4 ms·
It interferes in multiple ways. First, it's more spacious so people will almost always choose it before any of the non accessible stalls, and people will use i
by ad404b8a372f2b9 7y ago
It interferes in multiple ways.
First, it's more spacious so people will almost always choose it before any of the non accessible stalls, and people will use it when they need to go number 2 because it's more comfortable. When I want to use the only accessible stall on my floor, at work, I need to either wait between 15 to 30 minutes for people to finish doing their business or come back later (later it'll still be taken by someone else, it's practically always taken.)
Second, because so many people use it, it ends up being much more degraded than non-accessible stalls. It's always dirty, and often plugged. The seat is broken and detached from the toilet itself (extremely important criterion for someone who can only sit and can't hover).
It's not isolated to my workplace either, it's so common that peeing is pretty much my main worry when going anywhere (aside from not being able to enter at all).
I'm reminded of the movie Hidden Figures every time I discuss this topic, it's set in the 60s and there's a scene where a black woman has to walk an outrageous distance to go pee because there's no colored bathrooms at her work. She starts crying after being scolded for disappearing so long multiple times a day, and after she explains the situation her white manager breaks down the "whites-only" sign on their work bathroom with a baseball bat in a climactic feel-good moment.
Around 2014, 54 years later, all the handicapped stalls at my work were condemned because of the degradation. I had to roll 500 meters every time I wanted to pee for four months, nobody gave a shit. I've never had a nice manager with a baseball bat stand up for me in such a way, but I've met plenty of people throughout my life who're content to argue that "it's fair that disabled people should wait like everybody else if all the other stalls are taken because it's really not a big deal."
- jimmaswell 7y agoI've assumed the etiquette is to only use the accessible stall if no others are available.
- SamReidHughes 7y agoNah, you can use it whenever, but don't take forever.
- sago 7y agoYou should not use it at all. If the ratio of disabled facilities to able-bodied facilities is n:1, then your wait time for an able-bodied facility is 1/n, but the disabled person will have to wait for 1 unit of time. Add to that that disabled people more often have medical needs around toileting (pain, urgency, uncontrollability, catheters or ostomies full or failing), and that extra wait can turn into somebody's nightmare day. For the sake of fractionally less wait for you. It's the same reason why you should not use disabled parking spaces, even when no other convenient parking space is available.
- closeparen 7y agoInteresting. About half the toilets in my office are accessible, and the existing men:toilets ratio is about 150:1, so really it's 300:1. I should file an OSHA complaint. (This isn't a sweatshop, either, the lowest paid among them make at least $45/hour).
- sago 7y agoIf there are so many accessible bathrooms that there is no way a disabled person could possibly wait, the concern is moot. Of course. A super common situation /s
- closeparen 7y ago>A super common situation /s I don't understand the "/s." The public restrooms I encounter have either one or two stalls, and one of them is always accessible. Accessible toilets are never less than 50% of all toilets in the building. Occasionally there might be one wheelchair user in the building.
- sago 7y ago> Accessible toilets are never less than 50% of all toilets in the building. Of hundreds of buildings I've been to, I have never seen a single place where that is even close to being true. Including hospitals. Do you mean accessible? With double drop handles, Wide enough to put a wheelchair next to the seat? Accessible handbasins (low, easy to reach the taps)? I find it very hard to believe that more than 50% are.
- disabled 7y agoAlso, some people who are wheelchair users, who require an accessible wheelchair stall, experience severe autonomic dysreflexia if they are unable to empty their bladder and/or bowels right away! Trust me, it is just about the worst feeling in the world: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomic_dysreflexia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomic_dysreflexia There is nothing like the feeling of your head about to explode, plus the worst feeling of doom possible, plus your blood pressure surging, and seeing spots. Afterwards, even after you relieve yourself, you are completely washed out and feel terrible for the rest of the day. Like "I got run over by a truck terrible" (no exaggeration). By the way, there are people who can walk who experience this too. So don't just assume that it is only wheelchair users who experience it. Just know that restrooms/toilets/bathrooms, especially accessible stalls, need to be open to the public, not only for human dignity, but for the small subset of people who absolutely have to relieve themselves at any given moment. It is, no question, life threatening. It is actually shocking that the general public does not realize this. The same goes with the fact that wheelchair and/or mobility device users definitely require disabled parking for safety reasons, as they can easily be in a driver's blind spot.