Wheelchairs
(Jersey) Order 1998
1 Interpretation
In this Order –
“Class 1 wheelchair” means a wheelchair with an unladen
weight not exceeding 113.4 kg which is not mechanically propelled;
“Class 2 wheelchair” means a mechanically propelled
wheelchair with an unladen weight not exceeding 113.4 kg which is constructed
or adapted so as to be incapable of exceeding a speed of 4 miles per hour on
the level under its own power;
“Class 3 wheelchair” means a mechanically propelled
wheelchair –
(a) with
an unladen weight not exceeding 150 kg;
(b) with an
overall width not exceeding 85 cm; and
(c) which
is constructed or adapted so as to be capable of exceeding a speed of 4 miles
per hour but incapable of exceeding a speed of 8 miles per hour on the level
under its own power;
“Law” means the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956;
“unladen weight” in relation to a wheelchair, means the
weight of the wheelchair inclusive of the weight of water, fuel or accumulators
used for the purpose of the supply of power for its propulsion and of loose
tools, but exclusive of the weight of any other load or of a person carried by
the wheelchair.
2 Classes
of wheelchairs prescribed for the purposes of the Law
(1) The class of wheelchair
prescribed for the purpose of the definition of “wheelchair” in Article 1
of the Law consists of Class 1, Class 2 and Class 3 wheelchairs.
(2) The class of
mechanically propelled wheelchairs prescribed for the purposes of Article 3
of the Law consists of Class 2 and Class 3 wheelchairs.
3 Persons
who may use a wheelchair
(1) A wheelchair may only
be used on a road, footway or cycle track –
(a) by a person
suffering from a physical defect or physical disability who falls within a
class of persons for whose use it was constructed or adapted;
(b) by
some other person for the purposes only of taking it to or bringing it from any
place where maintenance or repair is to be or has been carried out to it;
(c) by a
manufacturer for the purposes only of testing or demonstrating it;
(d) by a person
offering it for sale for the purpose only of demonstrating it; or
(e) by a person
who is in the process of giving instruction in its use.
(2) A Class 3 wheelchair
must not be used by a person under the age of 14 years.
4 Use
of Class 3 wheelchairs on footways and pedestrian roads
A Class 3 wheelchair must not be used at a speed greater than 4
miles per hour on –
(a) any footway; or
(b) any road or part of a
road set apart for the use of pedestrians pursuant to an Order made under Article 62(1)
of the Law.
5 Means
of stopping
(1) A Class 2 or Class 3
wheelchair must be capable of –
(a) being
brought to rest in all conditions of use with reasonable directional stability
and within a reasonable distance; and
(b) being
held stationary indefinitely in all conditions of use on a gradient of at least
one in 5 when it is not being propelled or is left unattended.
(2) The requirements of paragraph (1)
shall not be regarded as met unless the necessary braking effect can be
achieved by the appropriate use of –
(a) the
wheelchair’s propulsion unit or transmission gear or of both the
propulsion unit and transmission gear;
(b) a
separate system fitted to the wheelchair (which may be a system which operates
upon the propulsion unit or transmission gear); or
(c) a
combination of the means of achieving a braking effect referred to in sub-paragraphs (a)
and (b),
and, in the case of the requirements of paragraph (1)(b),
without depending upon any hydraulic or pneumatic device or on the flow of
electrical current.
6 Speed
device and speed indicator
(1) A Class 3 wheelchair
must be fitted with –
(a) a
device which is capable of limiting its maximum speed to 4 miles per hour on
the level under its own power and which can be put into operation by the user;
and
(b) a
speed indicator.
(2) A speed indicator
fitted in accordance with this Article must be kept free from any obstruction
which might prevent it being easily seen by the user of the wheelchair and
shall be maintained in efficient working order.
(3) A Class 3 wheelchair
must not be used –
(a) on a
footway unless the device fitted in accordance with paragraph (1)(a) is
operating; or
(b) at
any time unless the speed indicator is operating.
(4) In this Article
“speed indicator” means a device fitted to a wheelchair for the
purpose of indicating to the user of the wheelchair whether the device referred
to in paragraph (1)(a) is in operation.
7 Vision
(1) A Class 2 or Class 3
wheelchair must be so constructed that its user can at all times have a full
view of the road and traffic ahead when controlling the wheelchair.
(2) Any windscreen or
window fitted to a Class 2 or Class 3 wheelchair must be –
(a) made
of safety glass or safety glazing; and
(b) maintained
in such condition that it does not obscure the vision of the user of the
wheelchair while the wheelchair is being driven.
(3) In this Article –
“safety glass” means glass so manufactured or treated
that if fractured it does not break into fragments likely to cause severe cuts;
and
“safety glazing” means material other than glass so
manufactured or treated that if fractured it does not break into fragments
likely to cause severe cuts.
8 Rear
view mirrors
(1) A Class 3 wheelchair
must be fitted either internally or externally with a rear view mirror.
(2) Any rear view mirror
fitted to a wheelchair must be so constructed or treated that if fractured it
does not break into fragments likely to cause severe cuts.
(3) In this Article
“rear view mirror” means a mirror to assist the user of the
wheelchair to become aware of traffic to the rear of the wheelchair.
9 Lighting
Where a Class 2 or Class 3 wheelchair is driven on any road it must
comply with the provisions of the Road Traffic (Lighting) (Jersey) Order 1998 as if it was a motor vehicle
within the meaning of the Law and as if any reference to an invalid carriage in
that Order included such a wheelchair.
10 Use
of horn
(1) A Class 3 wheelchair
must be fitted with a horn, not being a reversing alarm or a 2-tone horn.
(2) The horn fitted to any
wheelchair –
(a) must
emit a sound which is continuous and uniform but not strident; and
(b) must
not, save in the case of an emergency, be sounded –
(i) when the
wheelchair is stationary on a road, footway or cycle track, at any time other
than at times of danger due to the presence of another moving vehicle, or
(ii) when
the wheelchair is in motion on a road, footway or cycle track between the hours
of 11.30 pm and 7 am and there is in the vicinity a system of street lighting
furnished by lamps placed not more than 200 yards apart.
(3) In this Article
“horn”, “reversing alarm” and “2-tone horn”
have the meaning given by Article 37 of the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Jersey)
Order 1998.
11 Penalty
for infringement of this Order
A person who contravenes or fails to comply with any provision of
this Order shall be liable to a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard
scale.
12 Citation
This Order may be cited as the Wheelchairs (Jersey) Order 1998.