A Literature Review of Wheelchair Transportation Safety Relevant to Automated Vehicles

Abstract

This literature review summarizes wheelchair transportation safety, focusing on areas pertinent to designing automated vehicles (AVs) so they can accommodate people who remain seated in their wheelchairs for travel. In these situations, it is necessary to secure the wheelchair to the vehicle and provide occupant protection with a Wheelchair Tiedown and Occupant Restraint System (WTORS). For this population to use AVs, a WTORS must be crashworthy for use in smaller vehicles, able to be used independently, and adaptable for a wide range of wheelchair types. Currently available WTORS do not have these characteristics, but a universal docking interface geometry and prototype automatic seatbelt donning systems have been developed. In the absence of government regulations that address this situation, RESNA and ISO have developed voluntary industry standards to define design and performance criteria to achieve occupant protection levels for wheelchair-seated passengers that are similar to those provided by conventional vehicle seats.

The safety of wheelchair occupants in motor vehicles

“…Often this means that a person the wheelchair user is unfamiliar with must enter personal space and physically contact them to apply the seatbelt. This can be uncomfortable for wheelchair users [12]. These disadvantages are not present in wheelchair docking systems.…”

“…They can do in two ways: transferring from wheelchair to a vehicle seat or travelling seated in their own wheelchair [16]. A best-practice travel recommendation for individuals who use wheelchairs and travel in passenger vehicles is to transfer to original seats and make use of vehicle's occupants protection systems [3,10,12]. Persons for whom transfer from a wheelchair is impractical may use adapted vehicles, which are configured to allow the use of a wheelchair as a seat on the vehicle.…”

Usability and Vibration Analysis of a Low-Profile Automatic Powered Wheelchair to Motor Vehicle Docking System

“…Manual wheelchair users can transfer to a vehicle seat to drive or ride as a passenger in a personal vehicle; meanwhile, a wheelchair docking system (WDS) is essential to secure a power wheelchair user within the vehicle [ 4 ]. A WDS is an interface between a motor vehicle and a wheelchair that secures the wheelchair to the vehicle to facilitate the safe use of the wheelchair as a seat in a motor vehicle [ 4 ]. All WDS serve the same purpose to provide security and safety by firmly securing the wheelchair to the vehicle.…”

“…Automatic WDS allows wheelchair users to secure their wheelchairs quickly and independently [ 8 ]. It uses a docking pin installed on the bottom of the wheelchair to lock it on a system installed on the vehicle floor [ 4 , 9 ]. On the other hand, it reduces the wheelchair’s ground clearance making it prone to hit uneven surfaces [ 4 , 10 ], resulting in injuries to the user and wheelchair damage [ 11 ].…”

“…It uses a docking pin installed on the bottom of the wheelchair to lock it on a system installed on the vehicle floor [ 4 , 9 ]. On the other hand, it reduces the wheelchair’s ground clearance making it prone to hit uneven surfaces [ 4 , 10 ], resulting in injuries to the user and wheelchair damage [ 11 ]. Alternatively, BraunAbility and Q’Straint developed the prototype of a low-profile automatic WDS called QLX.…”