Wheelchair users entering and leaving the
mock-up car
The wheelchair-bound subjects carried out the entering
and leaving operation in different ways. Each subject
exhibited a typical way of carrying out the entering and
leaving operation and used, in principal, the same way
every time. The wheelchair users with strong arms
could transfer from the wheelchair to the car seat by
themselves. They got in and out of the car by
manoeuvring the wheelchair close to the car seat and
then lifting in their feet and body (Figure 2). The
wheelchair users with low muscle strength needed an
assistant to help them transfer their body and feet into
the car.
The following describes, in principle, the wheelchairbound
subjects’ and the assistants’ actions, and the
elements in the doorway that affect the actions during
the getting into and out of the mock-up car:
(1) The subject approached the seat and placed the
wheelchair outside the doorway. In the case of an
assisted entry the assistant placed him/herself near the
subject.
(2) The subject lifted in his/her feet. (Some first
lifted in their body and then their feet.) A low door-sill
made this operation easier. Most of the subjects used
the upper front part of the door or the handle on the
door to support themselves during this operation. The
space between the seat front right corner and the front
door-post, or the door had to be large enough to allow
room for the subjects’ legs and feet to pass. The
distance between the backrest of the seat and the front
door-post, or the door had to be large enough to let the
subjects lift and swing their legs and feet in or out. If an
assistant had to help the subject there had to be room
for him/her between the wheelchair and the door, or
else he/she had to lean over the wheelchair to reach the
subjects’ feet.