[Blind-rollers] Tuesday wheelchair meeting

[David Paul]

Hi, I am also a blind power chair user and I find that the best arrangement
for the place of the drive wheels is to have them in the middle on each
side.  My power chair has three wheels on each side and the drive wheel is
in the middle on each side.  This allows the outer wheels to serve as guides
and stabilizers.  My power chair also has independent suspension for each of
the wheels.  This helps a great amount in terms of allowing you to get
through areas that are not flat pavement areas without getting stuck.  I can
drive along and allow one side of my wheelchair to go through a pretty deep
pothole and the suspension just absorbs up the whole thing and you just keep
going without any hang-ups.  

Another thing I have encountered on certain power chairs is that they might
have very small wheels for their four wheels on the corner points.  This is
a terrible design.  With a chair like that, the smallest bump can form an
impassible object.  You should pay attention to the size of your wheels and
make that they are not so small that they will wind up causing you troubles
down the line.  

Not that you asked for my input, but these are just a few things that really
helped me figure out what will work for me.  

Cheers, 
David

-----Original Message-----
From: Blind-rollers [mailto:blind-rollers-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Criminal Justice Major Extraordinaire
Sent: Tuesday, May 21, 2013 12:53 AM
To: Undisclosed-Recipient:;
Subject: [Blind-rollers] Tuesday wheelchair meeting

Hi, all,
I will be attending the Tuesday wheelchair meeting tomorrow at the Landis or
Atlantis Community Center not just to represent blind wheelchair users, but
all others that have vision.
My hopes are that I'll learn a lot from the meeting upon expressing my
concerns on how power wheelchairs could be better adaptive for all to where
they won't tip over as easily.
There are some out there that do easily tip over.
A friend and neighbor that I know on the third floor has a small Jazzy
powerchair that easily tips over as the drive wheels are in the front and
the two coaster wheels are in the back.
She informed me that her chair actually tipped over sideways on her while
she was using it.
Thankfully, she didn't get severely injured, but it took a couple of people
to help get her and the chair back up on all fours.
The suggestion I plan on making is that if a power chair is to have only two
drive wheels and two small coaster wheels, the drive wheels should be in the
back and the smaller wheels up front.
Although her chair has tip wheels, it wasn't enough to stop her from
flipping over sideways.
When I asked her how fast she was going, my neighbor told me she wasn't
going that fast for it to happen.
Another suggestion I will bring to the table is that the power chairs should
have some reflective tape for night time as if they did, motorists would be
able to see the chair directly.
As for the color of the reflective tape, I will suggest bright yellow or
orange.
I can't guarentee that they will go through.
I'd love to see the size of the motor/battery compartment dosnsized some as
I've seen some large, bluky motors on power chairs that are very wide.
For instance on my Quantum610, there's two batteries along with two drive
wheel motors.
I've found sometimes, that can be a hassle of the compartment being wide,
especially when having to go through narrow places or tight spots.
I will let everyone know how it all goes later on today or tomorrow.
Sincerely:
Bibi and son Odie
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