Wheelchair restraint system

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A wheelchair restraint system is a special restraint system for people in a wheelchair who are transported while sitting in a motor vehicle . It is designed to protect this person from harm in the event of an accident .

background

In accidents with vehicles for the transport of disabled people, so-called handicapped transport vehicles (BTW), the risk of injury for people who are transported in a wheelchair is often higher than for passengers who are transported correctly secured on a vehicle seat. For this reason, physically handicapped people should always sit on a standard vehicle seat and be secured with the three-point seat belt when being transported in a motor vehicle . Whenever possible, wheelchair users should be transferred to a vehicle seat.

If it is not possible to transfer a wheelchair user onto the car seat, both the wheelchair and the passenger must be secured with a special system.

Systems with 4-point belt and lap belt

So far, 4-point belt systems have often been used to secure wheelchairs and an additional lap belt to secure the passenger. In this case, be straps attached to parts of the wheelchair frame and strapped at four points on the vehicle floor. A lap belt is put on the person sitting in the wheelchair .

This system offers limited protection. Without an inclined shoulder belt, for example, the risk of traumatic brain injuries in an accident is very high because the head of the person sitting in the wheelchair can hit the knee, lower leg or parts of the vehicle in a frontal collision (“jackknife effect”). Like all safety systems, they can only develop their full protective effect if they are correctly applied. However, since wheelchairs differ considerably in their size and construction, the supervisor or the driver must always decide again where on the wheelchair the belts of the 4-point system should be attached. In the absence of experience or lack of time, unfavorable points are often chosen or only some of the belts are attached to the wheelchair. Incorrectly or loosely applied wheelchair restraint systems can lead to the wheelchair not being optimally restrained and consequently breaking. This can then lead to serious or even fatal injuries to the passenger.

Sometimes the lap belt cannot be placed over the pelvis of a passenger in a wheelchair because the side parts (armrests) of the wheelchair are in the way. An incorrectly worn pelvic belt can also run over the abdominal area instead of the stable pelvic bones , and the soft tissues in the abdominal area cannot absorb the forces that occur in the event of an accident. This leads to serious internal injuries.

Restraint system according to DIN 75078

A restraint system according to DIN 75078 Part 2 connects wheelchair safety with personal safety. In contrast to the previous 4-point systems, however, special fastening parts must be attached to the wheelchair. They are called “ force nodes ” because they are used to transfer the forces that occur in the event of an accident or sudden acceleration to the vehicle structure.

In abstract terms, the force node consists of special fastening devices at the most stable point on the two side parts of the wheelchair frame, according to DIN 75078 Part 2 as a “point at which the restraint forces of the occupant restraint system are ideally introduced into the wheelchair restraint system”. In practice, for retrofitting, a steel adapter plate with lock tongues for the standard guy belts is attached to the relevant points. As a standard, the complete system has two rear and two forward facing belt buckle tongues for the rear and front guy belts as well as an additional buckle tongue for attaching the shoulder belt. The pelvic belt is already attached to the power knot and is therefore part of the wheelchair and can always be put on directly on the pelvis - with the correct belt route without increased risk for the abdominal area.

The attachment of the belts in unsuitable places on the wheelchair is avoided by a correctly attached and used power knot. In connection with the shoulder strap, the system is safer to use thanks to the specified and standardized fastenings. If the vehicle equipment also complies with DIN 75078, the inclined shoulder belt in the vehicle can be combined with the lap belt. The wheelchair passenger is then optimally secured.

Legal position to apply

The DIN standard 75078-2 describes the construction and necessity of the force knot system, but is not a legal norm from which an obligation of use can be derived. Since the General Conditions for Motor Insurance (AKB) do not contain any provisions that exclude coverage in the event that systems are used to secure wheelchair users that do not correspond to the state of the art represented by DIN 75078-2, the view is represent that in this case the liability insurance of the handicapped driving services continued to provide coverage. 

