Wheelchairs and Transportation

These standards affect:

• People with physical disabilities who remain seated in their wheelchairs when traveling in motor vehicles, as well as their families and caregivers;
• Wheelchair, tiedown/restraint, seating and vehicle manufacturers;
• Transit providers, including paratransit, public transit, and school transportation groups;
• Clinicians/rehab suppliers who prescribe wheelchairs and seating for people who use wheelchairs;
• Rehabilitation and auto safety engineers and researchers; and,
• Federal, state, and local governments and policy makers.

Safety standards are needed for wheelchairs, wheelchair seating systems, wheelchair tiedown and occupant restraints systems in all vehicles, as well as for wheelchair spaces on large accessible transit vehicles, to improve transportation safety and the independence and usability for people who travel in motor vehicles while seated in their wheelchairs.

Work Program

RESNA WC-4 Wheelchairs Volume 4: Wheelchairs and Transportation

This standard includes design and performance requirements, test methods, and requirements for manufacturer literature and product labeling for wheelchairs, wheelchair seating systems, WTORS, and wheelchair spaces on large accessible transit vehicles, intended for use in motor vehicles. The documents providing specifications for equipment used in the test methods, including the surrogate wheelchair (SWC), the surrogate four-point, strap-type tiedown (4-point SWTORS), and the surrogate wheelchair frame (SWCF) may be included as parts of the standard but they may also be published as separate technical reports that are referenced in the various parts of the standard.

The standard includes the following sections:

• Section 10: Rear-facing wheelchair spaces in large, accessible transit vehicles
• Section 18: Wheelchair tiedowns and occupant restraint systems for use in motor vehicles
• Section 19: Wheelchairs used as seats in motor vehicles
• Section 20: Wheelchair seating systems for use in motor vehicles

ISO Related Activities

ISO / TC 173 Assistive products for persons with disability / SC 1 Wheelchairs

ISO/TC 173/SC 1/WG 6 Wheelchair restraint systems Work program

• ISO 7176-19 Wheelchairs Part 19: Wheeled mobility devices for use in motor vehicles
• ISO 10542-1 Wheelchair tiedown and occupant-restraint systems Part 1: Requirements and test methods for all systems
• ISO 10865-1 Wheelchair tiedown and occupant restraint systems for rearward facing wheelchair-seated passengers Part 1: Systems for accessible transport vehicles designed for use by both seated and standing passengers
• ISO 10865-2 Wheelchair tiedown and occupant restraint systems for forward facing wheelchair-seated passengers Part 2: Systems for accessible transport vehicles designed for use by both seated and standing passengers
• ISO 16840-4 Wheelchair seating Part 4: Seating systems for use in motor vehicles

Officers

CHAIR

Miriam Manary
University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute
mmanary@umich.edu

Ms. Manary is a Lead Research Engineer at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute who conducts biomechanics and human factors research for the automotive industry. Currently her work focuses on wheelchair transportation safety and child passenger safety. She has served as principal investigator on a number of research projects involving the collection and application of anthropometric and biomechanical data from volunteer subjects to determine the factors influencing occupant posture and position. She has analyzed how public policy and regulation impact safety outcomes. She conducts and supervises sled impact evaluation of child restraints, transit wheelchairs, wheelchair securement systems and wheelchair-occupant restraint systems. Miriam is actively involved in national and international standards writing groups and currently chairs the RESNA Committee on Wheelchairs and Transportation. Ms Manary has been a NHTSA Child Passenger Safety Technician Instructor since 2000.

VICE-CHAIR

SECRETARY

Nichole Orton
University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute
nritchie@umich.edu

Nichole Orton is a senior research engineer with 20 years of experience. She has contributed to past RERC projects involving wheelchair transportation safety that addressed design of restraint systems for occupants seated in wheelchairs and development of test fixtures for dynamic testing. She led the project to evaluate belt fit of people in their own vehicles modified for wheelchair use. She has been heavily involved in dynamic testing of wheelchairs and WTORS and is well-versed in recommended procedures for evaluating wheelchairs used as vehicle seating. Ms. Orton has also been involved in development and evaluation of innovative restraint solutions for military occupants. More recently she has played a key role in ongoing wheelchair transportation safety research projects funded by NHTSA, the USDOT, and Mcity. She currently serves as secretary for the RESNA committee on Wheelchairs and Transportation (COWHAT).