Case Study: Wheelchair Conspicuity at Night

A forensic case study is presented in which an automobile collided with a wheelchair at night. Analyses determined that the combination of low visual contrast of the wheelchair and driver against the nighttime background, the poor illumination on the street, and the probable, and erroneous, expectation of the wheelchair driver that he was visible to the automobile driver and therefore could safely cross the street, caused this collision and injury. An analysis of NEISS data conservatively estimated that almost 900 collisions of motor vehicles and wheelchairs occur each year in the United States. There currently are no federal regulations to enhance conspicuity of wheelchairs as there are regulations to enhance the conspicuity of bicycles. Such regulations are needed.