Thread

Strutt's Powered Wheelchair Is Not a Wheelchair (For Legal Reasons)

9 points · 15 comments · surprisetalk

probably_wrong · 1790863403 · focus · HN ↗
Leaving aside for a second that this post is clearly an ad.
There are reasons why you can't just say "here's a new wheelchair, have fun suckers!" and that's because a medical device is major part of someone's life and disruptions that would annoy healthy people can be life threatening to them. Worst case scenario you end up in a Second-Sight situation [1].
Let's take a random example: the page says "If you're heading down a steep slope, the powered wheels ease the descent". When the brakes of my bike suddenly stopped working on a steep slope I could just throw myself to the side and brake with my legs. If you're a using this "mobility device" as a wheelchair and this happens to you well, tough luck. You should have bought a wheelchair instead.
Do not "move fast and break things" when the things are actually people.
[1] <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30349871">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30349871
1. locknitpicker · 1790865512 · focus · HN ↗
  > There are reasons why you can't just say "here's a new wheelchair, have fun suckers!" and that's because a medical device is major part of someone's life and disruptions that would annoy healthy people can be life threatening to them. Worst case scenario you end up in a Second-Sight situation [1].
  Exactly. All this simplistic and puerile "regulation is bad" talk is a clear tell of how any anti-regulatory talk is rooted in ignorance and bad faith, and is mainly driven by mindless ideological fundamentalism.
2. redsocksfan45 · 1790870883 · focus · HN ↗
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