Have you ever noticed that public transit buses don’t have seat belts?  Sure the driver has one and if this is a Paratransit Bus, the have them for all seats.  But did you know that each wheelchair station on a bus has them too?

Unfortunately,  the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) states that seat belts for wheelchair users can only be required when all passengers on board are required to use them.  This would be your Paratransit buses.

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Scooters are 3 or 4 wheeled mobility devices.  They have a steering column and one electric motor.  They are considered a “common wheelchair’ if they meet the size requirements (30” wide, 48” long and 600 lbs. or less with occupant).

They are very unstable and difficult to secure when occupied.  Did you know that most, if not all scooter manufacturers state in their literature that their product should not be occupied in a moving vehicle?

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When a passenger boards your bus riding a wheelchair, what is your agencies policy for securing the wheelchair to the bus?  Is this policy in writing?  Is it published?  Is there a sign on-board that states the policy?

The ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) states that bus transit agencies can make securement of common wheelchairs mandatory if there is a written policy stating the requirement.   We know that wheelchairs need to be tied down...

When wheelchair passengers use the lift on a transit bus, is there a safety belt used?  Some lifts have them for the factory, some don’t.  It really depends on the manufacturer.

What do these safety belts do?  When properly installed and adjusted, they ensure the passenger does not fall off the lift. 

A cool feature of lifts equipped with these belts is that they are interlocked with the lift operation, so when not connected, the lift...

When a bus transit passenger rides a wheelchair lift, which way should they face?  Toward the bus or away from the bus?

·  If you ask the lift manufacturer, they will say away from the bus with the riders back nearest the vehicle or backed onto the lift.

·  If you ask the safety guy, he says back it onto the lift facing away from the bus.

·  If you ask the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) regulations, they say:

“Except...

I had the opportunity to attend the 2011 APTA Bus & Paratransit Conference in Memphis, TN in May.  It is always great to learn about the new technology that is available to help solve safety problems in bus transit.  Two products were very interesting and I wanted to share them.

Safe Turn Alert by ProTran 1  (www.protran1.com)



Safe Turn Alert has been out for about 2 years and provides...