On Tue, 4 Aug 2020 01:38:24 +0100, williamwright
wrote:

On 04/08/2020 00:47, T i m wrote:

She did ride Dads lightweight / take-down trike but when coming to a
halt on the down-amp at a pedestrian crossing, rather than just
letting go of the throttle bar her ancient cycle riding muscle memory
kicked in and she pulled what she for that second thought was the
front brake. ;-(

There's a very simple thing to drill into scooter riders: "LET GO!" In
other words, if it's all going wrong, release your grip and lift your
hands off the controls. The scooter will stop dead.

We (Mum and I) had that conversation several times Bill (and practiced
it) and in probably two hours of her running around on it, that was
the first time she had been in that scenario (coming to halt on a down
ramp, by a main road). [1]

The point being that on the flat and under 'normal' (non emergency /
downhill stop) circumstances, our message was being considered.
However, it's not those situations that are likely to rely on muscle
memory and it was when that clicked in the problem happened.

It's similar to all those (typically older) people who put their cars
though walls or into other cars in car park when you mix up the pedals
on their autos. The lady opposite did in her auto car and damaged the
front of her car and crushed her gas meter box. ;-(

As an aside, the scooter was a TGA Ultralight: (just an example
picture from the net)

https://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NTc2WDEwMjQ=/z/zxcAAOSwSYpbvDvk/$_86.JPG

The first model was FWD and that made it *very* manoeuvrable so
perfect for shopping or local pavement work. You might be able to see
the throttle lever and in use, it does feel (and fall to hand) very
much like a brake.

And whilst Mum does still have her marbles, she does sometimes seem to
suffer some mental buffering, not the sort of thing we want when
crossing a busy road. ;-(

Plus, the Regatta is bigger, 4 wheels, has inflatable tyres, has
suspension and so likely to be better (more comfortable) over some
slightly offroad terrain (park paths and towpaths etc). The downside
is that it's f'in heavy so might go in one of the trailers (because
they are low) if it needed transporting . It probably would go in the
back of the Meriva, especially if you loaded the batteries separately
(or there were 3 of you).

Cheers, T i m

[1] I had a Royal Enfield 350 Bullet (Madras) that had the foot
controls (gear / rear brake) 'reversed' to what I was used to.

Eg, I was used to braking with my right foot (Lambretta scooter /
Japanese / German motorcycles and cars).

So, whilst I was perfectly comfortable riding it under ordinary
conditions, under emergency conditions I found myself applying the
front brake and stamping it into 1st gear, rather than applying the
rear / foot brake. Because I often had our daughter pillion, I sold it
rather than take the risk.