Should wheelchair manufacturers set special limits on the weight of occupants who can use WC19 wheelchairs?
To clarify the basis for this question, WC19 specifies that the size and weight of the crash dummy used in the 30-mph frontal impact test be representative of the size and mass of the largest person for which the wheelchair is designed. Thus, if a wheelchair is designed only for use by children, then either the six-year old, 47-lb crash dummy or the 100-lb, small-adult, crash dummy would be recommended for use in the sled impact test. However, if the wheelchair is designed for use by a wide range of adults, the test specifies that a 170-lb or 50th-percentile adult male crash dummy be used. The manufacturer can also choose to use a larger 95th percentile adult male dummy that weighs about 225 lb, but this heavier dummy is not required, even though the wheelchair may be designed for and capable of being used by a person who weighs 250 lbs. or more. However, some wheelchair manufacturers seem to be saying in their literature that wheelchair users who weigh more than the crash dummy used i
