Take a Survey: University of Louisville, iRAP Laboratory Needs Your Input on Public Transit

Did you know that lift standards for public transit vehicles haven’t changed in 25 years?  

Did you know that the lift strap won’t protect you from falling off the ramp?  (It’s not designed to withstand the load of a moving wheelchair & passenger)

Did you know that under the current ADA, lifts on public transit vehicles must accommodate a maximum weight requirement of only 600 lbs?  Some wheelchairs can weigh between 300-400 lbs.  Add an average weight person (~150 - 240 lbs) and their knapsack, and you may exceed the maximum load capacity.  

Unfortunately, little is known about specific factors that contribute to lift accidents.  That’s why the team at the University of Louisville Injury Risk Assessment and Prevention Laboratory (iRAP) is reaching out to the community - in the hopes that you will forward this email to stakeholders and groups you interface with who can provide information about problems or injuries they may have experienced trying to access a public bus or van using a wheelchair lift.  Wheelchair and scooter users, as well as their family members and/or personal aids may take the survey.

All responses are anonymous, and the survey will be open through August 2015.

Our survey is located at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WheelchairLiftSurvey.  To learn more about this research, or talk to the principal investigator, you can contact Karen Bertocci, PhD, University of Louisville at k.bertocci@louisville.edu.

For more information:

University of Louisville Injury Risk Assessment and Prevention Laboratory (iRAP) 

Karen L. Frost Bertocci, PhD, MBA
Assistant Professor
Bioengineering
iRAP Laboratory
University of Louisville
Room 110, Instructional Bldg.
500 South Preston Street
Louisville, KY 40202