By David Millhouser
The wheelchair’s arching path over the parking lot mimicked a rainbow, but the pot of gold at the end belonged to the lawyers.
With accuracy that would make Kim Jong-un’s missile program jealous, a passenger had launched his powered wheelchair out the bus’s open door, landing atop the occupant of a chair that had just been lowered on the lift. Either he hit the wrong switch—or he was just impatient—but the result was mayhem.
An increasing percentage of coaches sold in the U.S. are equipped with wheelchair lifts as a result of both ADA requirements and the industry’s efforts to serve the disabled community. In tandem with that trend is likely to be an increase in “incidents.”
ADA compliance is a complex maze of regulatory, social, mechanical and training factors that I’m not bright enough to navigate. If you are an owner, driver or office person, you need to be smarter than I. But two major areas of concern leap to mind.
Lifts are fussy devices that require both exercise and maintenance. In the motorcoach business, some of us are slackers because, quite frankly, there isn’t much demand for lift service. We don’t want to forgo a job because it won’t cycle, or be late for a pickup, because the driver was testing it. The PR and regulatory consequences of leaving a disabled person on the curb (or worse, stuck four feet in the air) are ugly.
Companies that specialize in transporting handicapped folks, and who cycle their lifts frequently, find that exercise improves reliability.
Another aspect we sometimes don’t do enough with is training. Operating a motorcoach wheelchair lift can be complex, with a number of steps.
Theoretically, if your driver is cycling that jewel before they leave the garage, things should be okay. Bear in mind, though, that different coaches may have different protocols, and the temptation is to skip the test (particularly if it is an unfamiliar model).
The driver should know where the lift is located (some are in front, some in the middle and some in the rear). This is so they can accomplish the time-honored feat of parking with the entrance over puddles—or making sure the lift customer can be boarded in a safe spot.
Most lifts have a manual mode, where, in place of some mechanical hiccups, they can be operated by hand. It’s worth practicing, because it can be complex. You don’t want to be learning manual mode during a thunderstorm while your customers glare at you.
A bit more obscure, but increasingly important, is knowing the lift’s weight capacity. Powered wheelchairs have become increasingly heavy, and newer lifts have higher weight ratings. A driver in an older coach, confronted with a robust customer on a super duper powered chair may want to do some calculating.
Your office and sales folks need training, too. In addition to being sensitive to the customers’ needs, they should be cognizant of the regulations. In some cases, lift-equipped buses must be available on every move, while in other instances, you are entitled to notice. It’s important for your people to understand the rules.
What you don’t need is to field a complaint by saying, “Golly, that lift worked fine last month.” It may be true, but for heaven’s sake… don’t say it. Someone in your company, smarter than me, needs to fully understand and teach ADA compliance.
It’s not certain what (if any) kind of training could have prevented the kamikaze wheelchair attack in the first paragraph, but those helpful lawyers found something the operator should have done differently… because they put him out of business.
