By: Rudy Silva
Submitted: 2011-02-11 19:09:36 | Word Count: 599
Handicap vans are designed specifically to allow people with physical disability to either drive the vehicles or ride on them as a passenger. A very common example is the ambulances.
Except for the front side, where the driver and another passenger can sit customarily, the back side of the ambulance has a wide space so stretchers and wheel chairs are accommodated comfortably. On each side, a long cushioned seat lines from end to end so nurses, other medical staff, and people can also sit while tending to the patient.
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Most handicap accessible vans have similar features to an ambulance. They have the capacity to easily mount a wheelchair by using either a ramp or lift. This way, the wheelchair is quickly loaded into the handicap vehicle without much physical effort.
The seating feature is different as well. Generally, the seats are removed to allow a wheelchair to fit in comfortably, either at the front side -- at the driver’s or passenger’s seat -- or at the back portion. If the handicap vans are driven by a person afflicted with physical disability, the interior features of the driver’s seat are different from vehicles customarily and commercially available.
For example, there might be a case in which the person is unable to use his feet in pressing the pedals such as accelerator, clutch, and brake. Thus, certain driver controls are modified like installing buttons or levers so it is easy to push or pull with hands.
And if it is not possible to employ the hand and arm, then the steering wheel is installed in such a way that the feet can control it. The steering is power steering in most vans because it is easy to maneuver, as opposed to manual steering of the wheels. The steering wheel is placed based on the user’s height.
Other controls are installed for headlights, radio, wipers for windshields. These controls can be touch screen placed near the steering wheel or they can be a voice-activated system. In engine system, handicap vans often use automatic transmission for convenience and comfort, rather than manual transmission, which requires too much foot and hand work.
Some handicap accessible vans are manufactured to have these fittings, while others undergo modification called handicapped van conversion to have the necessities installed. The seats immediately installed at the back are removed and the driver’s seat is adjusted backward so there is enough space for the driver to operate.
The wheelchair is placed on the passenger’s seat so the driver can have access to it easily when he or she is un-mounting from the handicap vans.
In circumstances where the person with physical disability is a passenger, instead of a driver, the front side is also modified to allow more room in the front side, where the unable person sits on the passenger’s seat and the wheelchair is placed at the back.
The back portion of the handicap vans most often do not have seats because at times, the disabled person prefers to ride on the back. Such is particularly true if the person needs to lie on a stretcher or the individual is an adult requiring adequate space for the wheelchair.
Author Resource:-
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