wheelchair lift old city street

Explore the significance and functionality of wheelchair lifts

Wheelchair-related accidents have been on the rise lately. While some of these mishaps happen in disability-unfriendly homes, the vast majority occur in public places. 

Reports abound of physically handicapped persons who fell off their wheelchairs while trying to access steep staircases or those who got knocked over while crossing busy city streets. 

The mobility challenges faced by wheelchair users necessitated major interventions, such as wheelchair lifts. Wheelchair lifts have significantly enhanced access to premises, vessels, and platforms that were previously out of bounds to persons with disability. 

This article shall serve as a definitive guide to wheelchair lifts, including their significance, functional mechanisms, and how to pick the right one.

What Are Wheelchair Lifts?

A wheelchair lift is a piece of manual or powered equipment designed to conveniently raise and lower wheelchair users. The device helps persons with reduced mobility to access elevated and lower levels of a building or vessel. 

Wheelchair lifts go by many other names, including platform lifts and vertical platform lifts. These convenient pieces of equipment have played a critical role in helping physically handicapped persons to overcome access barriers. 

Investing in a premium wheelchair lift from a trusted dealer like Scooter Direct is the first step in making your property or automobile disability-friendly. Scooter Direct is a leading supplier of high-end mobility products, including wheelchair lifts. The company avails different types of wheelchair lifts, including manual and electric lifts.

What Are The Benefits Of Wheelchair Lifts?

Wheelchair lifts are the closest you can get to enhancing access to persons with reduced mobility. Installing these pieces of equipment in your property ensures your physically handicapped relatives can smoothly access the building without needing to be manually lifted. 

Wheelchair lifts can also improve the safety of the physically handicapped by gently hoisting or lowering their wheelchairs onto the intended platform. The machines function more efficiently than human caregivers. 

Last but not least, wheelchair lifts provide more convenience than the traditional ramps, which rely on physical strength to push a wheelchair user up and down a raised platform. 

medical transport van wheelchair liftmedical transport van wheelchair lift

How Do Wheelchair Lifts Work?

Nearly all wheelchair lifts available in the market today are powered. However, these pieces of equipment function differently depending on whether they use the screw drive or hydraulic working mechanism. 

Screw drive wheelchair lifts rely on electric motors that are controlled using a remote control or control panel. 

When turned on, the electric motor rotates and consequently drives the screw shaft. The screw shaft responds by raising or lowering the nut to move the platform up or down, respectively. 

Note that a wheelchair lift won’t automatically work when turned on. You must use the control mechanism to hoist or lower the platform. 

Wheelchair lifts that use the hydraulic mechanism rely on a system of pumps. When activated, the pumps push hydraulic fluid to the reservoir, causing an alternating upward and downward movement of the cylinders. The process culminates in powering the platform, causing it to move up and down.

Where Can You Find Wheelchair Lifts?

Wheelchair lifts are typically found at the foot of staircases in both residential and commercial buildings. The machines may be installed around indoor or outdoor staircases, depending on a building’s structure. 

You’ll also find wheelchair lifts on automobiles, especially commercial vans, buses, and trains. The pieces of equipment have made it remarkably easy for the physically handicapped to travel public.