of therear wheels lifts off theground). To determine thisangle, researchers slowlyjacked up one side of thescooter as it sat on a plywoodplatform. When one of therear tires raised up, research-ers measured the angle of theincline. On average, scootersbegin to tip when one side ofthe vehicle is about seveninches higher than the other.This is approximately 16o.The tip ability angles rangedfrom 14o (one side is approxi-mately six inches higher thanthe other) for the RangerSafari to 19o (one side isapproximately eight incheshigher than the other) for theBooster Electric. Next, ITD conducted threeperformance tests. First,researchers drove eachscooter up and then acrossthe same 13o hill. Second,they drove across a series offive potholes that rangedfrom 1.5 to 3.5 inches deep.Third, researchers drove thescooters at full speed, in tightcircles, on level ground, tolearn how seat adjustmentsinfluence tip ability. For thecircle test, they adjusted theseat to the lowest and farthestforward position and then thehighest and farthest backposition. In all three trials,researchers noted if

Figure 3: Scooter on hill.

the scooter tipped.Of the 15 scooters, only threesuccessfully completed eachperformance test with the rearwheels planted firmly on theground. The three scooterswere Leisure Lift, Bruno, andPillar. Interestingly, ITD foundthat these three scooters onlyhad average or slightly bettertipability angles (16o or 17o).Further, the scooter with the19o tipability angle tipped.Why’s that? Stability or keep-ing the wheels on the ground,is certainly related to the angleat which a scooter begins to tip.However, no single factorappears to determine stability.Crossing a small potholeshouldn’t cause most scootersto tip. However, crossing thatpothole at full speed may be ajarring experience (see Riding

Comfort, for more informa-tion). If jostled too far to oneside, the d-river’s weight alonemight topple the vehicle.Indoor-outdoor scooters onlyweigh about 150 pounds.ITD’s 160 pound driver, forexample, weighed more thanall but one of the 15 scooters hetest drove over the potholes.What do the tipping trials meanfor the scooter buyer? First andforemost, if you plan to driveregularly on open ground,across hills, and potholes, youneed an outdoor scooter.Outdoor scooters are larger,heavier, and more powerful. Tobe sure, there are significantdifferences among the 15scooters tested by ITD. Gener-ally speaking, however, drivingindoor-outdoor scooters onrough ground puts you at risk.If you must cross a hill on an

8

AARP Product Report

indoor-outdoor scooter, try toavoid steep grades. If youcan’t avoid a steep hill, driveslowly, crossing it in smallsteps. Some scooters comeequipped with anti-tippingdevices on each side. Theseshould prevent side tipoversin many instances, but they’renot a permanent fix.

Stopping on a Dime –According to a number ofretirement center managers,scooter accidents are acceler-ating in these facilities. Inpart, this is because morepeople are driving scooters,but are there other reasons? Amedical journal suggests thatscooter accidents relate toinadequate driver training anddrivers with slowed reactiontimes. However, the authorsreached these conclusionswithout looking at the scoot-ers. ITD’s evaluation tried totake a snap shot-look at boththe older driver and scooterperformance in braking.In the first trial, researchersasked testers to try to stopeach scooter at a certain pointon a track. ITD asked testersto stop while going forwardand in reverse, at medium andthen at high speeds. The averages for all scooterswith these trials

9

Table 1Trial

Driving forward, medium speed

Percentage StoppedOn Line

Percentage StoppedWithin Ten Inches

Driving forward, high speed

Driving reverse, medium speed

Driving reverse, high speed

54

36

28

18

47

53

49

42

3 The user trials are included under the Handling Ability column in Table 1. The performance evaluation is included under theSafety Measure column.4 It’s interesting to note that both the Pride and Fortress scooters had the highest percentage of smooth stops on level ground. Nonetheless, on the 30 foot ramp, the Pride stopped about four feet from the electric eye and the Fortress over nine feet.