Requirements for the wheelchairs

Special DIN standards for wheelchairs, for their part, have so far not contained any requirements for the suitability of wheelchairs as vehicle seats. With the entry into force of the European versions of the wheelchair series of standards DIN ISO 7176-19 and ISO 10542 at the end of 2009, the situation changes, as they each contain a meaningful section on "Wheelchairs for use as a seat in motor vehicles". As a result, it is now up to the manufacturers to build, test and mark the wheelchairs according to the specified performance requirements. Wheelchairs that are not designed in this way - from year of construction 2010 - may then no longer be used as a vehicle seat with a subsequently attached power node.

Power knot systems have so far been sold as individual components by medical specialist dealers . The cost of a power knot system is around € 300 and, depending on the effort, around € 80 for assembly. In individual cases, the costs can also be higher.

Norms

  • DIN 13249, Passenger Cars for the Disabled, Requirements, January 1993, Beuth Verlag , Berlin
  • DIN 75078 part 1, motor vehicles for the transport of people with restricted mobility, terms, requirements, testing, 2004, Beuth Verlag , Berlin
  • DIN 75078 part 2, handicapped transport vehicles (BTW), restraint systems, terms, requirements, testing, 1999, Beuth Verlag , Berlin
  • ISO 10542-1 Standard, 2001-07, Technical systems and aids for the disabled - Wheelchair attachment and occupant restraint systems - Part 1: Requirements and test methods for all systems
  • ISO 10542-2 Norm, 2001-07, Technical systems and aids for the disabled - Wheelchair fastening and occupant restraint systems - Part 2: Four-point fastening systems with belts
  • ISO 10542-3 Standard, 2005-02, Technical aids for disabled people - Wheelchair and personal restraint systems - Part 3: Coupling of the restraint systems
  • ISO 10542-4 Norm, 2004-09, Technical systems and aids for the disabled - Wheelchair fastening and occupant restraint systems - Part 4: Fastening system using clamps
  • ISO 10542-5 Standard, 2004-04, Technical aids for disabled people - Wheelchair and personal restraint systems - Part 5: System for special wheelchairs
  • ISO 16840-3 Standard, 2006-07, Wheelchair seat - Part 3: Determination of static load capacity, load on impact and with repetitive loading forces for posture support systems
  • ISO / DIS 16840-4 Draft standard, 2006-06, Wheelchair seats - Part 4: Seat devices for use in motor vehicles
  • ISO 7176-19 Wheelchairs - Part 19: Mobility devices (wheelchairs) for use as seats in motor vehicles

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Federal Association for the Physically and Multiple Disabled eV ( Memento of the original from February 5, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 43 kB) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bvkm.de
  2. ↑ "Kraftknoten" at nullbarriere.de

See also

Web links

literature

  • Susanne Stabel, Matthias Wilhelm, Michael Woltjen, Hartmut O. Genz, Safe transport of people with disabilities, RGM 14, publisher: BGW, Professional Association for Health Services and Welfare, 2009.
  • Katja Kruse, Die Krux mit dem Kraftknoten, bv-aktuell, May 2003, Federal Association for the Physically and Multiple Disabled eV, p. 5ff.
  • Matthias Wilhelm; Wheelchair safety in motor vehicles Published by: BGW, Professional Association for Health Services and Welfare, 2006, p. 7/7.
  • Matthias Wilhelm, When mobility becomes a danger - report on accidents involving people with disabilities. Publisher: BGW, Professional Association for Health Services and Welfare, 2007.
  • Katja Kruse, Kraftknoten is a health insurance service, bv-aktuell, September 2004, Federal Association for the Physically and Multiple Disabled, p. 2
  • Orthopädie Technik, Ed. Bundesinnungsverband für Orthopädie-Technik, 5/2002 page 412ff., ISSN  0340-5591 .
  • Susanne Stangenberger; Work and Health Transport 2004, pp. 8–9. Publisher: HVBG Main Association of Professional Associations, Sankt Augustin; DVR German Road Safety Council, Bonn. ISSN  0948-0935 .