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Home About us Research services Reports Childcare products Continence Household products Mobility Telecoms and alarms General Surveys Design Ordering Links Site map change text size and colour ?		The ins and outs of choosing a car (view report contents) Techniques Getting in and out of a car easily is often a matter of technique. Aids which help are described in the section What to look for. But with the right technique you may not need any of them. Here are some examples: From a standing position Getting out From a wheelchair Getting a wheelchair into a car Get in on the driver's side, put the wheelchair behind the seat Get on on the driver's side, witha lightweight wheelchair Get in through the rear hatch and stow the wheelchair in the back Get in on the pasenger's side and put the wheelchair behind the seat 4-door cars From a standing position Most people get into a car in a way which means stooping to move sideways into the door, putting in one leg, sitting down and then bringing in the other leg. If you have difficulty with this, try sitting on the seat first and then bringing your legs in afterwards. If your legs are long or stiff, it may help if you move back across the car until there is enough room to swing them into the footwell. Some people move back and sit over the parking brake to do this – you may need a cushion. Getting out Many people find it easier to get out of the car by swivelling round in the seat and putting both legs out first. You don’t have to balance on one leg, and you don’t need to stoop as much. Because your feet are on the ground it is easier to stand. From a wheelchair If you cannot stand up you can: transfer your body sideways to the seat first and then bring your legs in put your legs in the footwell first and then move to the car seat. You need a safe grabbing point and some strength to do this. Make sure that the car and chair are on reasonably level ground and that the wheelchair is in the right position and stable before starting to transfer. A transfer board may make this easier – see section on accessories. Parking by a kerb may make it easier to get the wheelchair in and out, but may make it more difficult to slide into the car, because the wheel- chair seat will be higher. Transmission Tunnel Some drivers get into the car from the passenger’s side and slide across to the driving seat. This can be difficult with a large transmission tunnel and because the gear stick or brake lever can get in the way. A board or cushion may help. Adaptation firms should be able to fit a detachable gear stick. Hand controls Hand controls can restrict the space available for manoeuvring your legs in and out of the footwell. If possible, try out a car fitted with hand controls similar to those you intend to fit before buying. Check there is enough space, with no risk of hitting your legs and knees, particularly if you can’t feel them. room for your feet and that they don’t interfere with the pedals (which still move up and down when hand controls are fitted). Pedal guards can be fitted to prevent your feet touching the pedals. Getting a wheelchair into a car Some wheelchair users can fold their chair, put it into the back of their car and walk the few steps to the front. Most people who can’t do this, and who have a light folding wheelchair, put it behind the front seats or on the passenger seat. Most 4-door cars do not have enough clearance between the back of the seat and the door pillar for this. The height and shape of the sill also make a difference to how easy it is to haul the wheelchair through. It is important that the seat is easy to slide back and forwards and that you can adjust the angle of the backrest easily. The car needs to be relatively free of obstacles such as pockets on the back of the seat. If you are worried about damaging your car when you pull the wheelchair in, fit some sort of protective strip over the sill, or use a small piece of carpet. This will also make it easier to slide the wheelchair over the sill. If the car floorwell is deep it might help to make an internal ramp or build up the well by putting wooden blocks on the floor. Adaptation companies may be able to do this for you. Get in on the driver’s side, put the wheelchair behind the seat Move the car seat so it is close enough to transfer but allows enough space to get your legs inside the car. Once in the car turn the wheelchair to face the car, and fold it. Lift the front castors over the sill behind your seat so that the wheelchair cannot roll away or topple over. Then edge yourself and the car seat forward to make enough space to get the wheelchair in between the back of the seat and the door pillar. It may be necessary to tilt the seat backrest forwards to give you more room. Now pull the wheelchair in so that the back wheels ride up and over the sill. Finally move the car seat to your driving position. You may be able to make this easier by replacing the standard seat with one which slides and swivels. Safety If you have to park on a busy road, park facing the traffic so that you can get out on the kerb. If this is not possible leave something visible such as a walking aid in sight to alert other drivers. A large luminous wheelchair sticker on the inside of the door may help. Get in on the driver’s side, with a lightweight wheelchair Once in the car, remove the larger wheels from the wheelchair and stow them behind the seat or on the floor in front of the passenger’s seat. Lift the wheelchair frame over your stomach on to the front passenger seat. You may have to recline the backrest to make more room between you and the steering wheel. If you have a steering ball, this may reduce the distance between your stomach and the steering wheel. Safety secure the wheelchair with a strap or the front passenger seat belt. Otherwise it could cause an injury if you have to brake sharply. See safety restraints for further details. Get in through the rear hatch and stow the wheelchair in the back This works only if you are small and agile and have a vehicle with a flat rear sill and a low floor. You get in through the back, drag the wheelchair after you, and clamber over to the driver’s seat. On small cars this will only be possible if the rear seats fold flat. Safety Secure the wheelchair, otherwise it could cause an injury if you have to brake sharply. See safety restraints for further details. Get in on the passenger’s side and put the wheelchair behind the seat If you park the car in the direction of traffic you may prefer to get in on the passenger’s side. Transfer to the car seat, fold the wheelchair and lift the front castors over the sill as described above. Slide across to the driver’s seat. Move the passenger’s seat forward as far as it will go and tilt the backrest forward to make as much room as possible. Lean across and pull the wheelchair in over the sill. A walking stick or piece of rope may help you do this. A swivel seat may also help. This is much easier if the whole car seat tilts forward. You may need to attach a cable to the lever if it is on the far side of the car seat. Some cars have levers on both sides. Otherwise an adaptation firm may be able to swap the driver and passenger seats round so that the lever is in reach. 4-door cars Getting into a 4-door car is more difficult because the doors are smaller. Transfer to the driver’s seat, detach the footrests, fold the wheelchair and push it towards the rear door. Open the rear door and drag the chair in, rear wheels first, using the footrests as a hook. Be warned that on all but very level ground there is a risk that the chair will topple or roll out of reach. You need some dexterity. A sliding rear door would make this a lot easier. Safety restraints Seat belts will protect you from injury and you have to use them by law. If you are unable to use a seat belt see your doctor about an exemption certificate. You should only do this if there is no other alternative, and you must tell your insurance company. It is dangerous not to secure your wheelchair when driving. There are various ways of doing this. Here are some common sense rules: Make sure any anchoring points are strong - they need to be firmly fixed to the metal bodywork of the car. Those fitted by the car’s manufacturer may not be strong enough for a wheelchair. Anchoring points can be fitted - check that they are properly fixed with reinforcement plates underneath. Make sure you can reach them. Use strong ties. Don’t use elasticated octopus straps or rope that can stretch. In a crash at 30mph the load can be 20 times that of the item it is securing. Make sure ties are easy enough to do up. Many people find it difficult to thread ropes or belts through the wheelchair. Methods include Fitting seat belts to the luggage compartment. Their plug-in ends may be easy to fasten. Don’t use inertia belts because the chair will be able to move and damage the car. Around £75 Using webbing with eyes fixed to the floor. Around £75-£100. Tracking bolted to the vehicle floor, with webbing to tie round the chair. Around £115. A ‘boot roll’ is a sheet of strong material which you throw over the wheelchair. It is secured to bolts with its webbing. £100+. Back to top Report contents Introduction Car design Choosing a car What to look for - Useful built-in features Getting in and out Seats and seating Major controls Secondary controls Accessories Loading and stowing Wheelchair users Staying in your wheelchair Buying second hand Checklist Techniques Who can drive? Getting insurance Finance Helpful organisations Mobility Centres Useful publications Addresses
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