Annual DOT inspections are performed across the entire USA which intend to keep the consumer safe while on the Ricon Wheelchair lift. Wheelchair lift manufacturers, such as Ricon, build these wheelchair lifts to meet the safety standards required. It's the transportation companies responsibility to ensure these safety features are operational as they are designed. Do you have your annual DOT inspection of the Ricon wheelchair lift coming up and want to know what they will be checking? Below we offer a guide of items they will be checking during the inspection process. If you need repairs to your wheelchair lift you can locate a dealer near you at BLVD.com that are certified to complete the repairs necessary.
Opening the door where the wheelchair lift is located should prevent the vehicle from shifting out of park when the door is open. This can be completed from a simple switch that prevents this or a more advanced design with additional requirements necessary. Simply put you should not be able to shift from park to reverse or drive when the door is open. To test this you can open the door where the lift is located and attempt to shift the vehicle, if it will not shift this is working in proper order. If you can shift out of park this needs to be fixed prior to your inspection.
Ricon wheelchair lifts are required to have a belt restraint connected in order for the lift to go up or down. This is a simple seat belt that has a switch inside to determine when the belt is buckled. If this belt is unbuckled you should not be able to operate the lift up or down until it's connected. If you can operate the wheelchair lift when this belt is not connected it will not pass the inspection. Attempt to operate the wheelchair lift with the seat belt not connected. You should not have any operation until its connected. NOTE - If you have a BraunAbility wheelchair lift it's not required to have this seat belt as the outboard barrier meets the standard not requiring this.
Both the left and right side vertical arms are required to have pinch shields so ensure they are not missing or broken. These shields cover the areas of the lift when in operation to prevent a hand or finger getting injured when going up or down. Both sides will have an inside and outside pinch shield and should be securely attached.
Leaving the vehicle floor level going towards the ground is a inboard barrier that raises keeping the wheelchair lift from driving forward of the wheelchair lift. This needs to raise on it's own when going down and lay completely flat when coming from the ground to floor level.
Reaching the ground your wheelchair lift needs to have the outboard barrier lower down and open allowing the wheelchair to exit the lift platform. When raising the wheelchair from the ground up a few inches this outboard barrier needs to raise vertical on its own to keep the wheelchair lift from rolling back off the lift. If your barrier needs assistance to open or close it will not pass the DOT inspection.
Threshold pressure switches prevent the wheelchair lift from lowering to the ground if a person or wheelchair is occupying the inboard barrier. Underneath the inboard barrier is a small black square switch. Position the wheelchair lift at floor level, if you stand on the inboard barrier (transition plate from wheelchair lift platform to vehicle) the wheelchair lift should not lower to the ground. Test this but be sure if the wheelchair does go down to stop quickly as you could case significate damage to the cam assembly which raises and lowers the inboard barrier.
Position the wheelchair lift at floor level. Place a 50lb weight at the end of the mesh platform closest to the vehicle. Attempt to stow the wheelchair lift, if the lift stows you will need to adjust the pressure setting. Ricon instructions states the weight should be closest to the vehicle, not at the end of the wheelchair lift platform furthest away.
Lights are required to properly work as originally designed by Ricon wheelchair lift manufacture. These need to be lit during the entire lift operation sequence. Lights that flicker or stop working during operation will not pass.
If your Ricon wheelchair lift does not meet any one of these requirements it will not pass the upcoming inspection. Ensuring these lifts are working properly is important not only for the inspection process but also the customer safety, not to mention the liability the business will have if a employee or client gets injured accident or not. Get your Ricon wheelchair lift DOT inspection ready with BLVD.com dealers network who are ready to serve you.