Jenny Psaila is fed up.

The 86-year-old recently bought a mobility scooter to help her navigate her way through St Julian’s and Sliema despite her advancing years.

But her frustration is mounting as she keeps on bumping into tables and chairs, hitting cracks and having to drive alongside traffic in areas where there is no pavement at all.

Instead of accepting her circumstances, she has come forward to highlight the situation facing anyone who relies on mobility aids and hoping something would be done to fix the problem.

“Ouch,” Jenny says, as she drives over the fifth bump in the road while demonstrating her daily challenges to Times of Malta.

“Driving the scooter in Malta is uncomfortable, to say the least… very uncomfortable.”

The vibrations and jolts caused by the unevenness of the pavements sometimes lead to pains, especially in her neck.  

Jenny relies on her scooter to retain an active life, saying that the mobility aid has given her “a new lease of life”.

“If I didn’t have an aid (the scooter) I would be housebound,” she says. 

An older friend of Jenny’s tripped on uneven pavements, leading to a fractured ankle which had to be operated on: “Her situation is not better and will never be better now.”

A lot of people her age share stories like that, she says.

Tiles on the Sliema promenade are often left displaced following maintenance works while tree roots lead to uneven surfaces.

However, “through trial and error,” she has learned how to get around in the smoothest way possible.

But then there is another obstacle on the Sliema promenade, Jenny’s domain: it is often blocked by e-scooters, parked haphazardly, as well as tables and chairs set up by eateries.

The narrow walkways in some parts of her route also mean she needs to ask people to make way.  

When she cannot use the pavement, either because it is too narrow, or because there are no ramps to get on, she is forced to join the traffic on the road.

'I am generally respected on the road'

Jenny says that other elderly pedestrians stop to tell her it is a good idea to drive a scooter, but she is quick to warn them it is not for everyone.   

“The first thing I say is, ‘Did you drive a car?’ because sometimes you have no choice but to drive the scooter on the road.”  

To drive a mobility scooter, you need to know the rules of the road and feel confident enough, she says. Her 55 years of car driving experience help her remain calm when sharing the road with motorists.

On a positive note, she has words of praise for motorists saying she is generally respected when on the road.

“Most cars and particularly the buses are very good at giving way.”

She is determined to continue getting around, despite the obstacles and is often seen driving around St Julian’s, Sliema and even Valletta which she gets to via the ferry crossing the Marsamxett harbour.  

“Once I’m in Valletta I can go anywhere except the streets that have steps obviously,” she smiles.