Project P6: In-Depth Investigations of Motor-Vehicle Crashes and Moving-Vehicle Incidents Involving Passengers and Drivers Seated in Wheelchairs

Task Leader: Lawrence Schneider, PhD

Co-investigators: Kathleen Klinich, PhD, PE; Jamie Moore (senior crash investigator)

Other Participants: WTORS, wheelchair, and seating manufacturers; van modifiers, public and private transportation providers; wheelchair and seating suppliers and clinicians, other crash investigation programs, the NHTSA

Overview

This project addresses the key output of the RERC WTS by

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

It does this through the conduct of in-depth investigations of crashes or other moving-vehicle incidents involving passengers and drivers seated in wheelchairs to identify the types and causes of injuries. 

View these PDF documents to learn more how you can participate in this important study: Cover Letter Study Description Recruitment Poster

This project is a continuation of a crash-investigation program funded by the first RERC on Wheelchair Transportation Safety, and will take place over the 5 years of the project.  The project will result in objective assessments and documentation of injuries and injury causation scenarios for passengers and drivers involved in adverse incidents and crashes while seated in their wheelchairs in different types of private and public vehicle and transportation environments.  This information is needed to guide future R&D and standard-development efforts, and will be used to educate key stakeholders.

Expected Outputs and Short-Term Outcomes

Expected Outputs

• Peer-reviewed publications documenting causation injury scenarios to occupants seated in wheelchairs while traveling in minvans, vans, and paratransit buses
• Identification of issues with WTORS and wheelchair designs that prevent optimal protection of wheelchair-seated occupants
• Recommendations for improved training and education based on the most frequent misuses of WTORS by wheelchair-seated occupants

Expected Outcome (Short and Intermediate Term)

• Improvements in wheelchair occupant safety in private vehicles

Research Objectives

The goal of this project to build on the accomplishments of the previous RERC by continuing to conduct in-depth investigations of crashes and other moving-vehicle adverse incidents that have the potential to result in injuries to drivers and passengers seated in wheelchairs while traveling in different types of motor vehicles.  Through biomechanical analysis of individual cases and statistical analysis of a new crash/injury database, this project will:

• Identify areas and issues of motor-vehicle injuries that may be unique to wheelchair-seated occupants in different types and sizes of vehicles and transportation services,
• Document injury scenarios involving use of inappropriate procedures (e.g. side facing) and tiedown/restraint and wheelchair equipment that does not comply with current voluntary standards,
• Evaluate the performance wheelchair and WTORS that comply with current standards and recommended practices, and
• Characterize, in relation the able-bodied population, the extent, incidence, and nature of injuries to wheelchair-seated occupants in different types and sizes of vehicles.

Project Update

The IRB application was submitted to the University of Michigan Social and Behavioral Institutional Review Board (IRB) and approval was received in February 2007. Minors are now eligible for inclusion in the study although children under 12 will not participate in phone interviews. The methods of recruitment have been expanded and arrangements are being made with the NHTSA to obtain wheelchair notifications from the NASS beginning in July 2007.

In the first six months of the project, five new crashes involving occupants seated in wheelchairs were identified and three of these resulted in full investigations. The first case involves a wheelchair-seated driver of van in a frontal impact who sustained serious lower-extremity injuries. Because the vehicle had already been repaired at the time of the notification, photo documentation of the vehicle damage being supplied by the occupants is needed to complete the investigation. The second notification was from the CIREN center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and involved a wheelchair-seated driver in an offset-frontal impact who sustained serious abdomen and lower extremity injuries. Finalization of the CIREN case review is needed before we can complete our investigation. The third notification was from Google News Alerts and involved a modified vehicle but the wheelchair-seated occupant was not present during the crash so a full investigation was not conducted. The fourth notification involved a rear endswipe of a vehicle with a 6YO child seated in a wheelchair who was not seriously injured. This investigation has been completed. A fifth notification was identified through local news reports and involved a vehicle with a wheelchair-seated occupant becoming airborne and landing on a large rock. The wheelchair user in this collision declined to participate in the study.

P6 Annual Report 2007 (512K pdf)

Last updated: December 4, 2007