Friend's ECV Accident~Please use caution!

[FoggyToad]

My friend and I were visiting MK on Nov. 27th. We both rented Disney ECV's for the first time and used them with ease all day long. The CM told us they were only two months old, and we found them extremely helpful and necessary as we both have had knee replacements and couldn't have toured the park without them. When the MVMCP crowd started entering the park and it grew dark, we realized we needed to depart as we didn't have tickets for MVMCP. We got caught in the huge crowd and gazing at the beauty of the castle caused my friend to lose her attention to her driving. (This was her first trip ever to WDW and it was her sixtieth birthday!) She didn't see the curb that goes around the hub between the castle and Main Street. She accidentally drove off the curb, the ECV fell over and trapped her beneath it. I stared in horror afraid she must have broken something and wondering how to get her and the machine upright. Fortunately, several guests and a CMimmediately rushed to her aid and many helped her up as well as getting the machine back on its wheels. As it turned out, her guardian angels must have been present as she only got bruises. I am posting this to caution everyone new to riding ECV's to be fully aware at all times of where there might be a curb in any of the parks. Please don't take your attention off your driving for even a second and even if you are traveling very slowly as we were.

 

[OneLittleSpark]

Ouch! I'm glad your friend got out of that with no more than bruises, but it can't have been a fun experience! Unfortunately Disney does have a few of these unexpected obsticles which can be hard to see, especially in crowded areas. Main Street is not too bad, but does have curbs and tram-tracks, which none of the other areas or parks have. I always worry about driving off a curb or getting one of my front wheels stuck in a tram track. You'd think I would have got over worries like this after wheeling in the 'real world' for over a year now, but nope!

 

[Ms_Butterfly]

That happened to my friend, too, although it was at the resort and it happened at the part where the curb goes down to accommodate wheelchairs, ECVs, etc. to get off and on the sidewalk - she didn't judge the edge correctly and the ECV tipped onto its side with her in it. Like you, I was in shock when it happened! Thankfully, she wasn't hurt at all. We had just gotten off a bus and the bus driver and several passengers ran to help her, which was very nice of them. The ECV didn't work after that happened, so the bus driver pushed/pulled her in it up to the back of the sidewalk and stayed for a few minutes to make sure she was okay. After he left, I checked the thing out myself and the problem was that one of the wires to the batteries had come off in the crash, so I re-attached it and the ECV was fine after that (thankfully! I did not want to be paying to fix or replace a rental ECV!! [I'm the one who rented it for my friend]).

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

Something similar happened to my mom last year. I was in the restroom across from IASW on that hill, well when I came out I found my mom on the ground, she had tried to turn the ECV around and it tipped over, thankfully she wasn't hurt and she is even an experienced ECV user, so it can happen even to those experienced. I watch her closly now, cause you never know where there is a curb in a crowd or a hill.

Suzanne

 

[mechurchlady]

At SeaWorld in San Diego I was tired and it was late. I drove my ECV over a 45 degree embankment about 6 inches high and stopped in a grassy area. Do not drive an ECV when drowsy, lol.

 

[fla4fun]

That's why I can't understand why people rent ECV's who don't need them (whether at Disney or anywhere else). I had to use one once, and it really takes so much concentration to drive without endangering yourself or others, that I didn't get to enjoy the park like I usually do. I was constantly looking to make sure no one was going to cross my path, or trying to guess whether people would stop in front of me, or making sure I had enough clearance to go by or around an obstacle . . . and I never even considered that it could tip over! I'm glad your friend wasn't seriously hurt, and that no one else was hurt either.

 

[Ms_Butterfly]

At SeaWorld in San Diego I was tired and it was late. I drove my ECV over a 45 degree embankment about 6 inches high and stopped in a grassy area. Do not drive an ECV when drowsy, lol.

Sounds like you need an off-road ECV!

 

[OneLittleSpark]

That's why I can't understand why people rent ECV's who don't need them (whether at Disney or anywhere else). I had to use one once, and it really takes so much concentration to drive without endangering yourself or others, that I didn't get to enjoy the park like I usually do. I was constantly looking to make sure no one was going to cross my path, or trying to guess whether people would stop in front of me, or making sure I had enough clearance to go by or around an obstacle . . . and I never even considered that it could tip over! I'm glad your friend wasn't seriously hurt, and that no one else was hurt either.

We find an awful lot of people who don't usually use them find this when they, like you, have a temporary disability. I don't think a lot of people carry on using these 'fun toys' when they realise that they make it hard to get through crowds, make you invisible, make doorways a 'challenge' and don't even get you on rides quicker (in fact, it often means you wait longer).

We also get a lot of people who were very vocal in the 'anti-wheelchairs / ECV' threads (not saying you were, of course), have changed their minds when they've seen it from the other point of view. I guess it's one of those "walk a day in someone else's shoes" moments.

Thank you for posting this up, and I'm glad that you only had to use it the once!

 

[mechurchlady]

Sounds like you need an off-road ECV!

all I needed was a nap, lol.