Getting In and Out of a Car Alone

By: Rich Vanderwal

Getting in

Wheel up to the door, open it & lift yourself into the seat. Make sure to pressure chair (front-first) up against the open car door so it doesn’t roll away on you (you can see that it starts to in video 1 – & I have had it happen to me in real life… believe me, there are few things more embarrassing than dragging yourself across the road to catch up with your runaway chair in oncoming traffic). Once you’re in the car, make sure your passenger seat is leaned all the way forward to make it easier to throw your chair in the back seat. Now take off the wheel closest to you (see pic 1) & lift it into the car before bringing in your whole chair (I find it easier to maneuver the chair in with this wheel off). A good reason to only take one wheel off is the damage you can cause to your chair frame when you constantly take both off – by positioning the chair forward onto the road (see pic 2), you’re wearing down on the frame & it will eventually look like this (see pic 3).

Getting In a Car Alone Video

Getting Out of a Car Alone Video

Getting out

Open the door & lift your one-wheel chair out. As described in “Getting in”, pressure the chair up against the open car door & keep a hand on it while you reach in to get your other wheel. Put the wheel back on the chair and then rotate it around so the seat is facing you. Lower yourself down into the chair & you’re good to go.

TIP

Getting IN: Remember to make sure that your keys are in the car BEFORE you transfer in… just in case your chair does roll away at least you can drive yourself (not drag yourself!) over to retrieve it!

Getting OUT: Conversely, make sure that you have your keys on you when you transfer out!