Getting in and out of the car can be difficult for many drivers with reduced mobility. The simple fact of accessing the vehicle’s cabin from the wheelchair sometimes becomes a challenge, not so much because of what the maneuver itself entails, but because of the added complexity of storing the wheelchair once inside the vehicle. .
Disabled drivers who lack the assistance of another person and have to fend for themselves to fold and store the wheelchair in the car have the possibility of doing so more easily thanks to an electric mechanism specially designed to facilitate this task. .
It is a system that stores or retrieves the wheelchair in a few seconds from the driver’s seat to the chest located on top of the vehicle and vice versa. It works fully automatically and is activated by pressing a button via remote control to simplify the work for the user.
In the following video, we can see how this mechanism works, which is very helpful for people with reduced mobility. We observe how the driver of the vehicle, once she has parked the car on the street, activates the mechanism so that the hood makes a 90-degree turn to the left and lowers the wheelchair.
When the chair makes contact with the ground, the driver unfolds it so she can sit on it. The hood then returns to its original position and closes tightly while the motorist moves in her wheelchair.
This mechanism allows the wheelchair to be transported in a box placed on the roof of the vehicle, leaving the space inside the car to be used as intended, without wasting space for passengers or cargo. The hood is weather-resistant, so the wheelchair is protected from rain, wind, sun and snow, as well as dirt.
The creators of this ingenious device highlight the sophistication of the aerodynamic design of the roof boxes. The vast majority of these boxes are prepared to support loads of up to 20 kg, which means that practically all conventional wheelchairs are perfectly compatible with this system.
Most manufacturers offer the box in white or black, but highlight that they can be painted or striped vinyl to match the aesthetics of the car.
According to data from the National Statistics Institute (INE) published in 2020, there are 4.3 million people with disabilities in Spain, of which 55.7% have significant mobility difficulties. However, these limitations are not an obstacle for these people to get behind the wheel.
The General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) has registered almost half a million people with some type of disability that affects them when driving vehicles. However, only about 60,000 are required to use adaptations in their vehicle.
