Welcome to the Research Section

• Overview of Research and Development Projects
• Targeted Outcomes and Outputs
• Volunteer to Participate in Research Studies

Overview of Research and Development Projects

• development and testing of prototype devices and/or components,
• development of prototype devices or components in collaboration with industry, (manufacturers and transit providers),  as a part of the technology transfer process,
• development of requirements, test methods, and performance criteria for future voluntary standards, and
• development of guidelines and recommendations for the design or use of TST devices and products.

The six RERC projects are:

 Two projects, P1 and P2, address transportation of wheelchair users in LATVs.  Project P1 is primarily a development effort that will be conducted at the University of Pittsburgh and will address the design, concept/prototype demonstration, and evaluation of forward-facing and rear-facing wheelchair passenger stations for this unique vehicle environment. Project P2 is largely a research effort that will be conducted at the University of Louisville to assess, monitor, investigate and document wheelchair users’ experiences throughout the complete transportation process from entering to exiting the vehicle using in-vehicle video systems, interviews, and in-depth investigation.

Two separate projects, P3 and P4, are targeted to address the needs of the wheelchair-seated occupant in smaller private and paratransit vans and minivans where crashworthiness is a significant concern.  P3 will address WTORS solutions to crashworthiness for both front and rear impacts, with a particular emphasis on drivers seated in wheelchairs for whom anecdotal evidence suggests that passive belt restraints systems are rarely positioned on the occupant in a manner that will provide effective restraint.

While some aspects of P3 addresses wheelchair issues with regard to restraint system accommodation, the majority of wheelchair and seating system transportation issues will be addressed in project P4.  This project will build upon wheelchair and seating crashworthiness efforts to date, and will address their performance in rear impacts.  This effort will further expand and validate the use of a surrogate wheelchair base for independent crash testing of a wider range of wheelchair seating systems, but will also develop and validate a surrogate seating system for independent crash testing of wheelchair bases.

Project P5 addresses the issues of school-bus transportation in Years 3 through 5.  The primary objective is to assess the benefits and effects of using WC19 wheelchairs when transporting students to and from school.  In the process, the project will develop and implement two survey tools for use by state school transportation directors and local school transportation groups.  It will also provide input to the GR2 Activity to disseminate this information in ways that increase awareness among school transportation groups of the benefits of using WC19 wheelchairs. 

Project P6 continues the in-depth investigation of real-world crashes and other moving-vehicle adverse events in which one or more occupants is seated in a wheelchair.   This project was initiated in RERC WTS-1 and, while identification of these events has proven more difficult than anticipated, the results to date have provided extremely valuable feedback on issues and priorities surrounding transportation for wheelchair issues.

This RERC WTS research team has been working together since 2001 when they received funding for the first RERC on WTS. This 5 years of Research and Development work is archived on the RERC 1 Website at the University of Pittsburgh's webserver. It is the foundation for the 6 projects that are currently underway in the RERC WTS-2.

Targeted Outcomes and Outputs

The long-term outcome sought by the RERC:

Measurable improvement in the safety, usability, and independence of motor-vehicle transportation for individuals who remain seated in their wheelchair, so that transportation is no longer a barrier to successful participation in the community.

The RERC investigators have spent considerable time discussing and developing answers to three primary questions to support achievement of this outcome:

1. What are the greatest needs in providing safe and effective motor-vehicle transportation for occupants who travel seated in their wheelchairs?
2. What and where are future efforts most likely to have a significant impact in the next five years?
3. What are the most important outputs and short/intermediate outcomes necessary to achieve the long-term outcome of improved safety, usability, and independence in motor-vehicle transportation for wheelchair users?

In discussing the answers to these questions, RERC investigators carefully considered the results and status of projects from the first RERC on Wheelchair Transportation Safety, the conclusions of the 2005 State-of-Science Workshop and the scientific literature related to the field.  They also considered the broad scope of motor vehicle transportation, which includes drivers and passengers seated in wheelchairs traveling in vans and minivans, public transportation in paratransit vans and large accessible transit vehicles (LATVs), and in school buses seated in wheelchairs.  For each mode of transportation, the problems vary and therefore the needs and solutions are different. 

These deliberations led to defining several short-term and intermediate outcomes that are essential to achieving the long-term outcome.  These include:

Short-Term Outcomes

1. An increased understanding and knowledge by key stakeholders of the basic principles of transportation safety,
2. An increased awareness of transit safety technology standards,
3. An increased stakeholder understanding of the need for using transit safety technologies and procedures appropriate for each travel environment

Intermediate Outcomes

1. Changes in attitudes, policies, and procedures of key stakeholders involved in wheelchair transportation safety
2. Increased development, availability, awareness, and use (including prescription) of products and procedures that comply with transit safety technology standards, including:

• Innnovative WTORS that offer the appropriate balance of safety, usability, and independence for different transportation environments
• Wheelchairs and wheelchair seating systems with innovative improvements for use as seats in motor vehicles

A Key RERC Output

While the RERC projects will generate numerous outputs, one set of outputs is considered particularly important to the successful achievement of the short, intermediate, and long-term goals – that is:

Accurate and objective knowledge of the transportation experience by wheelchair users, including vehicle ingress/egress, wheelchair securement, occupant restraint, and injury causation scenarios.

It is only through such real-world data, and through effective analysis and dissemination of these data, that the problems can be adequately defined and effectively addressed through research and development, development and upgrading of standards, marketing and use of appropriate transit safety technologies, and changes in stakeholder policies.