Why? Unless they have some sort of condition where they have to go now, they can hold it and wait in line like the rest of us.
It just seems more polite to me that way, as the handicapped stalls are meant for them. I just don’t see any reason to NOT use one if there isn’t someone there who specifically needs that stall.
But they aren’t meant for them. They are accessible to them.
Because it’s fairer to let them go to the front of the line. Why? Read on.
Let’s say there’s a bathroom with 5 stalls, 4 regular and 1 wheelchair accessible. There is a line of 10 women. A stall opens up every 15 seconds on average. Some women take longer, and some shorter, but it averages out. Women are joining the line at an average rate of 15 seconds, so the line length stays pretty steady.
Jane gets on the end of the line. She can expect to get to a toilet in about 2.5 minutes.
As the line moves along, it becomes apparent that one lady who was in line when Jane arrived has eaten a bad clam and will be occupying one of the stalls indefinitely. Since the other four stalls are being used at the regular rate, however, Jane is only delayed slightly.
Now let’s say that Phoebe enters the rest room just after Jane. Phoebe is in a wheelchair. Ideally, Phoebe should have the same average wait as Jane, but that is impossible.
If she is waved to the front of the line, she might still have to wait a bit for the accessible stall to open up, but she will most likely end up using the toilet before Jane. Her “average wait” will indeed be shorter than Jane’s, but not by all that much. If she goes to the front, she gets a small benefit for being in a wheelchair.
But let’s say that Phoebe waits in line behind Jane. What is the likelihood that the accessible stall is open when it’s her turn? Only 20%. She will probably have to wait through one or more extra turns before that stall opens up. If Jane happens to end up in the accessible stall, then Phoebe has to wait for however long it takes for Jane to finish. If Jane takes longer than average, then Phoebe has to wait much longer than the minute that 4 average turns would take.
Therefore if Phoebe waits in line, her “average wait” is longer than Jane’s “average wait.” Phoebe is penalized for being in a wheelchair.
And that’s assuming that everything is going smoothly.
Let’s add the bad clam lady back in to the scenario. Everybody’s wait gets longer, as there are now effectively only 4 stalls available. Okay, them’s the breaks. But what if the bad clam lady winds up in the accessible stall? Then Phoebe is in trouble. By waving Phoebe to the front of the line, you reduce the likelihood that she will end up having to wait for someone who is taking a really long time.
Ultimately, it is preferable that Phoebe get a small benefit than that she suffer a penalty. And given that the time she could gain from going to the front of the line is much less than the time that she could lose by waiting, letting her go to the front of the line is obviously the “fairer” choice.
But we weren’t talking about handicapped women. We were talking about handicapped people.
[sub]Hey! HEY! Don’t throw that…OWW! OW OW FUCKIN’ OW![/sub]
Green Bean does bring up a good point. A lot of the wheelchair users I know also will wait to go and use the bathroom just because it is such a PITA. And yes, I know that that is their choice…but then again, many wheelchair users have reduced sensitivity and don’t know until too late that they have to go. That’s NOT their choice.
My bottom line is—I feel justified in using the accessible bathroom if there is not a person with a disability in sight. I know, however, that a person with a disability could also feel justified in being pissed at me if they came in and had to wait while I used it.
When the world changes over to Universal Design, these problems will be a thing of the past…
As opposed to opening the stall, hefting the person over your head, and throwing the poor soul out?
I kid, I kid, I couldn’t resist. I know what you meant. 
Just another vote for toilets are for everybody, the handicapped stall is just accessible so they have somewhere to go, and if someone is occupying it and a handicapped person comes in, they will just have to wait their turn like everybody else. Yes, they’re handicapped and deserve special considerations for certain things, but not to the point of treating them as visiting royalty. (God forbid you didn’t realise *His Majesty * was in the building!)
Or, to say it simply: When you gotta go, you gotta go.
