Securing Your Lightweight, Folding Wheelchair

How to Secure Your Transit Wheelchair in a School Bus or Van

Convaid is at the forefront of mobility aid transit safety! Our lightweight, folding wheelchairs are designed and extensively tested for use as a seat in a motor vehicle. As a result of this extensive testing, we meet and in most cases exceed WC19 performance requirements for adult and children’s wheelchairs.

When securing your lightweight, folding wheelchair, it is important to use a complete Wheelchair Tiedown and Occupant Restraint System (WTORS) to secure the chair and provide the wheelchair occupant with a properly designed and tested seatbelt system.  This will protect the occupant during a crash, and minimize the likelihood of injury caused by contact with the vehicle. Always use a WTORS that has been crash tested and labeled as complying with SAE J2249. The most common type of adult or children’s folding wheelchair tiedown uses four straps to secure the transit wheelchair to the vehicle, and a seatbelt system with both pelvic and upper torso belts.      

To secure your Convaid folding travel wheelchair:

• Position the transit wheelchair facing forward in the vehicle, with the tray removed.
• Attach the four tiedown straps (anchored to the vehicle floor) to the bright red anchors located on the frame of your transit lightweight wheelchair. Tighten the straps to remove all slack. Never attach the straps directly to the frame or wheels on your Convaid pediatric wheelchair. It is best if floor anchor points for the rear tiedown straps are located directly behind the rear securement points on the wheelchair. If possible, the front tiedown straps should anchor to the floor at points that are spaced wider than the transit wheelchair to increase lateral stability during travel.
• Position the crash-tested lap belt (anchored on the transit wheelchair or on the wheelchair tiedowns) and shoulder belt over the occupant. The lap belt should be placed low across the front of the pelvis near the upper thighs, not high over the abdomen. The diagonal shoulder belt should cross the middle of the shoulder and the center of the chest, and should connect to the lap belt near the hip of the wheelchair rider. For the CX10T/12T, EZ12T and CV12T, the “wheelchair anchored” crash-tested 5-point harness system should be used.
• Convaid's tilt-in-space wheelchairs must be transported with the seat in an upright position, except when medically necessary.  Then the maximum position must be within 30-degrees of the vertical. Our tilt-in-space wheelchair is safe for transit as long as it is properly secured.

Please Note:

• Lap belts and shoulder straps in Convaid's bus and van accessible wheelchairs are for positioning only and are not to be used as a vehicular restraint.
• To reduce possibility of injury, the headrest extension must always be used with the folding wheelchair.

Contact us for more information regarding our goal to provide all people with special needs with a lightweight, folding wheelchair. Convaid has a full line of transit wheelchairs and pediatric strollers available. For the highest quality, durability and safety look no further than Convaid’s easy to use mobility aids.