New Campaign Calls For Safer Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles
Disabled Motoring UK, a charity which campaigns on behalf of disabled driver is leading a campaign for a change in legislation that will improve the safety of wheelchair accessible vehicles (WAVs).
But before turning away with disinterest because you may not be a wheelchair user, think on this: what would happen if you were driving behind a vehicle containing a wheelchair bound passenger, and suddenly the doors to the vehicle in front flung open and a wheelchair complete with its occupant was projected toward you?
Unlikely? - well read on!
The safety of modern cars is taken for granted by many of us nowadays - particularly with the raft of European legislation that requires vehicle manufacturers to meet ever higher safety and environmental standards.
But many cars that have been converted to make them wheelchair accessible have not been properly re-tested to the highest European standards. The only way to be absolutely sure that a vehicle is built to the highest European standards is to sled test it. We believe people have a human right to a properly tested vehicle.
The reason testing is so vital after conversion to a wheelchair accessible vehicle is because converting a car is a complex process involving significant structural changes to the vehicle such as lowering the floor. If this is not done properly, and by experts, the car may be unsafe.
The sled test is similar to the crash testing that many of us have seen on TV a dummy is strapped into a wheelchair in the body of the car, which is then put through head-on collisions to check that both the belts and their fixings are strong enough to withstand a real-life accident and keep the wheelchair passenger secure.
Sled testing is the only means of proving that the cell (i.e. the conversion anchorage points together with the belts and tie-downs) is safe.
The industry has witnessed a 50 per cent failure rate with the wheelchair and occupant sled test, even when the conversion has previously been pull-tested and the belts and tie-downs have been tested separately by the belt manufacturer. It is when the constituent parts are put together as a complete system that they fail.
The disabled motoring charity believes it is a moral and human right for disabled people to be able to purchase a converted vehicle that has been properly tested and is a safe as the original car.
The 'No Compromises!' safety campaign urges buyers of converted cars to demand sled testing certificates – the only way to check a vehicle is as safe as possible. The campaign will also seek to change legislation so only ‘sled tested’ vehicles can be sold.
Helen Dolphin, Director of Policy and Campaigns, said:
“It is amazing that vehicles are being sold that may not be safe for the drivers and their disabled passengers and we feel strongly that this most stop. We will be calling on the Government to change legislation so that people don’t unknowingly purchase unsafe vehicles. Alongside this we will be educating people to make sure they ask the right questions before purchasing a converted car.”
Constables Mobility’s Managing Director David Constable, one of the experts supporting the campaign, explains:
“Disabled people have a right to a vehicle that has been properly tested so they are as safe as possible in the event of an accident. I strongly believe that all companies who convert cars should only be allowed to sell them if they have been successfully tested after conversion – including being sled tested - so the vehicle meets and exceeds the latest European safety standards. It’s a moral and human right to have a car that has been converted safely.”
From 29 April 2012, wheelchair accessible vehicles have to meet both the European standard for the car before it is converted and pass additional tests which check the changes made during the conversion process. However, not every conversion will have passed the same tests and it doesn’t guarantee that sled testing has been carried out.
The charity,
DMUK is the only UK charity that campaigns on behalf of disabled people in this way. Without DMUK and its parent charities the Disabled Drivers’ Association and the Disabled Drivers’ Motor Club, there would be no Blue Badge scheme, no Motability cars, and no mobility component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to help disabled people defray some of the extra travel and transport costs that they incur.
Whether or not you are a disabled driver, wheelchair user, or simply concerned about road safety in general, you should sign this on-line petition to the Government calling for the full and appropriate testing of wheelchair accessible vehicles.
Sign here
Source: DMUK / Suzi Christie
