Memorandum - NHTSA

111-7
Personal Use Vehicles - The National Mobility Equipment Dealers Association (NMEDA)
estimates 20,000 vehicles of all types (e.g., automobiles, vans, trucks etc.) are modified with
adaptive driving equipment annually by some 450 conversion companies. According to the
Census Bureau, 4 percent of Americans ages 17 - 75 or some 7.3 million people, have physical
disabilities that limit their m~bility.~ About half of these people use wheelchairs, scooters, or
other mobility devices. The Exemption from Make Lnoperative Prohibition WRM (63 FR
51547, September 28, 1998) estimated that there are about 383,000 vehicles on U.S. roads
modified with adaptive equipment to accommodate persons with di~abilities.~Some percentaj ;e
of these vehicles are personal use vehicles, equipped with lifts and ramps. Based on a United
Kingdom figure of 250,000 disabled drivers (See Automotive Engineering Lnternational, Marc 1
1998), the agency extrapolates there could easily be over 1 million disabled drivers in the U.S.
population. The proportion of personal vehicles lift-equipped is unknown, and the number of
WC users who drive (and need a lift) is unknown and the number of wheelchair users who are
passengers (and need a lift) is unknown.
4 “In a Wheelchair and Behind the Wheel,” Specialty Market Magazine, September 20,
1998. New York Times Web Site.
“Estimating the Number of Vehicles Adapted for Use by Persons with Disabilities,”
NHTSA Research Note, January 1997, NCSN NHTSA.