were as listed in Table 3. Thedifferences among individualscooters in these trialsweren’t significant and aren’tincluded here. In the secondtest, ITD tried to determinethe distance needed to stop ascooter traveling fool-speedon an incline. Here, a re-searcher drove each scooterfull-speed, up and down a 5o,30 foot long ramp (a 5o

incline is equal to the slant onramps making buildingswheelchair accessible).3

Midway up the ramp, re-searchers set-up an electriceye to sound an alarm whenthe scooter crossed its beam.Just as the alarm sounded, thedriver released the throttle, orthe scooter equivalent ofslamming on the brakes (asmentioned earlier, scootersrely on regenerative brakes).After each vehicle came to ahalt, researchers measuredthe distance from where thealarm sounded to the front ofthe scooter. Going up theramp, the regenerative brakesbrought the scooters to animmediate standstill. Theystopped within inches of theelectric eye, (each scooteractually rolled backwards alittle). Going down the ramp,however, was a differentstory. Not one scooter

came close to stopping on theproverbial dime. The bestperformers, the Bruno,Shoprider, Ranger, and Pridescooters, stopped four feetfrom the alarm and the For-tress 2000 took more than ninefeet to come to a halt. Scootermanufacturers indicate thelong stopping distance is adesign compromise. Stoppingtoo quickly might throw thedriver forward so the rate ofdeceleration is slowed for agradual stop.4 None the less,long stopping distances can bedangerous if you’re not pre-pared. You should never drivefull-speed down a hill, particu-larly in a congested area.However, for comparisonpurposes alone, let’s put thescooter on a 5o sidewalk in SanFrancisco, instead of an indoorramp. If the driver delayedslamming on the brakes untilreaching the street corner, heor she would be in the roadbefore the scooter came to astandstill. What do these trialsmean to the scooter buyer?First, in the main, the ITDtesters were close, but couldn’tstop on a line. You probablywon’t either. Driving experi-ence will surely improve yourabilities, but you must alwaysgive yourself an extra marginin stopping every scooter.Second, remember that regen-erative brakes appear to workfine going uphill. However, indriving down hill at whateverspeed, learn the scooter’slimits.

Winter 199510

Test drive a scooter, braking as yougo downhill. Manufacturers, Amigo, forexample, with some models,do produce scooters withmanual brakes and it couldhave been interesting tocompare regenerative andmanually controlled brakeswith users. ITD reports thatthe testers kept looking forthe brakes as they stopped.

Performance

Trials

How many miles can I travel on ascooter?

Can I climb a ramp with ascooter?

How sharply can I turn thescooter?

These are all questions aboutscooter performance or the limitsof effective vehicle operations. Totry to gauge scooter performance,ITD conducted six separatemeasurements. These were:

♦ Measuring distance traveled ona fully charged battery♦ Clocking maximum drivingtime on a charge♦ Climbing two steep ramps(nineo and 18o).♦ Measuring turning radius♦ Climbing a 35 yard-long, 8o

hillResearchers clocked comple-tion times, measured dis-tances, and turning radiuses,and observed ramp climbs.

Time and Distance With aCharge - Before you set offon an all-day trip throughDisney World, you’ll want toknow if your scooter willmake it. To measure time anddistance, ITD’s researchersbegan by charging eachscooter’s batteries for therecommended 12 hours. Theythen loaded the vehicle withthe equivalent of a 160-pound driver and placed it ona treadmill-like device.Researchers set the scooter’sspeed control and throttle forthe fastest rate and ran eachvehicle in place until itdrained its batteries. ITDrecorded the distance traveledand clocked the running time.The average distance traveledby all scooters was 18 miles.They ranged however, fromten to 26 miles. The averagedriving time was a little overfour hours, but individualvehicles ranged from two tosix hours. Be aware that, insome instances, ITD’s find-ings are higher or lower thanmanufacturers’ claims. Thedifferences might be attrib-uted to nothing more thandifferent measurementtechniques5. The driver’sweight, weather conditions,driving speed, and the terraincan all influence the powerdrain on a battery. Somescooters also use more powerbecause they’re designed tocarry heavier passengers. Asa result, they don’t travel asfar or as long. We reportITD’s findings for eachscooter in

Table 1. Match your needswith the range and powerdemands of these scooters.

