The Safe Transportation of Wheelchair Occupants in the United Kingdom

In 1981, “The Year of Disabled People,” the Department of Transport issued a Code of Practice and Special Provisions for the Carriage of Passengers in Wheelchairs on Public Service Vehicles. The safety aspects of the code are considered in this paper. Research has shown that the travelling space required for each wheelchair is 700mm wide and 1,200mm long.

Accident data have shown that the priority requirements for a wheelchair restraint are to hold the chair and occupant in place during normal driving and in 10g frontal impacts for full-sized public service coaches. The details are given of five different restraint designs and of the results from static and dynamic testing. The removal of one restraint design from the market as a result of testing to the Code of Practice highlights the need for a formal standard.