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I used to date a person who needed to use a wheelchair from time to time. Not only is the world inaccessible, but there are so many grandfathering rules that mo

I used to date a person who needed to use a wheelchair from time to time. Not only is the world inaccessible, but there are so many grandfathering rules that most places don’t have to change. Something this article misses is that many people act totally inappropriately to people using various aids. They used to have people question why they needed a chair. They had people call them wheels in public.

joker_minmax 3y ago
I mention this in my comment too - sexual harassment about the wheelchair I've seen in person.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
IshKebab 3y ago
The thing I've noticed in the UK with a buggy is the insane lack of dropped kerbs. Why? Does it really cost a lot more to have a slightly different shaped kerb? They also seem to have a terrible habit of putting them in the inconvenient places that they want you to walk, not where people actually walk. E.g. set back 10m from a t-junction. So even if there are dropped kerbs it's still significantly more inconvenient if you actually have to use them.
- bombcar 3y ago
  Dropped kerbs are a moderately expense more, especially in time. And they're rarely retrofitted; there's one missing on a path we take and I always forget about it, and even just a stroller is a pain to get over. I don't see how a wheelchair could; they'd have to go down the (relatively not busy) street to the nearest driveway.
rdtsc 3y ago
> there are so many grandfathering rules that most places don’t have to change. Indeed. It's especially hard in a poor areas. I used to live with a disabled person and things like cracks in the sidewalk, or bumps from roots, or potholes, look like nothing to people who can walk. To someone in a wheelchair they can prevent them from going through. They city was too poor and run down to get to it. Older parts of town, are also almost impossible to access. > They used to have people question why they needed a chair. They had people call them wheels in public. I noticed this is at the airport. People in a wheelchair often get priority sitting. But to request a wheelchair doesn't require any proof. So, people learned to take advantage of it. May even get an assistant to push them around the airport. And then, as soon as the flight lands, people are miraculously "healed" and don't need a wheelchair any longer. They think it's a harmless thing: "it's allowed anyway", "I paid a lot of money for this ticket", "not breaking any rules", etc but what they are doing is they are creating animosity and suspicion in the general public who now feel anyone in a wheelchair in the airport is "cheating" to get ahead of the line and get a better spot for their carry-on luggage.
- sizzle 3y ago
  I preboard my dad who can’t walk, I transfer him into his seat ahead of the whole plane seating passengers but he is the last to leave the plane as a trade off when they bring his wheelchair. Thankfully have not witnessed anyone pretending they can’t walk and leave first. They all have issues with their gait in my experiences in the US. Sure there might be some bad actors but it’s really sad if they are faking it having to be seen by the actually disabled folks who can probably tell. My dad can’t even use the restroom on the flight cause he can’t stand, it’s truly hell for wheelchair bound folks. They deserve all the help and accommodations they can get to travel and live a normal, rich and fulfilling life like the rest of us able bodied folks.
- Zak 3y ago
  > as soon as the flight lands, people are miraculously "healed" and don't need a wheelchair any longer The comment you're replying to talks about someone needing a wheelchair from time to time. Many people who use wheelchairs do not need them all the time. A trivial example would be someone who can walk from the airport to a car when unburdened, but cannot stand in line for an hour while carrying luggage. The available assistance isn't necessarily individually tailored, so "I need to check a bag without extra charge and skip the security and boarding lines" is not an option, but a wheelchair is.
  - rdtsc 3y ago
    I was mainly replying to them saying that there is animosity towards disabled people ("people question why they needed a chair. They had people call them wheels in public..."). I haven't heard or seen it verbalized explicitly, with that one exception of airports, where people publicly mumble and mention it. I don't like to see it and I don't support that but that's what people do. > A trivial example would be someone who can walk from the airport to a car when unburdened, but cannot stand in line for an hour while carrying luggage. Of course. And not all disabilities are visible, either. It's better to have a few cheaters to abuse the system and provide more accommodation to people who need it than go the other way. But the way people are, even if they witness a small minority cheating, they'll start forming an opinion. As a rule, especially as far as I have seen, traveling and living with disabled people needing a wheelchair, most people are willing to help and are accommodating.
omeid2 3y ago
As bad as it seems, without grandfathering, very few of such accessibility laws would ever make it. Consider that accessibility is a quality of life concern, when governments have to consider the cost of everything, even the "reasonable" cost of averting death. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_of_life https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_of_life

joker_minmax 3y ago

I mention this in my comment too - sexual harassment about the wheelchair I've seen in person.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

