Still recovering from broken ankles following his recent and unfortunate fall down his own lift shaft, Sir Stirling Moss had the privilege of opening The 2010 Mobility Roadshow last Thursday in Peterborough. Following an opening speech that contained Sir Stirling’s usual sharp wit, he relaxed and enjoyed a chauffeur-driven tour of the show on a 2-seater TGA Supersport courtesy of TGA Electric.

Apparently Stirling was ‘absolutely fascinated’ with the variety of mobility products on display and ‘marvelled at how technically advanced many of the solutions are these days.’  In fact, pound for pound modern day mobility scooters are more advanced technically than the Formula One cars Stirling drove in the 60’s. Obviously not as fast though.

 Tim Ross of TGA said, “We were delighted to welcome Sir Stirling onto our stand and assist him around the show. He explained to me the marvellous and inventive mobility solutions he had seen on our stand and around the show and concluded that his recent accident proved restricted mobility can happen anytime – hence experiencing The Mobility Roadshow was a must.”

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It’s difficult when you’re a retired Formula One driver

The Mobility Roadshow was held earlier this month at the East of England Showground, Peterborough. Free to attend, the Roadshow is the only event of it’s kind in the UK where visitors can test drive a whole range of mobility products and adapted vehicles before purchasing. There was plenty to get involved with at this year’s show which included wheelchair basketball, rugby, tag rugby, sledge hockey, wheelchair dance and skills sessions for younger visitors. Plus in the Activity Zone you could try your hand at laser clays, archery, the climbing wall, adapted go-karts and a 4×4 experience.

The weather was great for all three days, which was fantastic for visitors, but left a few exhibitors red-faced and white-strapped from a lack of suntan cream.

Many exhibitors launch new products at the Roadshow, which means you get to see the latest innovations in mobility technology before they reach the market. My favourites?  There were some good offerings from Aquasoothe especially its unbelievably light portable scooter called the TravelLite which splits into 3 parts (so it can easily be taken on trains and planes); More Than Mobility with its stunning range of electric wheelchairs;   TGA and its Supersport; Portaramp (lightweight wheelchair access ramps); and Q’Straint (world leader in wheelchair passenger safety solutions) – all launched new products this year that resulted in high levels of interest, especially when visitors could touch and test products before purchasing.

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Aquasoothe’s TravelLite which weighs just 25 kilogrammes

As ever, The Mobility Roadshow provided a great day out (for the whole family) and will do the same next year. Just remember to take your suntan cream!