Absolutely!
Its great that you've been able to adapt your system professionally so its secure now, yours looks very secure, compare it to mine at the link below. Perhaps its something I`ll have to push for. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I've had to make a few adaptions myself to the set up....now I have a pretty secure system where the wheelchair will not move & the passenger feels & IS safer.........but I shouldn't have had to! My main point is that a mass produced taxi with a dedicated restraint system should be safe & secure, even if its technically legal.
With the rear loading, forward facing style, the main reason I wish our council would allow them, is that they all have a four point tie down system which equates to a very stable & secure wheelchair whilst in transport, especially when cornering.
I emailed & spoke to a guy called Wesley at Unwinsafety.....he thought it strange that there was only a 2 point tie down on my Eurotaxi & said their advice was to restrain at both front & back of the chair, then he put me through to a colleague who said he was wary of commenting on other company's products?
A lady from WAVCA initially told me it didn`t seem right that the taxi had only a 2 point tie down, then a while later told me taxi wheelchair restraints were not in her remit.....I later found out that the manufacturer of my vehicle was a member of her organisation!
The two organisations who told me about the law regarding restraint of a rear facing wheelchair/passenger in a taxi (against a bulkhead) were, as I've mentioned, Koller Engineering & also Bill Kiely of pmslonline (who provide & manufacture mobility solutions). He is an expert witness who deals with, "consultation and implementation of automotive adaptation and conversion requirements". They both told me pretty much the same thing. The law says the wheelchair PASSENGER has to be restrained by a 3 point safety belt (inertia or manual) and thats it. It is only ADVICE to have a tie down system for the CHAIR as well, be it a 2 or 4 point system. So without this, the wheelchair has to rely on its own brake system & the bulkhead & nothing else for "restraint"! And I still believe thats CRAZY!
Speaking to a few disability motoring groups, the reaction I found from them seemed to be indifference. If the law wasn`t being broken then they didn't want to get involved.
Rayggb says his system works fine, which is fine, but the "magic button" in the front that locks the restraints tight, i believe is a safety concern in itself..........Your driving along with a wheelchair customer in the back when you have a collision /accident/or anything that puts your electrics/power out.The wheelchair & passenger are suddenly trapped, as the release/tighten button is reliant on a power source to activate/deactivate it.........the consequences of this are only to obvious.
Unfortunately I can't post a link to Adur & Worthings "Blue Book" cos they're updating the site! But heres the restraint system in action at around 50 secs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YH6sFzmeBE.
If you haven't used an E7/Eurotaxi for wheelchair transport, I urge you to try one & would be interested in your opinion.
As we know the vast majority of cabbies who drive them, only have the occasional wheelchair customer, but if like me you have council, social service contracts etc for WAV work you are reliant on a top system.
Just to mention, if Id been private hire (rear or side loader) & not Hackney (only side loader), I could have gone for a 4 point tie down, ready to go vehicle.