The QUA VADIS project is a research project partially funded by the Directorate General for Transport and Energy (DG-TREN) of the European Commission. The abbreviation QUAVADIS stands for Quality and Use Aspects of Vehicle Adaptations for DiSabled. The project started in January 2001 and was completed by June 2003. The overall objectives of the project are to establish statistics on the use of codes and the disabled driver population in Europe; to stimulate knowledge exchange in the field of physically disabled drivers and their need for car-adaptations; and to draw up criteria for safety and performance of car-adaptations that are suitable to compensate for the driver's disability according to the restrictive conditions (codes) on the driving licence. The project was worked on by a consortium of several partners including Elderly and Disabled Project Consultancy (EDPC), the Dutch Driving Licence Authority (C8R), the Car-Adaptations Department of the Belgian Road Safety Institute (CARA), the TUV Verkehr und Fahrzeug, Centro Ricerche Fiat (CRF), Motability Technical Projects Department, the Mobility Advice & Vehicle Information Centre (MAVIS) and TNO-Automotive. One of the main results of the project is a description of the procedures for obtaining or renewing a driving licence for citizens with a (physical) disability in the different Member States of the European Community. Another main result of the project is the extensive Code of Practice for car adaptations which enable drivers with a (physical) disability to meet the conditions under which they are authorised to drive, as defined by the codes on the driving licence. The list of harmonised Community codes as published in directive 2000/56/EC has therefore been used as the starting point for this work. For each (sub)code on the list of harmonised Community codes the Code of Practice gives a clear definition; information on the applicability of the code in relation to the (dis)ability of the driver and the driving licence category; some background information on the relevant aspects of the driving task; evaluation criteria to assess the proper functionality and safety aspects of adaptations that are made to the vehicle to enable the driver to meet the conditions on the licence; and some examples of possible constructions for the car-adaptation(s) that are available in Europe for the specific (sub)code. The description of the procedures and the Code of Practice are also available through the internet by means of the European Car-Adaptation Website (CAW). The CAW website is accessible from the QUAVADIS website (http://www.car-adaptation.org/en/Quavadis.html). During the project information was shared with the main stakeholders by means of workshops, presentations and visits on location in some countries. At the end of the project a symposium was held in Brussels organised jointly by the QUAVADIS project and the Committee on the Driving Licence of DG-TREN. The symposium attracted over one hundred participants from nearly all Member States. The stakeholders involved in the project include the car-adaptation industry, driving licence authorities, vehicle inspection authorities, assessment centres, driving schools, fleet owners, consultants and researchers and last but not least: drivers and motorcyclists with a disability. (Author/publisher) For the complete report see: http://www.car-adaptation.org/en/Quavadis.html
Samenvatting