Promoting Mobility

These advancements have made a huge impact on vehicle manufacturers, who've taken renewed notice of this ever-growing market segment. Consumers in search of adaptive vehicles and equipment need no longer hunt for the products they need. The challenge for mobility modification facilities has now become one of keeping pace with the newest products and incorporating the higher-end/higher-technology modifications demanded by consumers.

Says Chad Williams, president of Harmar Industries, "One of our biggest internal tasks is to keep abreast of new innovations. Vehicle changes and mobility-equipment design modifications are happening quickly. Scooter and wheelchair designs seem to change every year, and we have to adapt to make certain our aftermarket ramps and lifts are compatible with these changes."

The following section is an overview of many of the adaptive products currently available through vehicle manufacturers and aftermarket companies. An extensive dealer network of product installers is also accessible online at www.nod.org and through medical-supply companies in your area. Make certain to take advantage of vehicle-manufacturer reimbursement funds offered when purchasing mobility equipment. You'll find that going mobile with adaptive equipment has never been so simple--or so efficient.

By the numbers: the importance of mobility vehicles

· According to Census 2000, there are nearly 50 million people in the U.S. with a long-lasting physical disability.

· More than 20 million Americans have a disability that impacts mobility.

· More than two million are wheelchair users and 400,000 drive an adaptive vehicle.

· Approximately 70 percent of the disability community is currently of driving age.

· People age 50 and over represent the fastest-growing U.S. demographic.

· Currently, the North American 50-plus demographic numbers more than 76 million people. By 2020, it is expected to climb 34 percent to 116 million, or one in three Americans.