Mobility dealers have converted ordinary vehicles into wheelchair accessible vans, mobility trucks, cars and minivans for people with disabilities for more than 50 years. When baby boomers turned 60 (the first on Jan. 1, 2006), they realized the benefits of easy accessibility that mobility dealers offered.
Now, some of our troops are coming home as 20- and 30-year-old veterans with disabilities; the number of disabled vets has jumped by 25% since 2001—to 2.9 million.
Happily, the mobility industry is stepping up to the plate to create impressive wheelchair accessible vehicles. With the latest innovations and design savvy, a nice set of wheels can be created from a bevy of choices like smoked glass, custom wheels, customized paint job, blacked-out grille and high-tech products.
- How about Google Earth and Garmin satellite navigation on a high-rez screen?
- Forgot to lock the car doors and you’re away on vacation? There’s an app for that. Smartphone apps let owners communicate with vehicles from hundreds or thousands of miles away.
- Sensitive to light? Ambient lighting will make a difference. There’s also ambient footwell lighting.
- Prefer a pickup truck over mobility vans or cars? No problem. A system with a lift chair gets you into the cab and a crane stows the wheelchair in the bed. Quadriplegics might choose a sliding driver door and lift so they can drive in their wheelchairs rather than shifting into a truck seat.
- Is a motorcycle macho enough? The Conquest is a three-wheel BMW bike with a ramp and platform between wheels for riders in wheelchairs.
- The mobility industry has you covered for all ages. Go to nmeda.flywheelsites.com and click on “Dealer Locator” to get started.
The National Mobility Equipment Dealers Association (NMEDA) is an advocate for mobility and accessibility for drivers with disabilities. If you need help with converting or buying a handicap accessible vehicle in the form of a car, truck or van, please consider one of our mobility equipment dealers.