Making sure you can travel in comfort should be high on the list of priorities when choosing a new car or Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV).
Due to the different types of suspension systems on the base vehicles that converters turn into WAVs, the drive and comfort can vary from one model to the next. If you’re looking for a WAV it’s important, therefore, to determine whether the ride of the vehicle will impact you or not.
Wheelchair-users who are familiar with travelling in a WAV whilst in their wheelchair will tell you that it can feel quite different to travelling in a standard car.
If you have spinal problems, or are susceptible to feeling jolts, one important consideration should be your position inside the WAV. Ensuring your wheelchair isn’t positioned over the rear axle of the vehicle might be worth thinking about, as sitting over the wheels could mean you’ll feel more bumps.
Wheelchair comfort
Check that your WAV’s tie-downs are properly secured so that the wheelchair-user feels as stable as possible, as this could significantly impact their comfort. Watch our video for tips on how to use your WAV’s tie-downs correctly.
The best way to evaluate the ride is to go on a test drive, making sure that you drive on different road surfaces, particularly if speed bumps are a common occurrence on your journeys. Typically, motorway driving tends to be much smoother than driving on country or residential roads, so your demonstration route should feature roads you’d normally drive on.
By testing the journeys you’re likely to undertake, you can more accurately check the ride comfort of any of the WAVs you’re looking at.