Deep Dive Podcast: Is it a problem when able-bodied people use PMAs?
Have you seen users who seem able-bodied use PMAs in your neighbourhood? In this week’s Deep Dive podcast, our guests discuss the difficulty of dealing with errant use.
CNA's weekly news podcast takes a deep dive into issues that people talk about at dining tables and along the office corridors. Hosted by Steven Chia and Crispina Robert.
Personal Mobility Aids (PMAs) are meant for those with medical conditions or who have mobility issues. But some able-bodied people use them.
How much of an issue is this? PMA user Michael Kuan, founder and CEO of Project Elev8, and Florence Cheong, an Active Mobility Advisory Panel member weigh in.
Here's an excerpt from the conversation:
Steven Chia:
But just to play devil's advocate for a bit, because even though I may not be disabled, I do have young children, a family, and three or four of us can fit on this PMA quite comfortably. It's great for bringing them to kindergarten, school nearby, going (to) buy my lunch from the coffee shop. If I'm using it responsibly, why can't we allow it?
Florence Cheong:
The issue is that as we age, there will be more and more people who may require the use of PMAs because they have genuine medical needs.
If we allow everyone (who) finds it convenient to use it, then there will be a lot of loading and overcrowding on our public pathways, and that will bring about inconvenience and like what Michael alluded to, even aggression at times.
That's really going to get very unpleasant, and people like seniors and young children may find it very dangerous to be walking along such paths.
Crispina Robert:
For this group of people, this device, in my mind anyway, saves money, because they buy it once off Carousell or TikTok shop or whatever, maybe $1,000, under $2000 - no petrol, no tax. It's such an easy way for them, and also, quite a lot of them do deliveries as well.
So, it doubles up as a means of affordable transport for a group of people. Do you think this will go away, even if we say, "PMAs can only be used for medical purposes, and only 6kmh." Do you think this is something that we need to really look into?
Florence:
I think this is quite an urgent issue, actually, because we have been hearing more feedback about the misuse and abuse of the PMAs. This is something that we need to tackle quite urgently.
Crispina:
So, there's a genuine need, is what we're saying?
Steven:
It just means that instead of using PMAs, they will have to find other alternatives.
Michael Kuan:
I see PMAs as real PMAs not because (a) disabled person is sitting on it, (but because) the chair is really made for disabled people. Chairs like mine is really narrow and compact.
Disabled people need to go into shopping malls, need to go into shops. We need to squeeze into narrow pathways, and we need to be able to turn on the dime.
It's those big chairs that's super, super big. Even I won't call them as PMAs—they are PMDs. I see a lot of old people that sit on those micro chairs.
The government is also going the right way in controlling the dimension, and that is a good thing. Now, if (able-bodied) people still want to use this mobility device, then perhaps another way is that they look at PMDs, (which are) already regulated.
