cobright
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2013
- Messages
- 2,761
For our next big family trip to WDW next fall, we are letting our two kiddos invite a friend. My son's best friend recently lost most of the use of his right leg permanently from a surgery complication and is using a mix of crutches and a mobility scooter.
To make his life a little less crappy, and because building things is how I choose to interact with people, I built him a new scooter with some improvements you can't seem to find for sale anywhere.
The main thing relevant to this topic is I pulled one of the 4 batteries and replaced it with an ultra quiet gasoline powered dynamo. Now, when he is outdoors, the motors run indirectly off of a gasoline engine powered generator. When idle or parked outdoors, the engine charges the batteries.
When driving indoors or in particularly crowded areas the chair functions normally as any other Go-Chair.
The engine is equipped with a catalytic converter and a tuned muffler. It makes less noise than most electric scooters and emits practically no scent. Even so, my idea is that if we bring this to the parks, he would run the engine only to top up the batteries in smoking sections away from anyone who might have sensitivities.
Advantages are that it has a 35 mile range. A faster top speed. Far more powerful drive motors (goes up and down ramps without laboring in the least). It will even lock itself securely to a bus floor without needing special tiedowns (though there is probably a code against riding that way, public transportation in MI lets him all the time). It also has adaptive collision avoidance that makes it impossible for him to bump into ... well anything. It takes up less room than an average human standing somewhere does and can turn like a ballerina. And if we are expecting to need it, we can outfit it for climbing stairs.
Also, though it's doubtful Disney would let us run this feature, it has an automated valet system. He can park it at a rides entrance and if the ride exit is a ways away he can summon it and it will come to him on its own. We did this all day at cedar point in Ohio and the staff thought it was incredible but I could see Disney having issues.
My question then ... is there anything in the rules (or laws) that would prohibit it's use? A common issue raised is a prohibition on gasoline engine driven scooters but there is no drivetrain connected to the gasoline engine. The only thing connected to the wheels are electric motors. Noise is less than any other scooter and emissions are less than a cigarette smoker.
And ... it's one of the really cool things he got in exchange for a much cooler working leg.
ETA: If it makes a difference (can't see how it would rules wise) but in terms of emissions or odors and such, the engine actually runs on alcohol and not gasoline. I mean, it can run on either but when we run it on alcohol he can drive it indoors and no one notices.
To make his life a little less crappy, and because building things is how I choose to interact with people, I built him a new scooter with some improvements you can't seem to find for sale anywhere.
The main thing relevant to this topic is I pulled one of the 4 batteries and replaced it with an ultra quiet gasoline powered dynamo. Now, when he is outdoors, the motors run indirectly off of a gasoline engine powered generator. When idle or parked outdoors, the engine charges the batteries.
When driving indoors or in particularly crowded areas the chair functions normally as any other Go-Chair.
The engine is equipped with a catalytic converter and a tuned muffler. It makes less noise than most electric scooters and emits practically no scent. Even so, my idea is that if we bring this to the parks, he would run the engine only to top up the batteries in smoking sections away from anyone who might have sensitivities.
Advantages are that it has a 35 mile range. A faster top speed. Far more powerful drive motors (goes up and down ramps without laboring in the least). It will even lock itself securely to a bus floor without needing special tiedowns (though there is probably a code against riding that way, public transportation in MI lets him all the time). It also has adaptive collision avoidance that makes it impossible for him to bump into ... well anything. It takes up less room than an average human standing somewhere does and can turn like a ballerina. And if we are expecting to need it, we can outfit it for climbing stairs.
Also, though it's doubtful Disney would let us run this feature, it has an automated valet system. He can park it at a rides entrance and if the ride exit is a ways away he can summon it and it will come to him on its own. We did this all day at cedar point in Ohio and the staff thought it was incredible but I could see Disney having issues.
My question then ... is there anything in the rules (or laws) that would prohibit it's use? A common issue raised is a prohibition on gasoline engine driven scooters but there is no drivetrain connected to the gasoline engine. The only thing connected to the wheels are electric motors. Noise is less than any other scooter and emissions are less than a cigarette smoker.
And ... it's one of the really cool things he got in exchange for a much cooler working leg.
ETA: If it makes a difference (can't see how it would rules wise) but in terms of emissions or odors and such, the engine actually runs on alcohol and not gasoline. I mean, it can run on either but when we run it on alcohol he can drive it indoors and no one notices.
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