3 ms·

With an aging population, there's going to be a lot more people who have trouble with doorknobs (due to common arthritis and other impairments) than those who h

With an aging population, there's going to be a lot more people who have trouble with doorknobs (due to common arthritis and other impairments) than those who have kids young enough to be stumped by doorknobs but not levers (say 3-5 years old) or dogs who turn lever handles. (So maybe 10% of homes.) It's not a "few" people who have trouble with doorknobs - it's probably close to 20-30% of your overall population and maybe 30-40% of households. E.g. it's about 1 in 5 Americans who are impacted by arthritis (of some form), plus you have people with repetitive strain injury and other non-arthritic conditions who will also benefit from lever handles. Compare that to the relatively small fraction of people in wheelchairs and this seems like a no-brainer compared to ramps.

jlgreco 13y ago
Old people have trouble with falls too. Maybe we should ban slick bathtubs, tile floors, and raised floors.
- tomkarlo 13y ago
  Floors and their traction level are in fact already regulated as part of ADA for many buildings. And there's tons of building codes regarding your residential bathroom for similar safety issues - minimum clearances, height of fixtures, anti-scalding valves, types of glass. As others have pointed out, the entire building code is basically a balance between cost and safety. Anything having to do with egress tends to get extra attention, as well. If there was a zero-cost way to prevent slips and falls, it might well end up in the building code, yes.
- jtbigwoo 13y ago
  >> Maybe we should ban slick bathtubs, tile floors, and raised floors. You can usually look on the box and find the coefficient of friction (COF) for any floor tile you buy. OSHA has requirements for what COF is appropriate for various uses (dry and flat or wet and sloped, for example). It wouldn't surprise me if that sort of thing eventually makes it into the residential building code.

jlgreco 13y ago

Old people have trouble with falls too. Maybe we should ban slick bathtubs, tile floors, and raised floors.

tomkarlo 13y ago
Floors and their traction level are in fact already regulated as part of ADA for many buildings. And there's tons of building codes regarding your residential bathroom for similar safety issues - minimum clearances, height of fixtures, anti-scalding valves, types of glass. As others have pointed out, the entire building code is basically a balance between cost and safety. Anything having to do with egress tends to get extra attention, as well. If there was a zero-cost way to prevent slips and falls, it might well end up in the building code, yes.
jtbigwoo 13y ago
>> Maybe we should ban slick bathtubs, tile floors, and raised floors. You can usually look on the box and find the coefficient of friction (COF) for any floor tile you buy. OSHA has requirements for what COF is appropriate for various uses (dry and flat or wet and sloped, for example). It wouldn't surprise me if that sort of thing eventually makes it into the residential building code.