We all know what a wheelchair lift is today - they're those little "elevators" used to raise a wheelchair onto a vehicle either to store the chair while the person with the disability drives or to allow that person to ride in the vehicle in the wheelchair. We see them on specially equipped vans, the rears of cars, and aboard public transportation systems like the city bus. The wheelchair lift is so commonplace today that we pretty much take them for granted and don't expend much thought on them at all. It's as if they have always been there.

But they haven't, of course.

In fact, they really haven't been with us all that long at all. The concept of the wheelchair lift itself is nothing new and the earliest ones date to before the turn of the twentieth century. They were bulky and impractical then and, although their designs improved over the years, they continued to be so for a number of years. Even as the designs improved and the nineteen sixties and seventies had us seeing wheelchair lifts more and more often, they remained very expensive and out of the reach of many individuals with disabilities. Most cities lacked the necessary public funding to place them on city busses and to run special shuttle services with wheelchair lift equipped vans.

Now it is a fairly common site to see a wheelchair fastened to the back of a private vehicle or to see a wheelchair bound passenger riding the lift up into a city bus. The lifts are still expensive, but they cost far less than they once did and private individuals have access to them thanks to insurance programs and government income for those who can not work. Social Security/Disability picks up a lot of the tab for a private individual's wheelchair lift - and that is a good thing. If it can help a person live a more "normal" day to day life then it is something that person should have access to.

Occasionally the question of wheelchair lift safety comes up, usually voiced not by a disabled individual herself, but by a concerned parent or family member. All wheelchair lifts must undergo a rigorous safety inspection before they can be sold, of course, and must meet with several governmental requirements pertaining to their installation and use, but it is also a good idea to have them tested and inspected for wear periodically.

The lift itself should rise and descend smoothly with no shaking or quivering and the hydraulic parts should operate smoothly. If the unit makes sounds that do not seem right, emits smoke, or otherwise operates in a manner that seems unsafe, the assistance of a professional repair person should be sought immediately. If the unit is under warranty, the manufacturer should be contacted first.

The invention and improvements in wheelchair lifts as well as their greater accessibility has made them a common part of today's world and has changed the lives of people with disabilities for the better in countless cases.

Thanks to the ease with which wheelchair lifts may now be obtained and installed, nearly everyone who needs to have a wheelchair lift on his or her private vehicle is able to do so and public transportation has access to wheelchair lifts like never before, making bus and shuttle services for more accessible by the disabled than ever as well. The next time you see a wheelchair lift in action, remember that it was not so long ago that it may not have been available to the person using it today.