Wheelchair and Crash Dummy Response in Far-Side Lateral Impacts
By Manary, Miriam A.; Ritchie, Nichole L.; Schneider, Lawrence W.; RESNA 28th International Annual Conference 2005: Atlanta, Georgia,Publication Date: 2005
Study in which three sled tests simulating side-impact collisions were conducted in order to identify safety issues associated with the protection of people who use wheelchairs. Each test utilized a mid-size adult male anthropomorphic testing device (ATD), which was restrained by a three-point belt and seated in a commercial transit wheelchair that was secured by a four-point tie-down. The wheelchair was well secured in all three tests, but the ATD’s head and upper torso were not effectively restrained with the outboard shoulder belt routing. In two tests, the ATD loaded and severely deformed the wheelchair armrest. The ATD’s upper torso was more effectively restrained when the shoulder belt was positioned over the inboard shoulder, but the researchers hypothesized that improved overall restraint could potentially increase the load on the occupant’s neck. Implications for future research are discussed. This paper was presented at the 2005 annual conference of RESNA, the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America and is available on CD-ROM.
Published by: Rehabilitation Engineering & Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) (Website:http://www.resna.org)
This publication is included in the library of the National Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC), accession number O16195
