A safety device used in conjunction with a vehicle wheelchair lift, having a mounting plate for securing to the floor of a vehicle, upright members disposed on opposite longitudinal ends of the mounting plate, a barrier plate in overlying relationship to the mounting plate and pivotally connected to the uprights for movement between a raised and lowered position; the barrier plate, when raised, acting as a physical barrier to prevent a wheelchair from rolling across the mounting plate, and an actuator operatively connected to the barrier plate. In one embodiment, the upright members are a housing and a support wall. In another embodiment, the uprights are elongated members and include a cross bar disposed horizontally and in spaced parallel relation to the mounting plate when the barrier plate is raised and is disposed vertically and transverse to the mounting plate when the barrier plate is in the lowered position.