Comments on: Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles Can Help The Disabled Travel Independently http://myisha.net/wheelchair-accessible-vehicles-can-help-the-disabled-travel-independently/ Information about Disability Equipment, Disability Insurance, and Disability Living Tue, 27 Sep 2011 09:19:25 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Luchttp://myisha.net/wheelchair-accessible-vehicles-can-help-the-disabled-travel-independently/comment-page-1/#comment-49 Luc Mon, 07 Jun 2010 01:46:27 +0000 http://myisha.net/?p=1146#comment-49 I am a C5/C6 quadriplegic and while I totally agree with the need for people with disabilities to be able to drive, I see this to be very feasible and economical for paraplegics because all they need is basic hand controls. However, it is a different story for quadriplegics like me who only have limited use of their hands. I drive my own van at home and the total cost of the conversion (excluding the cost of the van) is about 50K. I would love to be able to arrive at an airport and be able to rent an accessible van I can drive myself, but I can not imagine that any rental car company is willing to make such an investment. In addition, every quad is different and therefore needs custom driving equipment. Positioning of the wheelchair in front of the steering wheel also varies for every quad. Rental companies would have to spend time swapping and adjusting equipment depending on the quadriplegic's specific needs, a task that could take several hours in some cases. But regardless, I wouldn't mind to pay a little extra for the independence I get by being able to drive myself. Luc disabledandproductive.com I am a C5/C6 quadriplegic and while I totally agree with the need for people with disabilities to be able to drive, I see this to be very feasible and economical for paraplegics because all they need is basic hand controls. However, it is a different story for quadriplegics like me who only have limited use of their hands. I drive my own van at home and the total cost of the conversion (excluding the cost of the van) is about 50K. I would love to be able to arrive at an airport and be able to rent an accessible van I can drive myself, but I can not imagine that any rental car company is willing to make such an investment. In addition, every quad is different and therefore needs custom driving equipment. Positioning of the wheelchair in front of the steering wheel also varies for every quad. Rental companies would have to spend time swapping and adjusting equipment depending on the quadriplegic’s specific needs, a task that could take several hours in some cases.
But regardless, I wouldn’t mind to pay a little extra for the independence I get by being able to drive myself.

Luc
disabledandproductive.com

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