Wheelchair Vans Crash Test Provides Vital Safety Information
Knowing how safe your car or one in which you ride would be in a crash, may save your life or save you from serious injuries. If you are seated in a wheelchair, then knowing the results of wheelchair vans crash test is even more important to you.
Wheelchair-Vehicle Interface
The interface with vehicle-wheelchairs pertains to how adaptable your car is from a safety perspective to your wheelchair, taking into consideration stability, convenience and safety as test factors.
You will also want to know how your wheelchair would fair in a crash test, to be sure that the chair or the van is as safe as possible.
ANSI and RESNA Standards
When wheelchairs meet the performance and design criteria put forth by the ANSI–American National Standards Institute–and the RESNA–the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Techology Society of North America, they are then identified as WC19. That designation tells that they were designed for use in a vehicle and passed rigorous testing.
The wheelchairs have four points for securing the chair quickly and easily with tie-downs. The goal is to make it convenient for your caregiver or yourself to follow the latest and safest procedures to ensure stability and safety when using the wheelchair as a seat in handicap vans, 7 or another vehicle.
WC19 Wheelchairs
If any wheelchair meets the standards of the WC19 testing, it has five advantages beyond wheelchairs that have not met the testing standards.
- 1. The chair has enough strength to offer protection for you in various kinds of crashes. It must remain secure and stable during the crash, to keep you (or the crash dummy during testing)inside the vehicle. The frame must not crack, and the seat must be firm and supportive.
- 2. The WC19 wheelchair must be easy to use in a vehicle adapted for it, such as the “wheelchair van” or the “wheelchair car.”
- 3. In order to be able to use the tie-downs one-handed in less than ten seconds, the points of securement must be clearly marked and accessible.
- 4. The standards require manufacturers to report the measurement of lateral stability once the wheelchair is loaded and tilted to a forty-five degree angle. This will mean the vehicle has greater stability.
- 5. A wheelchair that has earned WC19 designation has more compatibility with seatbelts and results in a better fit with shoulder and lap belts.
When riding in wheelchair vans or handicap vans, be sure that your chair meets the wheelchair vans crash test, and that you are secured in a wheelchair that is WC19 compliant.
