Disabled Gabonese Reject "Tricycles of Death"

by Marc Krizack (krizack@sfsu.edu)

Many well-intentioned people might wonder what could be wrong with giving free hand-operated tricycles to people with disabilities in developing countries.  In 1998, the government of Gabon, in Western Africa, did just that. Without consulting those who would receive the tricycles, the Gabonese Department of Social Affairs distributed hand-operated tricycles which were so poorly designed that many people were injured in road accidents, some quite seriously.  The disabled community nicknamed these vehicles "the tricycles of death."

The purchase of orthopedic equipment had been one of a number of demands on the Gabonais government made by the National Federation of Organizations of Disabled Persons of Gabon (FENOPHAG). FENOPHAG was formed in October 1997 in order to coordinate the activities of 8 disability organizations in overseeing the distribution of government funds for programs affecting people with disabilities.

Although the government rejected most of the Federation's demands, the Ministry of Social Affairs, without consulting the end-users, purchased a batch of hand-operated tricycles which were poorly adapted for use by many persons with disabilities.  The tricycles had a crank handle connected directly to the wheels without any means of free-wheeling or disengaging the crank.  As long as the wheels continued to turn, the hand crank would continue to turn as well, much like a child's tricycle where the pedals are connected directly to the front wheel.  The faster the tricycle went, the faster the pedals turned.  The brake was situated on a small post right between the rapidly turning hand pedals.  "You have no way of inserting your hand between the crazy pedals," said Marc Ona Essangui, president of the Gabonaise Association of the Handicapped. "And there were many cases of accidents that were caused by the pedals."  The tricycles also had no arm rests or side guards to keep the driver inside the vehicle.

Marc Ona Essangui, president of the Gabonaise Association of the Handicapped

On the very day the government presented the first tricycles, there were three accidents following a descent of a hill in the Bellevue District of Libreville, capital of Gabon.  The first victim, Mr Aloise Gabonese Eyang, was thrown into the gutter and fractured his arm.  Other injuries occurred to peoples' legs when they tried to slow the tricycles down using their feet.  Another seven people suffered similar accidents in the days that followed.

Although no one actually died in a tricycle accident, the Federation soon decided to boycott these tricycles which they called "tricycles of death."  They urged all parents to return these "deadly weapons" to the Minister of Social Affairs.  For a week the entire national press and other media carried stories and commentary on the scandal.

The death tricycles had other serious design defects in addition to the pedal and brake problems.  Hard plastic seats and backs created incipient pressure sores, and the plastic wheels were not strong enough for daily use.

"The government has sufficiently shown that it wants to reduce the disabled person to the level of an animal," said Ona Essangui. "Significant sums of money have been announced and then diverted at the expense of disabled people.  It is time to stop this mockery.  We want to live like other (non-disabled) people.  We refuse to accept charity, we want our rights respected."