The plan here is to maintain an on-line journal about Pavement Vehicles (first in the UK and then elsewhere) - why so? you may ask.
We have been involved in designing and planning urban and suburban environments with the pedestrian in mind. We have also carried out surveys of wheelchair users to find out their views of getting around - accessability, legibility (interpreting landmarks and signs) and mobility. However, a group we haven't really investigated are Pavement Vehicle users and we want to begin gathering information about the use of Pavement Vehicles. So if you own one, hire one occasionally, rent them to users, we would like to hear from you.
Our inital plans are these:
- Set up and publicise this blog.
- Carry out a literature review to establish what research has been undertaken into:
- definitions of PVs,
- guidelines to their use,
- training in using them,
- their use,
- parking & storage
- insurance
- attitudes towards their use,
- attitudes of users,
- attitudes of non-users,
- product design and safety standards,
- maintenance and repair options available,
- complementary resources.
- Contact PV manufacturers and repairers, PV hirers (including Shopmobility), disability & mobility forums.
- Identify typical users.
- Gallery of PV heaven and PV hell.
- Develop an attitudinal survey for PV users.
- Identify resources that are not yet available and lobby for or create such resources.
- Set up PV Challenges to raise awareness of PVs and their users desires & needs.
We hope that by the latter half of 2007 we will have a fairly comprehensive picture of PV use, the issues around their use in urban and suburban environments, and a better understanding of how to design to accommodate them.
Do get in touch, if there are areas here that spark your interest or whereby you can help us in our research.
Kind regards, AP
