Dunlap Research recently completed work on the Adapting Motor Vehicles for People with Disabilities resource guide for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). 

“This project created a resource guide for people who are either themselves physically disabled or are caretakers of a child or an adult with disabilities, or someone who just wants to know their options for more accessible transportation,” Research Associate Alan Mintz said. “The guide is a compendium of resources for what kinds of transport options are available, how a person could potentially modify their personal vehicle, and the kinds of assistance options that are available to help people access those modifications affordably.” 

What interested Dunlap in this project? 

“On top of this being within the realm of transportation safety,” Mintz said, “I know several of our staff work in accessibility and are constantly striving to find projects that would help improve people's access, whether they're individuals with disabilities or people with other kinds of systemic barriers to safe and affordable transportation. Many of our staff have worked with populations who have barriers to their access to safe transportation, whether they have impaired vision, or are undergoing natural age-related changes, for example.” 

“It is important to note that a few editions of this document already exist,” Mintz continued. “There were a few motor vehicles brochures for people with physical disabilities produced in the 90s, and one done in the 2000s. These were purely hard copy and were substantially shorter than the version that we created. We have expanded the existing sections for a web version of the documents and included a lot more direct links to resources. We also added in price estimates, and specifics about where individuals can go if they need to add a wheelchair lift to their van, or if they need to add a hand spinner, steering wheel knob, etc.” 

What interested you, specifically, in the project? 

“I came to work at Dunlap because of ongoing projects about accessibility and transportation,” Mintz said, “specifically the L2 project featuring age differences in driver assistance. My thesis work was on a similar topic, and my interests have expanded to cover additional inroads to minimizing the barriers to safe transportation for everyone who has special needs or special considerations when it comes to being able to operate a vehicle. 

“It's so important to be able to drive, especially in the United States, where most of our infrastructure is built for personal vehicle transportation, and the fact that people with physical disabilities, or people with vision impairments, or those who just age out of an ability to safely drive a vehicle are often not considered is an area that needs to be addressed so that transportation is available to everyone. That's what's motivated me to join this project.”