Climbing Ramps -Office buildings, schools,churches, and many otherpublic facilities now haveramps for wheelchair andscooter accessibility. Byfederal law, none of theseramps should exceed 5o. Thequestion is, can every scooterclimb them? Every manufac-turer claims their productswill, at a minimum, climb a5o ramp and ITD’s testsconfirmed this. Most manu-facturers maintain theirproducts do better than 5o,climbing 12o or 15o rampsand hills. To test these claimsa 160 pound ITD researchertried to climb both a 9o andan 18o ramp with eachscooter. ITD found everyscooter, including the Amigo,which only claims to be ableto climb 5o, made it up a15foot ramp set at 9o. With the18o ramp, which is more thanthree times as steep as mostaccess ramps, every scooterexcept the Amigo and Genusmade it up. Is it safe to climban 18o ramp or hill with thesescooters? No. First, there’s amajor safety consideration.Climbing the18o ramp, elevenscooters tipped backwards,lifting the front wheels offthe ground. Of those scootersclimbing the 18o ramp, onlythe Leisure Lift and Boostervehicles kept their frontwheels on the ground. Mostscooters

5 For example, the Department of veterans Affairs (VA) certified the Leisure Lift scooter’s range at 22 miles or five more milesmore than the ITD test noted. At least in part, the difference is connected to the fact that the scooter’s throttle was set at aslower speed in the VA test.

AARP Product Report11

come equipped with anti-tipping devices on the backand this second set of wheelsprevented tipping over. Evenso, when the front wheel’ssuspended in the air, thescooter’s balance is precari-ous. A shift in the driver’sweight could cause a side-ways tip. It’s important toremember that no manufac-turer recommended climbing18o ramps. Second, in climb-ing inclines this steep, youmay trip the scooter’s circuitbreaker. To prevent damage,each scooter has a fuse-likedevice that cuts power whenthe motor reaches a certaintemperature climbing steepgrades heats up the motor.Resetting the circuit breakerrestores the power, providingthe engine cools down.Again, based on your drivingconditions, you must decidewhich scooter is best for you.Be sure, however, to buy ascooter with anti-tippingwheels.

locks. Adjustments include:tiller, seat, and armrests. Toreview each scooter’s featuresand adjustments, ITD asked:♦ Testers to express theirpreferences for features inone-on-one scooter compari-sons♦ Testers and researchassistants to rate the ease ofentering and exiting, adjustingthe seat and armrests adjust-ing the tiller, and setting thespeed control.

Throttles - Once you’veturned the ignition on, yourscooter starts rolling whenyou squeeze the manualthrottle (see figure 1). Theharder you squeeze, the fasterthe scooter goes, with in thelimits set at the console(speed control). Even thoughthe throttle may feel comfort-able to operate, rememberyou must squeeze it as long asyou’re driving. Therefore thethrottle’s size, shape, texture,and ease of use are all impor-tant to driver comfort.Testers preferred accessible,large-handled throttles with arubber or plastic covering. Inone-on-one comparisons, theypreferred the Fortress Scien-tific throttle (67 percent). Itscurved, L-shaped, designmade this throttle easier toreach and the handles wererubber-coated with a springycomfortable material.Following close by were thePride (preferred 66 percent),Bruno (preferred 64 percent),and Electric Mobility

Features and

Adjustments Can I readily get in and outof a scooter? How easy is it to operatethe controls? H ow easy is it to adjust thescooter to fit me?These are questions aboutscooter features and adjust-ments. Features include:ignitions, tillers, speedcontrols, throttles, seat locks,battery gauges, and brake

(preferred 64 percent). Eachof these throttles was largeand coated with soft rubberor plastic.