IshKebab 3y ago

The thing I've noticed in the UK with a buggy is the insane lack of dropped kerbs. Why? Does it really cost a lot more to have a slightly different shaped kerb? They also seem to have a terrible habit of putting them in the inconvenient places that they want you to walk, not where people actually walk. E.g. set back 10m from a t-junction. So even if there are dropped kerbs it's still significantly more inconvenient if you actually have to use them.

bombcar 3y ago
Dropped kerbs are a moderately expense more, especially in time. And they're rarely retrofitted; there's one missing on a path we take and I always forget about it, and even just a stroller is a pain to get over. I don't see how a wheelchair could; they'd have to go down the (relatively not busy) street to the nearest driveway.

rdtsc 3y ago

> there are so many grandfathering rules that most places don’t have to change. Indeed. It's especially hard in a poor areas. I used to live with a disabled person and things like cracks in the sidewalk, or bumps from roots, or potholes, look like nothing to people who can walk. To someone in a wheelchair they can prevent them from going through. They city was too poor and run down to get to it. Older parts of town, are also almost impossible to access. > They used to have people question why they needed a chair. They had people call them wheels in public. I noticed this is at the airport. People in a wheelchair often get priority sitting. But to request a wheelchair doesn't require any proof. So, people learned to take advantage of it. May even get an assistant to push them around the airport. And then, as soon as the flight lands, people are miraculously "healed" and don't need a wheelchair any longer. They think it's a harmless thing: "it's allowed anyway", "I paid a lot of money for this ticket", "not breaking any rules", etc but what they are doing is they are creating animosity and suspicion in the general public who now feel anyone in a wheelchair in the airport is "cheating" to get ahead of the line and get a better spot for their carry-on luggage.

sizzle 3y ago
I preboard my dad who can’t walk, I transfer him into his seat ahead of the whole plane seating passengers but he is the last to leave the plane as a trade off when they bring his wheelchair. Thankfully have not witnessed anyone pretending they can’t walk and leave first. They all have issues with their gait in my experiences in the US. Sure there might be some bad actors but it’s really sad if they are faking it having to be seen by the actually disabled folks who can probably tell. My dad can’t even use the restroom on the flight cause he can’t stand, it’s truly hell for wheelchair bound folks. They deserve all the help and accommodations they can get to travel and live a normal, rich and fulfilling life like the rest of us able bodied folks.
Zak 3y ago
> as soon as the flight lands, people are miraculously "healed" and don't need a wheelchair any longer The comment you're replying to talks about someone needing a wheelchair from time to time. Many people who use wheelchairs do not need them all the time. A trivial example would be someone who can walk from the airport to a car when unburdened, but cannot stand in line for an hour while carrying luggage. The available assistance isn't necessarily individually tailored, so "I need to check a bag without extra charge and skip the security and boarding lines" is not an option, but a wheelchair is.
- rdtsc 3y ago
  I was mainly replying to them saying that there is animosity towards disabled people ("people question why they needed a chair. They had people call them wheels in public..."). I haven't heard or seen it verbalized explicitly, with that one exception of airports, where people publicly mumble and mention it. I don't like to see it and I don't support that but that's what people do. > A trivial example would be someone who can walk from the airport to a car when unburdened, but cannot stand in line for an hour while carrying luggage. Of course. And not all disabilities are visible, either. It's better to have a few cheaters to abuse the system and provide more accommodation to people who need it than go the other way. But the way people are, even if they witness a small minority cheating, they'll start forming an opinion. As a rule, especially as far as I have seen, traveling and living with disabled people needing a wheelchair, most people are willing to help and are accommodating.

omeid2 3y ago

As bad as it seems, without grandfathering, very few of such accessibility laws would ever make it. Consider that accessibility is a quality of life concern, when governments have to consider the cost of everything, even the "reasonable" cost of averting death. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_of_life https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_of_life