Hub Staff

A Scooter Rodeo hosted by Wardrop Pharmasave Home Health & Mobility took place on Tuesday, July 28 at the Port Elgin Missionary Church in Port Elgin from 10am – 12pm.

The event was aimed to discuss the rules of the road and how they pertain to today's mobility scooter with special guest, Constable Rose Witteveen of the Saugeen Shores Police there to clarify some of the issues.

Joe Flarity, who does sales and service of motorized scooters at Wardrop Pharmasave spoke about how they wanted to come up with something that would inform, educate and share information on driving a scooter. “We were looking for something to drum up some interest and some knowledge,” he said about the event.

Flarity wanted to remind people the importance of tune ups. Although the devices require very little maintenance, something like a lack of air in the tires can cause problems.

People who operate motorized scooters or wheelchairs are to be treated in the same way that pedestrians are treated; so they must obey the rules of the road that apply to pedestrians under the Highway Traffic Act. “These are called pedestrian vehicles they're not roadway vehicles so they can be ticketed for driving on the right side of a road,” said Contable Whitteveen.

Whitteveen spoke to the scooter drivers about the rules of the road and potential fines for not following the rules. Such things as who has the right of way in various situations were discussed. She answered questions from attendees and heard about problems they had faced or particular experiences they had personally encountered.

An obstacle course had been set up inside as a fun way to learn some rules and driving skills. “I used to teach the motorcycle course for Georgian College so I'm incorporating a little bit of that. So you've got your slalom and your stopping in one spot, so you have to exhibit control of your device, as well as a none sidewalk intersection and how do you approach it,” said Whitteveen.

Jenn Conley, manager at Wardrop Pharmasave Home Health & Mobility said that they hope to put on another Scooter Rodeo next May.

A door prize of a bistro set, donated by Giant Tiger was won by Wendy Binnie.