Today's lesson: pay closer attention to the wheelchair taxi driver while he straps me in. I booked a wheelchair van to take me to and from physical therapy and they sent me a van equipped with a rear-entry ramp. The driver happened to be the new-hire who had ridden along when I hired the same cab two days earlier.
He did a great job securing my chair with four heavy-duty self-tightening ratchet straps. Neither of us thought to put a strap around my body. You can guess what happened at the first stop sign...
Due to my level of injury I lack control of the core muscles that provide "trunk control",so when the driver hit the brakes my torso and head continued traveling forward sans resistance. Had the middle passenger seat not been in front of me I would still be picking dashboard from my teeth. Leaning my forehead into the seatback and unable to re-erect my body, I thought "if he just hits the gas I can right my self back into my chair." Alas, my driver noticed my precarious position and dutifully freaked out. He sheepishly pulled over and corrected the situation, apologizing profusely all the while. I told him not to sweat it as it was equally my fault- it was my seatbelt, after all.
Be safe out there,
Berkey
Glad you recovered with no significant damage and cut the guy a break too. Good job.
ReplyDeleteYour theory is pretty interesting and in theory it should work. Kind of like the the table cloth and the silverware trick.