Let’s get one thing straight. A wheelchair is not a toy.
Just ask the lady I crashed into a few months ago. It sounds awful but let me
explain. I didn’t do it on purpose although I will if you push my buttons (no
pun intended) nor was it her fault. The wheelchair, to best describe it, had a
mind of its own. The people who had been repairing a separate issue must have
been playing around with the computer and left one side of the wheelchair with
something ridiculous like 1000 times more power. This meant that I’d press
forward and the chair would go in a large circle. The woman was obviously
shocked and angry but she didn’t suffer any serious injuries (I don’t think).
I have to admit, it is sometimes my driving but mostly
people don’t think or realise it’s quite difficult to drive an electric
wheelchair. I’ll give you a recent example. I was walking (you know what I
mean) to the Emirates with my brother. A boy and his dad were walking behind us
at a brisk pace so obviously wanted to overtake. The boy sensibly went around
the outside of me as he could see I was about to turn left. However, the dad
walked in front of me on the inside and I had to stop so I didn’t hit him. He
saw how annoyed I was and just laughed, not even an apology.
In hindsight, I should have run into his ankle but I’m not a
malicious or vengeful person like Ryan Shawcross.
That is just one little story but I hope it makes people
think. I’m not saying that the pavement should clear when a wheelchair comes
along but don’t do idiotic things like putting your foot near a stationary
wheelchair so that when I move, your foot is crushed or walk in front of a
wheelchair and keep stopping.
Rant over.
Bye for now!