Wheelchair Tiedown and Occupant Restraints

Persons seated in wheelchairs while traveling in motor vehicles, including children traveling to school, adults traveling in public transit and paratransit vehicles, elderly traveling to and from nursing homes, and wheelchair-seated drivers and passengers of personally licensed vehicles (usually vans), have generally traveled at significantly higher risk of injury in a vehicle crash than the able-bodied population. Though this population of people may indeed have a reduced tolerance for injury, it is also true that suitable seating and effective and appropriate occupant restraint systems, comparable to that available to travelers in vehicle seats that are regulated by federal safety standards, are absent.

SAE Recommended Practice J2249 Wheelchair Tiedowns and Occupant Restraints for Use in Motor Vehicles (hereafter referred to as J2249) was developed over a ten year period by the Restraint Systems Task Group of the Society of Automotive Engineer's Adaptive Devices Subcommittee (ADSC). The committee recognized the need to improve after-market equipment used to secure wheelchairs and restrain wheelchair occupants during motor-vehicle transportation. A primary element of this recommended practice is a dynamic strength test of wheelchair tiedown and occupant restraint equipment conducted on an impact sled in a manner similar to FMVSS 213 for child restraint systems (CRS). However, the practice includes many other requirements related to basic principles of occupant protection, as well as basic principles of good engineering and design practice.

SAE RP J2249 Wheelchair Tiedowns and Occupant Restraints for Use in Motor Vehicles, was first published in October 1996. The goal of this companion document is to provide guidance in the use of J2249, and to provide interpretation, explanation, and rationale for its various provisions and parts. This guideline document is written primarily for manufacturers of Wheelchair Tiedown and Occupant Restraint Systems (WTORS), but will also be useful to consumers and third-party groups who purchase, use, or install WTORS. It provides insight into the requirements set forth in the Recommended Practice, gives the rationale behind the requirements, and clarifies the intentions and limitations of the of the requirements. It also references parallel efforts that have taken place in other countries and indicates where attempts at harmonization have been successful.

Reference Documents for RP J2249-Wheelchair Tiedowns and Occupant Restraint Systems-

Application Guidelines

Although this applications manual was written primarily for WTORS manufacturers, it also serves as as an information resource for others concerned about wheelchair transport safety. For example, it lays out the basic biomechanical principles of crash protection, and provides the background rational for the J2249-Recommended Practice document. It contains information essential to those professionals concerned about transportation safety and recommending "best practices" to families and wheelchair users. It also contains diagrams and lay explanations about the details of the standard itself, as well as technical guidance useful to designers and installers of WTORS. Finally, there is a section that provides information for users of wheelchairs and WTORS, in an effort to make them more knowledgeable and therefore capable of ensuring the proper use of wheelchair securement and occupant restraint devices.

The application guidelines are available in PDF format and are readable with Adobe Acrobat. This application is free and can be downloaded from the Adobe website.

Click on "All" to download the complete RP J2249 guideline document (Ver. June 1999) or click on just the particular section you are interested in reading.

All - RPJ2249-Application Guidelines (Ver. June, 1999) (Size=320k .pdf)

Sec. I - Introduction (Size= 15k.pdf)
Sec. II - Harmonization with Other Standards (Size= 12k .pdf)
Sec. III - Basic Principles of Occupant Protection (Size= 23k .pdf)
Sec. IV - A Detailed Explanation of RPJ2249 (Size= 176k .pdf)
Sec. V - Guidelines for Users of WTORS (Size= 18k .pdf)
Sec. VI - Guidelines for Transportation Authorities and Installers (Size= 62k .pdf)
Sec. VII - Guidelines for WTORS designers (Size= 20k .pdf)
Sec. VIII - Future Additions of RPJ2249 (Size= 9k .pdf)
Sec. IX - Appendices (Size= 59k .pdf)

1. A- Reference Standards, Laws and Regulations
2. B- Glossary of Terms
3. C- List of Participant Organizations, Companies and Individuals

Last updated: February 7, 2007