Central Newfoundland man on motorized scooter says he's right where he's supposed to be — on the sidewalk

A man in central Newfoundland who relies on a motorized scooter to get around town says he faces harassment from people who don't understand the rules of the road.

Matthew Castelein, of Grand Falls-Windsor, has mobility issues and drives his scooter on the sidewalk because it's not permitted on the road. The scooter is fully enclosed and resembles a miniature car.

"I'm allowed to participate in society. Just because I've got a disability doesn't mean that I have to stay locked up at home all the time," Castelein told CBC Radio's Newfoundland Morning. "That's what this scooter does — it gives me that chance to participate in society."

However, Castelein said people yell at him for using the sidewalk.

"On Canada Day I was on a sidewalk coming home from the one store that was open and I got yelled at to get off the sidewalk by a car driving by," he said.

The experience prompted him to make a social media post to explain to people about this scooter.

He said if he stops at a store people will gather around and ask questions and he typically ignores the aggressive people.

In one instance, he said, a person called the police in front of him, who told the caller Castelein is supposed to be on the sidewalk, which upset the caller who then "stormed off because he was wrong."

"I've been told by police that they consider it nothing more than a wheelchair so I can go anywhere a pedestrian can," he said.

Independence

Almost 20 years ago, when Castelein was 17, he crashed into a tree and broke his neck and back. He also had a stroke. Today, his scooter allows him to travel, shop for groceries, and it's important to his mental health.

"It gets me out of the house so that I'm not cooped up and depressed all day," said Castelein.

In the last seven months his motorized scooter has enabled him to travel 2,700 kilometres around town, he said.

He chose an enclosed scooter for safety reasons as it protects him from the winter weather and wind. When he had a more typical scooter that wasn't enclosed, he said it was hard to use because he'd be "blown off of it by the wind."

"I didn't want that to happen again. So I went for something with four wheels that was bigger and heavier so it was harder to be blown over in the wind," he said.

After everything he's been through in his life, Castelein said having these negative interactions with people over his scooter is "not even that bad."

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