You may know the safety features of your vehicle, but do you know how your wheelchair would hold up in an accident? How well is your wheelchair with respect to the safety, stability and convenience in your automobile?
Wheelchairs that have been
designed and tested to be used as a seat in a vehicle are identified as WC19.
They meet the design and performance criteria by the set American National Standards
Institute (ANSI) and the Rehabilitation and Engineering and Assistive Technology
Society of North America (RESNA).
WC19 is a voluntary industry standard for designing, testing and labeling a wheelchair that is ready to be used as a seat in a motor vehicle. A WC19 wheelchair has:- Four permanently attached and labeled securement points that can withstand the forces of a 30 mph, 20 g impact.
- Specific securement point geometry that will accept a securement strap end fitting hook.
- A clear path of travel that allows proper placement of vehicle mounted occupant safety belts next to the skeletal parts of the body,
- Anchor points for an optional wheelchair anchored pelvic safety belt, that is designed to withstand a 30 mph, 20 g impact, that has a standard interface on it that allows it to connect to a vehicle-anchored shoulder belt.
For more about this standard in which was passed in April 2000, click here. And for an up-to-date list of successfully crash tested wheelchairs and seating systems, click here.
It’s your safety and well-being on the line so be sure that your chair meets the ANSI and RESNA standards.
No comments:
Post a Comment