In the US, federal regulatio defines a wheelchair as “A wheelchair is a manually operated or power-driven device designed primarily for use by an individual with a mobility disability for the main purpose of indoor, or of both indoor and outdoor, locomotion.” and also defines “other power-driven mobility device” (OPDMD), including approximately anything powered that helps someone with a mobility disability that isn’t technically a wheelchair.
There isn’t actually a whole lot of difference: Wheelchairs cannot be prohibited from any area where pedestrians and the public are allowed. OPDMDs are allowed unless a particular type of device cannot be accommodated because of legitimate safety requirements. Such safety requirements must be based on actual risks, not on speculation or stereotypes about a particular type of device or how it might be operated by people with disabilities using them.
A common non-central example of a “wheelchair” used by someone who has only a very mild mobility disability would be a folding chair carried by someone who cannot comfortably stand in line for hours who is in line for hours.
Late information regarding mobility devices:
In the US, federal regulatio defines a wheelchair as “A wheelchair is a manually operated or power-driven device designed primarily for use by an individual with a mobility disability for the main purpose of indoor, or of both indoor and outdoor, locomotion.” and also defines “other power-driven mobility device” (OPDMD), including approximately anything powered that helps someone with a mobility disability that isn’t technically a wheelchair.
There isn’t actually a whole lot of difference: Wheelchairs cannot be prohibited from any area where pedestrians and the public are allowed. OPDMDs are allowed unless a particular type of device cannot be accommodated because of legitimate safety requirements. Such safety requirements must be based on actual risks, not on speculation or stereotypes about a particular type of device or how it might be operated by people with disabilities using them.
A common non-central example of a “wheelchair” used by someone who has only a very mild mobility disability would be a folding chair carried by someone who cannot comfortably stand in line for hours who is in line for hours.