Tiller – Many scooters’tillers adjust up and down,forward and backward to fitthe driver. However, with avery large person, the tillermay not adjust to fit theirtorso. Be sure to test thisbefore buying a scooter. Onceadjusted, most users don’talter their tillers. Along withadjustability, tillers swingforward and out of the way ofentering and exiting drivers.Most of our testers, however,didn’t bother to swing thetillers forward after the firstfew test drives. In theiropinion, this was an unneces-sary bother. Testers preferredthe Pride tiller (86 percent) inpaired comparisons. ElectricMobility was a close second(83 percent). Testers foundthe latter tiller easier toadjust; however, both tillersare lightweight, and easy toraise and lower.

Ignitions - Overall, testersprefer ignitions that are largeand easy to use. The topchoices were the ignitions onthe Pride (preferred 74percent of the time) and theShoprider (preferred 70percent). The Pride key is atwo-inch long, plug-in de-vice, similar to the audiovisual plugs (banana plug)found on electronic equip-ment. It is large, easy toinsert and remove, andaudibly clicks upon insertion.

Winter 199512

The Shoprider key wassimilar to the size of a carkey. Testers rated it highlybecause the key provided agood grip and was easy tohandle. Testers gave thelowest rating to the MobilityManufacturing key (pre-ferred only 24 percent of thetime). This key was aboutthe size of a thick, stubbypencil. It’s a half inch cylin-drical magnet encased in arubber cover. The key isn’tdifficult to use. Rather,testers didn’t know what todo with it once they turnedon the ignition (the keydoesn’t remain in the igni-tion). The lower rating wasfor an inconvenience factor.

Riding

Comfort

How comfortable is the rideon rough ground?Does the scooter start andstop smoothly and evenly?How comfortable are thethrottle and tiller to useHow loud is the motor?

These are questions aboutscooter comfort or the sense ofease or enjoyment with the rideand key features. To try tomeasure this factor, ITD asked:♦ Testers to rate comfort ridingon rough ground♦ Testers to gauge the ease ofusing scooter throttles and tillers♦ Research assistants to ratesmoothness of scooter starts and

♦ Research assistants tomeasure noise level in deci-bels

Driving on Rough Ground- If you’ve ever driven a caron washboard gravel roads,you know the value of shockabsorbers and springs. Mostindoor-outdoor scooters,however, don’t come with asuspension system to level outthe bumps in the road. It’s thesprings and padding in theseat that cushion the driver.To rate scooter comfort on abumpy course, testers droveeach scooter for 90 secondson a flat, mowed, grassy, butuneven surface. There weren’tany potholes but the crustysurface visibly jostled testers.Bouncing about on the grassdidn’t alarm testers 78;percent said the ride wasstable, but only 47 percentrated it as comfortable.The Pride and Pillar scooterswere the most comfortable onthe grassy surface, accordingto testers, and the Fortress theleast. The comfort extremesseemed to be focused on theseat. The rigid back on theFortress5 seat pinched testersas they bounced back andforth, and the padding wasthin. The Pride and Pillarseats were well padded, andseemed to wrap around andalmost encase the driver. Theseat in effect, became asuspension system. Themessage to buyers is:1.Test drive the scooter ondifferent surfaces before

buying, and,2.Make sure the seat iscomfortable for you.

Smooth Starts and Stops -Jerky starts and stops alsojostle drivers. To evaluate anypatterns of shaky starts andstops with scooters, ITD’sresearchers watched testers asthey accelerated and braked.With each motion, they triedto answer two questions: Wasit smooth and even? Werethere any jerky body move-ments?Overall, while driving thescooters forward, 89 percentof starts and 65 percent of thestops were rated as smoothand even. Going backwards,91 percent of the starts and 76percent of the stops were ratedsmooth and even. Setting thespeed control at medium, thestarts and stops weresmoother than with the fastsetting. The vehicles with thesmoothest stops and starts,according to the researchers,were the Pride, Shoprider, andLeisure Lift scooters. On theother side, researchers notedthat the Suntec scooter hadmany uneven starts and stops.Testers complained of beingjostled back and forth bothstarting and stopping with thisvehicle.Make sure you ask the sametwo questions with anyscooter you’re interested in.Are the starts and stopssmooth and even? And, am Ijerked back and forth with thisscooter?

