RMS Gill 4 Seating System EDTION TWO 2012, User Manual

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General information regarding Transportation
of Wheelchairs, Seating Systems and their Occupants
Please Note:
The information given in this section is intended for guidance only. Any figures and
standards quoted are correct at the time of printing but may be subjected to change
or update in the future, as a result of ongoing product testing and experience gained
by those involved in both the Care and Transportation fields.
There are over 750,000 wheelchair users in the UK. Although thousands
travel in motor vehicles every day, very few problems are reported.
However, in the small number of injuries and fatalities recorded,
investigations have revealed that the cause is rarely attributed to a piece
of faulty equipment.
The majority are the result of inappropriate, inadequate or incorrectly used
equipment, which can pose as much a risk to wheelchair users as a
vehicle impact.
The main areas where problems are identified :

Lack of communication between the parties involved, notably with transport
service providers before a wheelchair/seating unit is prescribed.

Lack of comprehensive risk analysis for users.

Lack of clear product information for users, carers and transporters.

Inadequate transportation information and training for users, carers,
prescribers, service providers and drivers.

Inappropriate, incomplete or misused, wheelchair tie-down systems
(WTORS).

Inappropriate occupant restraint systems.

Incorrect use of tail lifts and ramps.

Wheelchairs blocking gangways and exits during transportation.

Transportation of unoccupied powered and non-powered wheelchairs without
being correctly secured.
Forces Created in a Crash:
The “Crash Test” that wheelchairs, seating systems and restraint systems
undergo and have to satisfy, is a 30mph - 20g crash simulation.
This crash simulation represents a severe crash for a small vehicle like a family
car, a car derived van (M1 category) or a mini-bus up to 5 tonnes in weight (M2
category).
The crash test assumes that the deceleration rate of the vehicle, will create
forces where items of mass will weigh 20 times their normal weight.
(For example a 1Kg bag of sugar would effectively weigh 20Kg).
In comparison, this would mean that a 100Kg powered wheelchair will weigh 2
tonnes and an 85Kg occupant will weigh 1.7 tonnes.
[Cont]
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