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home / centre for automotive safety research / Publications / List / Details Publication Details| Title | Entrapment and extraction of wheelchairs at flange gaps with and without flange gap fillers at pedestrian railway crossings | | Authors | Farries K, Baldock MRJ, Thompson JP, Stokes CS, Unsworth CA | | Year | 2023 | | Type | Journal Article | | Abstract | Purpose: Where pedestrian crossings meet rail tracks, a flange gap allows the train wheel flanges to pass. This gap can be hazardous for wheelchair users as castor wheels may become trapped. While compressible gap fillers can eliminate the flange gap, fillers are subject to wear, pose a derailment hazard to light rail vehicles and can strip grease from passing wheels. These issues could be mitigated by partially filling the flange gap with a compressible filler. The aim was to investigate the risk of entrapment and ease of extraction of wheelchair castors from flange gaps fully and partially filled with compressible fillers, and assess ride quality.Materials and methods: Entrapment risk and ease of extraction for four wheelchairs were tested at various crossing angles with flange gap fillers. Twelve wheelchair users tested ease of extraction and ride quality for partially and fully filled flange gaps.Results: It was found that risk of entrapment is low if a standards-compliant crossing with open flange gaps is traversed in a straight line. However, castors can become trapped if the user alters direction to avoid an obstacle or if the crossing surface is uneven. Once trapped, castors are extremely difficult to remove without external assistance. Conclusions: Flange gap fillers that reduce the gap to 10 mm or less eliminate entrapment while retaining acceptable ride quality. Filling flange gaps or leaving a residual gap depth of less than 10 mm is the best option to eliminate risk of entrapment and ensure good ride quality for wheelchair users | | Journal Title | Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology | | Journal Volume (Issue) | https://doi.org/10.1080/17483107.2023.2296954 | | Notes | Open access article, citation:
Kevin Farries, Matthew Baldock, James Thompson, Christopher Stokes & Carolyn A. Unsworth (2023) Entrapment and extraction of wheelchairs at flange gaps with and without flange gap fillers at pedestrian railway crossings, Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, DOI: 10.1080/17483107.2023.2296954 |
| Reference | | Farries K, Baldock MRJ, Thompson JP, Stokes CS, Unsworth CA (2023). Entrapment and extraction of wheelchairs at flange gaps with and without flange gap fillers at pedestrian railway crossings. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, https://doi.org/10.1080/17483107.2023.2296954. |
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