6 The new manufacturer of the Fortress says the seat has since been improved.

AARP Product Report13

Is it easy to take a scooterapart for transport? Can I lift each of the disas-sembled pieces? How difficult is it to put itback together? If the battery dies, can Ipush the scooter?All these questions relate totransporting the scooter. Toinvestigate the ease of assem-bly, disassembly, and trans-port, ITD conducted sixtrials. Without using anytools, testers:♦ Removed and replaced thescooter seat♦ Adjusted the tiller (fortransport)♦ Disconnected and at-tached battery connectors♦ Lifted the heaviest pieceof the disassembled vehicle♦ Released the brake lock♦ Pushed the scooter.Testers and researchers ratedeach trial for ease of comple-tion. We combined theirratings here. Researchersrecorded the number oftesters successfully lifting theheaviest disassembled pieces.Finally, researchers recordedthe number of testers whoreleased the brake lock andpushed the scooters.

Taking it Apart andPutting it Together - eachof the indoor-out-door scoot-ers disassembles

Assembly

Dissassembly

into three to six pieces. Thesepieces could include the seat,tiller, batteries and connec-tions, chassis, and bodyshroud (a cover over themotor and chassis). Theability to break down thescooter into smaller piecespermits users to transport it intheir car without buyingspecial carriers.ITD asked testers to assembleand disassemble the scootersand to lift the heaviest disas-sembled piece. Researchersdemonstrated each step, andasked testers to copy theprocedure. In general, thetesters completed most ofthese tasks. They didn’t findthem to be difficult, but itwasn’t easy either.First they removed thescooters’ seats, one of thebulkier components. Onaverage, half the testersdismounted the seats. Testersfound the Suntec and Amigoseats easiest to remove (17 ofthe 25 dismounted the Suntecseat and 16, the Amigo). Themost difficult to disassemblewas the Shoprider (only oneof 25 testers dismounted thisseat).By comparison, readjustingthe tiller for transport7 waseffortless. Testers success-fully flattened the tillersagainst the chassis in 98percent of their attempts.Almost three fourths of thetesters rated the task as easy.To successfully transport thedisassembled pieces in yourcar, you must also be able tolift them into the

trunk (about three feet off theground) and the scooterpieces must fit in the trunk.The weight of the heaviestscooter pieces ranged from 24pounds for the Shoprider to85 pounds for the Amigo (SeeTable 1 for details). However,weight alone isn’t the onlycriteria for easy lifting.Only eight testers lifted the 24pound piece of the disas-sembled Shoprider. Yet, 12testers lifted the heaviestpiece, 38 pounds, on thePride. What’s the difference?The size of the heaviest piece.The Shop rider’s seat was theheaviest item on this scooterand its bulky size made itdifficult for the testers to gettheir hands around to lift. Bycontrast, the heaviest piece onthe Pride was the rear wheelassemblage. It was compactand provided a handle foreasier lifting. (Note: There arecommercial lifts to help youplace the scooter in thetrunk.)What do these trials mean forbuyers? At least one scooteradvertiser claims the disas-sembled pieces are so light-weight “no lifter (someone orsomething to hoist the pieces)is needed.” Yet, the ITDtesters failed to lift the heavi-est scooter pieces in three outof four attempts. A secondadvertising claim is that thescooter “disassembles orreassembles in seconds.” ITDdidn’t time the disassemblytrials, but testers succeeded indismounting scooter seats inonly half their attempts.

