Prescribers: Clinicians, rehabilitation therapists, rehab engineers & certified rehabilitation technology suppliers

Sections on this page

• Background
• Crash-Tested Products
• Ride Safe Brochure
• Standards
• Clinical Tools
• Systems Change
• Educational Resources

Background

Review the recently accepted clinical practice position paper from the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America entitled, RESNA's Position on Wheelchairs Used as Seats in Motor Vehicles (197KB PDF)
Read a press release from June 2000 issued after the standard was accepted. The press release describes the standard and provides an overview. Standards are technical documents used by engineers and manufacturers to precisely measure the features of a product or a system.
Read the collection of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on WC19 that are located on this website.
Read the step-by-step directions for insuring a safe ride when seated in a wheelchair located at TravelSafer.org.
Glossy "Ride Safe" brochures can be requested from the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute by telephone at 734-764-2171 or by e-mail: umtridocs@umich.edu
The Ride Safe Brochure is available immediately as a PDF document for print on a color printer. You will need Acrobat Reader.
Frequently Asked Questions about Wheelchair Transportation Safety.

• How standards help consumers - a resource page on the ANSI (American National Standards Institute) website.
• Download a brochure written by the the ANSI website: Your voice matters - Why consumers need to participate in standards-makingand how to get involved
• WC19 is an ANSI/RESNA standard. The WC19 standard is available for purchase for $100.00 from RESNA's website.
• The ISO 7176-19 standard can be purchased in the ISO store at: http://www.iso.org/
• You can learn more about ISO-WG6, the taskgroup which developed the international standard for wheelchair transportation safety, within the Standards section of this website.
  • To the extent possible American and International standards are identical. ANSI/RESNA WC19 harmonizes in large part with the ISO standard (International Standards Organization), ISO 7176-19. In the case of this wheelchair transportation safety standard, there are differences.
  • You can read more about these differences in the FAQ section of this website. There is a specifc question that is focused on this issue.

Clinical tools

• New! Guidelines for Use of Secondary Postural Support Devices by Wheelchair Users During Travel in Motor Vehicles - learn about best practices for chest harnesses, head rests, lateral supports, etc. (450MB PDF)
• Seeing is believing! Take a look at the magnitude of the forces applied to a wheelchair and its occupant in crash test videos.
• Best Practices - a document to read and share.
• How Safe is Your Wheelchair? - a document to read and share with clients.
• Questions to Ask - a script for a conversation with a consumer who should know about transit wheelchairs and safe transit practices.
• Justifying funding for WC19 Wheelchairs and Seating - use this suggested language in your documentation and letters of justification to help get the safer wheelchairs funded.
• School Transportation Safety Checklist - a document reprinted with permission from Trumbull County School District.
• Automotive Safety Issues for Individuals with Disability - a resource at NHTSA.
• Transporting Students with Special Healthcare Needs (A journal article from the American Academy of Pediatrics).
• Transporting Children in Wheelchairs (An article from Exceptional Parent Magazine)
• Wheelchair Rider Risk in Motor Vehicles (A journal article from the VA Journal of Research & Development.
• Check out the series of 6 articles on Wheelchair Transportation Safety written by project staff and published in Exceptional Parent Magazine. The articles are in PDF format and can be printed or attached to emails and sent to parents. Find them in the Knowledge Translation section under "Consumer Publications."

Systems Change

• Use the power you have as a clinician prescribing wheelchairs and seating systems to pressure manufacturers to produce and label more WC19 compliant mobility products. We have created a template or form letter for you to use. Modify and use it to write a letter to manufacturers you use. Tell them you want to be able to select from ANY of their wheelchairs, and know that it will be available with a transit option.
  • Download a form letter in Microsoft Word format
  • Download a form letter in rich text format
• See the consumer pages for educational handouts directed to consumers who sit in wheelchairs as they ride public transit, private vehicles, or school buses.
• Justifying funding for WC19 Wheelchairs and Seating - use this suggested language in your documentation and letters of justification to help get the safer wheelchairs funded.