I use a wheelchair, and have more than my share of experience with this type of thing. (I think this topic has been covered here before.) Yes, it’s true that the stalls are not reserved, and if you really have to go, then use the handicapped stall. However, I don’t think it’s too much to ask that you be courteous enough not to use it when there are other stalls available.
Making people in wheelchairs wait “like everybody else” is a nice idea in theory, but doesn’t work. I’m not sure what would qualify as being a “serious medical condition” or how anyone would police that type of thing. If someone is in a wheelchair, then that should probably count. I’m paralyzed, and I can get a sense of when I need to use a restroom, but like most people who are paralyzed, that part of me is paralyzed too, and I don’t have anymore control over it than I have over my legs. It really can be a matter of minutes if someone needs to go. (For that reason I try to keep from putting myself in that situation.)
I have plenty of stories of people who decided to use the handicapped stall, even when there were other stalls open. I don’t know if it’s because of a sense of entitlement or they like the extra room or what. I don’t feel like typing all of it out right now, but I don’t think it’s too much to ask people use common sense and be considerate of others.
I prefer to use handicapped stalls, at least at work, because I’m a bit claustrophobic and also the regular johns are too low for me. Sitting that low isn’t good for my back.
Actually, no, they can’t always. The muscle control is simply not always there, and not necessarily as strong.
Also, I can wait until the last possible second - and if I get into a stall before that very last second, I can quickly get my pants down or pull my skirt up and make it in time. Getting first a wheelchair into the stall, then yourself out of the wheelchair and onto the toilet is neither a quick nor simple maneuver.
Handicapped stalls are akin to wheelchair ramps outside of buldings. They’re there to allow access to disabled people but they’re not specially reserved for them. If you are able-bodied, you can walk up a wheelchair ramp if you want to and you can crap in a handicapped stall if you want to.
Having said that, if you know there is someone in a wheelchair in the bathroom and other stalls are available (or for that matter, even if there aren’t), you shouldn’t deliberately cockblock that person from the only stall they can use. That doesn’t mean that in other circumstances you have to leave it open just in case someone in a chair rolls in, though.
Here here, well spoken, Bruce!
That’s true about some people in wheelchairs , and it’s also true about some people who aren’t.
They seem to get round this problem in the UK by having many disabled toilets located in a separate room or section. These are only accessible with RADA keys which are carried by disabled people.
Wasn’t this the premise of an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm ?
If ever we reach a point where they are, I’d like to see people getting ticked and, if they stayed in the stall too long, towed the hell out of there!
Extending Diogenes the Cynic’s samples:
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Special sinks. Some sinks in a public bathroom might also be accessible. Lower and/or no pipes in the way underneath. I don’t think most people even notice them as special. Is it wrong to use such a sink?
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I knew a wheelchair guy once who used a tube to urinate. A low urinal was preferred since it helped gravity-wise. A kids-urinal was best. Does that make any kid-urinal handicapped accessible? Should other guys, even kids, avoid them?
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A local big box store has two sets of doors for both entrance and exit. One is automatic, the other is manual. Should non-handicapped people use only the manual door?
I use the handicapped stall at work because the other stalls have been so poorly designed that it is impossible to go in and close the door without straddling the toilet.
There is about two inches of clearance in front of the toilet between the toilet and the door when the door is in mid-swing.
The handicapped stall doors open outwards, so there’s no ‘straddle the toilet’ issue.
We also have a sink problem. There are six sinks. One of them is about at waist height to me (I’m 5’9) and the others are all closer to knee high.
Who the fuck designs a bathroom where a normal human being would have an easier time washing their knees than their hands?
Perfectly reasonable request, and one that I already practice. I think people just aren’t very considerate. The few times I’ve needed to use the public TTY phone (one time at a rest stop, one time at an airport) a hearing person was always using it. In all cases, there were plenty of non-TTY public phones available. I think it’s because the TTY phone stands out from among all the other phones, but, still, it just boggles the mind!