7The Electric Mobility tiller didn’t readjust for transport. Instead, the tiller separated from the chasis. Testers found this proce-dure difficult

Winter 199514

Clearly there’s a contradic-tion between what the adver-tisers’ claim and what thetesters accomplished. Was there something uniqueabout ITD’s testers? Theywere older, average age 74,but ranged from 59 to 84.However, over half said theirhealth was good to excellent,and by all the physicalmeasurements, they fit wellwithin the normal range forthis age group. Scooter buyers need to gobeyond the advertising hypeand check to see for themselves if they can assemble ordisassemble the vehicle theywant to buy. They should alsosee how long it takes and,after disassembling it, try tolift the pieces into the trunkof their car. Even if you can’tlift the heaviest pieces, aparticular scooter may be theright one for you. However,know what you’re buying,not what the advertising istrumpeting.

Final ThoughtsAccessories - For this test,we asked each manufacturerto provide us with a sampleof their baseline product. Asa result, every scooter wasgray in color and the leastexpensive seat was at-tached. Every manufactureralso sells a whole range ofaccessories to increasecomfort or distance. Thereare devices to convert athree-wheeled scooter into afour-wheeled vehicle.Scooters

are available in many differ-ent colors. Baskets andspecial carriers for canes andwalkers are sold. Differentseats are available in clothand vinyl. It’s your choice inadding on to the scooter.

Shopping for a Scooter -Scooters are sold through themail, in the home, andthrough dealers. We suggestyou begin by calling one ofthe manufacturers listed here.Above all, shop around andtest drive any scooter ondifferent terrain’s before youbuy. You should also find outif the salesperson serviceswhat he/she sells? Ask ifthey’re factory trained? Findout what happens in anemergency and what kind ofreputation does the sellerhave? And, finally, whathappens when you travelwith a scooter?

ConclusionThe choice is yours. Scootersprovide the legs that manyolder persons need to gowhere they want to go. Thereare also differences amongthe various products and youmay need to make sometrade-offs. We suggest youlook through the test resultsmentioned in this booklet.Give yourself plenty of timeto make a decision. Remem-ber too, the scooters we’velisted in this guide are only asmall sample of what’savailable.

Scooter ManufacturesListed in this booklet

Amigo Mobility International 6693 Dixie Hgwy Bridgeport, MI 48722 (800) 821-2710

Booster Electric Vehicles 202 Woodward Hill RD Edwardsville, PA 18074 (800) 845-9642

Bruno Independent Living Aids PO Box 84 Oconomowoc, WI 53066 (800) 882-8183

Electric Mobility Corporation 1 Mobility Plaza Sewell, NJ 08080 (800) 662-4548

Fortress Optiway Technology INC 500 Norfinch Dr Ontario, Canada McNlY4 (800) 514-7061

Genus Medical Inc. 441 -A Applewood Crescent Concord, Ontario Canada L4K 4B4 (800)567-9153

lnvacare Corporation PO Box 4028 Elyria, OH 44036 (800) 333-6900

Leisure Lift Inc. 1800 Merriam Lane Kansas City, KS 66106 (800) 255-0285

Ortho-Kinetics PO Box 1647 Waukesha, WI 53187 (800) 558-7786

Pillar Technology Inc. 417 Main ST Neodesha, KS 65020 (316) 325-2629

Pride Health Care Inc. 71 South Main Street Pittston, PA 18640 (800) 457-5348

Ranger All Season Corporation PO Box 132 George, IA 51237 (800) 225-3811

Shoprider 13880 Mayfield Place Richmond, British Columbia Canada V6V 2E4 (604) 273-5173

Suntec Systems 5001 Joerns Drive Stevens Point, WI 54481 (800) 643-4515

American Association of Retired Persons601 E Street, NW l Washington, DC 20049

Other Product reports in this series are:Canes D14916

Life Insurance for Older Adults D14139Manufactured Housing D15599

Personal Emergency Response Systems D12905Pre-Paying Your Funeral D13188

Walkers D14390Wheelchairs D14049

They can be ordered by writing on a postcard to AARP Fulfillment,601 E Street, NW Washington, DC 20049

Be sure to include the stock number.Allow six to eight week for delivery.

Product Report: Electric Scooters was produced by the American Association of Retired Personsas an educational service to members and other older persons.

D15979 l (1195)