Static and Dynamic Tests of Wheelchair Restraints for Use in Public Service Vehicles

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Static and Dynamic Tests of Wheelchair Restraints for Use in Public Service Vehicles

S. P. F. Petty / A. G. Chatfield

Four types of basic wheelchair restraint design were tested. These were: a webbing belt system adapted from a cargo restraint design; strapping the wheelchair frame to steel rails bolted onto the floor and/or walls of the PSV; a clamp on one side of the wheelchair and a separate webbing belt on the other side, anchored to the opposite corner of the wheelchair frame and mounted in the floor in an extruded aluminum alloy rail; a vertical clamp on each side of the wheelchair frame attached to the floor; and an adjustable 'A' frame placed at the back of the wheelchair in sockets in the vehicle floor and roof. The static tests were carried out on a frame which was used to load the restraints in the forward, sideways and rearward modes, with the wheel castors set for forward wheelchair motion. The dynamic tests were carried out on an impact sled, with a dummy seated in the chair. The tests highlighted the inadequacy of some restraints, showed that test levels erred on the side of safety, confirmed that the test trolley was not completely satisfactory, and concluded that occupant restraint should be designed for single buckle release.