RESNA Standards Committee on Wheelchairs and Transportation (COWHAT)
Click here for a membership form to join this committee.
Click here for information about the WC-4 Standard developed and maintained by this committee.
Click here to order standards from this committee.
Click here to login to the committee workspace within RESNA Connect (COWHAT COMMITTEE MEMBERS ONLY)
NEXT MEETING
Future meetings are being planned now and the meeting information will be posted soon. Each standards committee is required to maintain a balance in membership. Anyone is welcome to join the committee, and we are especially looking for Consumers, Advocates, Caregivers, Policy Experts, Payers, Educators, Transit Providers, and Clinicians/Prescribers. Please contact one of the officers for additional information.
Officers
Miriam Manary
University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute
mmanary@umich.edu
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