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| In the Road Traffic Act (Article 2, Par. 1, Item No. 11-3), electric wheelchairs come under "wheelchairs for physically disabled people." "Wheelchairs for physically disabled people" are established as wheelchairs (limited to those that have a prime mover and comply with standards established by Cabinet Office ordinances) provided for use by people who have difficulty walking because of a physical disability. In addition, in the Road Traffic Act (Article 2, Par. 3, Item No. 1), wheelchairs for the physically disabled, motorized walking aids, and other similar vehicles, as well as vehicles for children, shall be "treated as pedestrians" so that they can be allowed to pass like pedestrians. Standards related to the dimensions and structure of electric wheelchairs for the physically disabled are established in Road Traffic Act Enforcement Rules (Article 1, Par. 4), which sets the following limits on length, width, and height dimensions. * Length: 120cm/Width: 70cm/Height: 109cm The wheelchair structure is subject to the following stipulations. * The prime mover must be an electric motor. * The wheelchair speed must not exceed 6km/h. * The wheelchair must have no sharp projecting parts that may injure pedestrians. * The wheelchair must be visually distinguishable from a bicycle or a moped. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Kinds of electric wheelchairs classified according to type -- Broadly classified, electric wheelchairs are divided into two kinds, those that are "self-propelled" and those that are "attendant-propelled." Most electric wheelchairs in use are the self-propelled handle-bar type, but there are many other types as well (see Figure 1, Table 1). |
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| -- Trends in number of casualties -- The number of traffic accident casualties among electric wheelchair users in 2002 was 206 (8 fatalities and 198 injuries), which has grown steadily each year since 1990, when the number of casualties was 36. |
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| -- Number of casualties by age group -- Classified according to age group, the 65 and over age group (so-called older people) occupies approximately 70% of the total number of casualties. And the majority of casualties in this age group are in the 70-79 age group. |
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| -- Breakdown of number of casualties according to sex -- The number of male and female casualties is practically the same. |
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| -- Number of fatal accidents by month -- Although the lowest number of accidents occurred in January, there were accidents in every month of the year. |
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| -- Number of fatal accidents by day of the week -- Tuesday had the largest share of accidents, approximately 19%, and Sunday had the smallest share, approximately 9%. A possible reason for Sundays having the fewest accidents is that wheelchairs do not get used as much on Sundays because hospitals and other medical facilities are closed or family members or other live-in caregivers may be at home. |
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| -- Number of fatal accidents by time of day -- Approximately 39% of accidents occurred in the morning (8:00 A.M.-12:00 P.M.), most of these occurred during the 10:00 A.M.-12 P.M. time period. Overall, the majority of accidents occurred during the day. |
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| -- Number of fatal accidents by distance between home and location of accident -- Approximately 51% of fatal accidents occurred within 500m of the victim's home, indicating that accidents tend to occur near the victim's home. |
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Institute for Traffic Accident Research and Data Analysis (ITARDA) |
