Bharathy Aravind, D'Souza Clive
Inclusive Mobility Reseach Laboratory, Center for Ergonomics, School of Information, University of Michigan, 1205 Beal Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2117.
Inclusive Mobility Reseach Laboratory, Center for Ergonomics, Department of Industrial and Operations Engineering, University of Michigan, 1205 Beal Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2117.
Transp Res Rec. 2018 Jul;2672(8):675-685. doi: 10.1177/0361198118787082.
Current accessibility standards in the U.S. prescribe minimum dimensions for 'clear floor area' to accommodate wheeled mobility device (WhMD) users on transportation vehicles. Prior research on the anthropometry of WhMD users ( = 500) indicates that these dimensions are too small to accommodate the size of many occupied wheeled mobility devices, especially power chairs and scooters. This paper describes a development project designed to update the evidence for these technical criteria and communicate them to the vehicle designers and accessibility standards developers in a manner that would facilitate making good decisions. An interactive web-based design tool was developed for determining the dimensions of clear floor area to achieve a user-specified level of physical accommodation based on occupied device length and width measurements taken on 500 WhMD users. The web-based design tool is now available to practitioners who seek to accommodate a wider range of WhMD users than the minimum standards required by regulations. The design tool is also intended as a visual evidence base for regulatory activity and universal design practice with higher ambitions. The advent of driverless automated vehicles will increase the importance of accessibility and usability to accommodate the diversity of riders with disabilities. Clear floor space to enable independent ingress, interior circulation and egress among WhMD users will be a foremost concern. The transportation industry, standards developers, disability advocates, mobility device manufacturers and prescribers need to understand the limitations of current accessibility standards and work to address these limitations through updated vehicle design standards and policies.
美国现行的无障碍标准规定了“净空地面面积”的最小尺寸，以方便轮式移动设备（WhMD）使用者乘坐交通工具。此前针对500名WhMD使用者的人体测量学研究表明，这些尺寸过小，无法容纳许多载人轮式移动设备，尤其是电动轮椅和踏板车的尺寸。本文描述了一个开发项目，旨在更新这些技术标准的依据，并以有助于做出明智决策的方式将其传达给车辆设计师和无障碍标准制定者。开发了一个基于网络的交互式设计工具，用于根据对500名WhMD使用者所测量的载人设备长度和宽度，确定净空地面面积的尺寸，以实现用户指定的身体容纳水平。现在，寻求容纳比法规要求的最低标准范围更广的WhMD使用者的从业者可以使用这个基于网络的设计工具。该设计工具还旨在为监管活动和更具雄心的通用设计实践提供可视化的证据基础。无人驾驶自动车辆的出现将增加无障碍性和可用性的重要性，以适应残疾乘客的多样性。为使WhMD使用者能够独立进出、在车内通行和下车的净空地面空间将是首要关注点。运输行业、标准制定者、残疾权益倡导者、移动设备制造商和开处方者需要了解当前无障碍标准的局限性，并努力通过更新车辆设计标准和政策来解决这些局限性。
