Wheelchair Lights

I was in Canadian Tire the other day, not for any particular reason, just for a bit of fun looking around. While there I noticed some LED strips designed to go on the inside of a car or along the running boards of a truck. I had been thinking for some time about putting lights on the back of my wheelchair, given that I am often out after dark, rolling home from shopping or a movie or something of that sort.

I decided to check with Home Mobility Solutions, the folks who maintain my manual chair, my bed lift, and the Power Wheelchair supplied to me by the ALS Societ of Alberta. It was my intent to add these light strips onto the back of my wheelchair, then wire them into a toggle switch which would have to be added to the control panel. No big deal, right?

At the same time I sent a letter asking the ALS Society if I might make this custom addition to their wheelchair. It's not the kind of thing they do, and if they did they would be required to use a different controller with the control switches already built in, along with the manufacturers lighting system, a process costing somewhere around $1,500. They don't see that as a wise expenditure, a position I completely agree with.

On the other hand, I can get the light strips at Canadian Tire for anywhere from $20 to $40, depending on features and brightness. My idea was to put orange on the front and red on the back, possibly blinking on the back but definitely not on the front. So my cost might run from $40 to $80. A toggle switch could be had for about $8.00. Again, no big deal, right?

Then comes the labour needed to attach this setup. If my brother Jim were here, I would ask him to do it. If I were not stuck in this chair I would do it myself, but that's kind of silly if you think about it. Unfortunately I don't know any auto electric savvy people here in Calgary who I might ask for help. So I asked Home Medical Solutions what they would charge.

They felt it would take up to two hours to do the wiring, not an unreasonable estimate. They also said they would only charge the shop rate of $80, but would prefer to do the work in their shop. That means I would be back in my manual chair for a day or two, a bit of a challenge for me in that it would mean staying in my apartment. While staying in my apartment for a day or two is not too rough, especially in mid-winter, spending $40 for parts and $160 for labour is not my idea of a good time.

On the other hand I have gotten by without lights for a few years now. I really don't need them. It was just an idea. Trust me, if I had another $200 to spend, I can think of far better places to spend it. For example, on Scotch, or on another wine kit, or perhaps even on groceries. I'm going to keep this idea in the back of my head. Maybe I can talk my brother Jim into doing it for me.