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Why do handicap vans require the engine to run when lifting wheelchairs and is there a CO danger when in ambulance bay?
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
The wheelchair lift is linked to the van computer, which prevents the lift from going when the van transmission is not in park. Likely the engine must be running so the computer is on and can detect this. This is just a technical reason, not a justification of the design. Obviously it is just wrong to run an engine in a closed garage and any law on lift design that forces that is also wrong.
Most lifts are powered by hydraulic fluid. The engine must be running to drive the pump supplying fluid to the lift. Only one with an electric lift could be operated with the engine off which would put an numerous strain on the battery with the engine not running. An ambulance bay is not a closed garage and unless the van sits there running for a long period of time on a day when the wind is not blowing at all, there is no danger of carbon monoxide poisoning. The time it takes to unload a wheelchair with the lift is not that long so there is no real danger at all and this is a non-issue.
This lift is definitely electric powered. It is a new replacement for a 20 year old handivan that also had an electric lift, but it worked without the engine. This ambulance bay has two big doors that are firmly closed as soon as the van enters. It does have a large air intake (to an exhaust vent) located about 2 meters from the van exhaust. It takes nearly an hour to round up the 6 long term care residents and get them loaded in the van. I sat in the van for half of that, smelled exhaust and felt a little sick. No one else did, though.
The older van may have had two 12 volt batteries connected in parallel. This will double the amperage but keep the voltage at 12 volts. This may be why the engine did not have to be running. This is an option to install another battery connected in parallel so you can use the lift with the engine off. If it will not work with the engine off, then some rewiring will have to be done. Or you can try using it with the ignition switch on and engine off. Closing both doors with the engine running is dangerous unless there was a outlet tube attached to the tail pipe to remove exhaust gases.
You don't seem to understand that it is the LAW here that the vehicle must be running when the lift is used. That is the question at hand; why is it the law? These lifts MUST be installed in such a way that they cannot be operated without the engine running.
I did not understand this because you never said this was the law in your state or city. If that be the case then you need to contact your lawmakers and ask them why that is the law. Seems like a foolish law written by an uninformed leglislator to me. Either the law needs to be changed or the doors left open. No other solution I can see.
We agree. If I complain, the likely result is that the handivan will not be able to load in the ambulance bay and therefore no travel in winter. We are in northern Alberta where it is usually quite cold in winter. It is probably a case of regulations made "down south" not taking northern conditions into account. It probably isn't all that dangerous, either. I'm very sensitive to CO for some reason. Others didn't even notice.
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
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