New campaign calls for safer wheelchair accessible vehicles

A press release I’ve just received:

Disabled Motoring UK is gearing up to campaign for a change in legislation that will improve the safety of wheelchair accessible vehicles (WAVs).

The charity believes it is a moral and human right for people who travel in a wheelchair to be able to purchase a converted vehicle that has been properly tested and is as safe as the original car.

The ‘No Compromises!’ safety campaign will urge buyers of wheelchair accessible 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 that only ‘sled tested’ vehicles can be sold.

Worryingly, the industry has seen up to 50 per cent of conversions that have passed other less significant tests fail the vital sled test.

A sled test is similar to the crash testing seen on TV – a dummy is strapped into a wheelchair within 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 user secure.

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.

Helen Dolphin, Director of Policy and Campaigns for Disabled Motoring UK, 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: “People who travel in wheelchairs 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.

Disabled Motoring UK (DMUK) campaigns on behalf of all disabled motorists, passengers and Blue Badge holders. The charity represents their interests at both local and national levels, and engages with government and industry to ensure that the voice of disabled people is heard.

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.