Straight banana anyone?
- 16 Jul 07, 8:36 PM
Mobility scooters are to be classed as 'leisure vehicles', in the same class as golf buggies and racing cars. Who thought this one up?
Brussels, of course. No one is quite sure these days whether or not the Eurocrats really did try to ban the banana in the shape nature intended...but this latest move seems far from the stuff of legend, and is far from funny. It will bump up the price of mobility scooters after a change in the tax classification, and poses a threat to the current zero VAT rating. Any imported scooters will incur extra import duty, adding £200 to the average £2,500 cost.
I found it frustrating that only Age Concern was quoted in the original article, although it may have been Age Concern that raised the whole issue in the first place. But obviously, mobility scooters are a 'vital tool' for keeping many disabled people 'independent and mobile', not exclusively older people.
Then there was the comments box.
"We see people doing their shopping on them, occasionally getting off and obviously able to walk.
It saves them parking a car."
I really don't think the hassle involved in even acquiring, let alone maintaining and storing a mobility scooter makes it an easier option than parking a car. The person who left this comment possibly revealed a deeper belief that some disabled people are just lazy, or faking it.
Another comment shows how complicated actually even registering a scooter can be:
"I recently bought a new mobility scooter and was amazed to find that I had to register it with the DVLA. The form provided is the same one that a car dealer fills in before selling you a new car...
I'm disabled and live 20 miles from the nearest post office that can accept my application, so I had to send it by post together with an electricity bill as proof of my address, plus my passport as proof of identity! There is no charge as it's in the 'Exempt' class due to being an invalid carriage!"
So, invalid carriage or leisure vehicle? How about just plain old mobility scooter? Preferably available on the NHS for people of all ages with a disability.
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