Retrospective review of adverse incidents involving passengers seated in wheeled mobility devices while traveling in large accessible transit vehicles

摘要

Objective: Characterize wheeled mobility device (WhMD) adverse incidents on large accessible transit vehicles (LATVs) based on vehicle motion, WhMD activity during incident, incident scenario and injury. Design: Retrospective records review.Subjects/patients: WhMD passengers traveling on LATVs while remaining seated in their. Methods: Adverse incidents characterized based on vehicle motion, WhMD activity during incident, and incident scenario. Injury characterized based on outcome, medical attention sought, vehicle activity, WhMD activity and incident scenario.Results: 115 WhMD-related incident reports for years 2000-2005 were analyzed. Most incidents occurred when the LATV was stopped (73.9%), during ingress/egress (42.6%), and at the securement station (33.9%) when the LATV was moving. The combination of WhMD tipping and passenger falling (43.4%) occurred most frequently, and was 1.8 times more likely to occur during ingress/egress than at the securement station. One-third (33.6%) of all incidents resulted in injury, and injuries were equally distributed between ingress/egress (43.6%) and at the securement station (43.6%).Conclusions: WhMD users have a greater chance of incurring injury during ingress/egress than during transit. Research is needed to objectively assess real world transportation experiences of WhMD passengers, and to assess the adequacy of existing federal legislation/guidelines for accessible ramps used in public transportation.