How to Operate a Wheelchair Safely Outdoors

Both manual and power wheelchairs greatly enhance personal mobility, but as with any other wheeled vehicles, they are safest when operated with care and consideration.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Deep-cycle Battery
• Power Wheelchairs
• Seat Of Lap Belts
• 12-V Battery Chargers
• Manual Wheelchairs
• Wheelchair Gloves
• Fanny Packs
• Heavy-duty Rain Ponchos
• Cellular Phones

Operate a Standard Wheelchair Outdoors

1. Use manufacturer's seat belt or consider installing a seat belt.
2. Use appropriate gloves.
3. Maneuver to keep all four wheels on the ground.
4. Attach wheelie bars if your wheelchair is not so equipped.
5. Keep hands clear of wheel spokes when maneuvering.
6. Constantly scan your surroundings and the route you intend to follow.
7. Watch carefully for potholes, cracks in sidewalk and debris in your path.
8. Remember to account for the length of the wheelchair as well as its width as you maneuver it.
9. Proceed carefully down short, sharp grades to keep foot pedals from striking the surface. The wheelchair may stop too abruptly and throw you forward.
10. Short, sharp descents can sometimes be better accomplished by proceeding in reverse.
11. Brake at the peak of longer grades rather than waiting until momentum has increased.
12. Try proceeding backwards up a steep grade. Pushing up a steep grade forward can cause the front of the wheelchair to lift and your weight to shift dangerously backwards.
13. Remember wheelchairs are top-heavy. Ask someone to anchor the up-slope side of the wheelchair as you move across a slope at an angel.
14. Use curb cuts to cross streets. Locate the nearest driveway if a curb cut is not available.
15. Remember that you may have the right of way as a pedestrian, but a wheelchair lacks visibility and is not especially nimble in a high-traffic situation.

Operate a Power Wheelchair Outdoors

16. Use manufacturer's seat belt. If your wheelchair is not equipped with a seat belt, consider installing one.
17. Attach a set of wheelie bars if your wheelchair has none.
18. Use foot support straps. Your foot might be injured if it drops from a pedal during high-speed maneuvers.
19. Remember that a motorized wheelchair is extremely powerful and has a heavy mass.
20. Keep your arms, legs and feet inside the framework when moving.
21. Watch carefully when proceeding down a short, sharp grade to avoid jamming foot pedals. A sudden stop can cause the wheelchair to upset.
22. Release the joystick if the front of the wheelchair comes off the ground.
23. Use curb cuts. Seek out a nearby driveway if there is no curb cut available.
24. Remember modern power chairs have an automatic braking system. Control joystick to keep braking system from engaging when momentum is necessary for safe passage.
25. Avoid street and highway operation even though you might be tempted to utilize the power chair's greater mobility.
26. Choose your path carefully when proceeding across open ground, gravel driveways or dirt paths. Power wheelchairs displace heavy weight on relatively small tires and sink easily into a soft surface.
27. Remember all wheelchairs are relatively top-heavy. Ask someone to help add stability by holding onto the up-slope side of the wheelchair when proceeding at an angle across a steep slope.

Tips & Warnings

• Motorized wheelchairs are extremely powerful. Be careful when operating around children or people with poor balance or unsteady footing.
• Be especially careful around toddlers and young children who tend to grab for the control unit. If a child were to pull the joystick toward himself or herself, the wheelchair would jump quickly in his or her direction.
• Power wheelchairs increase mobility to an unparalleled degree. Beware of overconfidence.
• Venture outdoors when ice and snow are on the ground only while accompanied. A wheelchair is nearly uncontrollable on an icy surface.