# Inaccessible handicap access **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 1, 2011, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-handicap-access/598298 "2011-10-01T22:47:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-handicap-access/598298/21 "2011-10-04T16:30:37Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Amazing. I wonder if it ever OCCURRED to them that maybe setting up a situation where a disabled person was CARRIED up the stairs might pose some liabilities in and of itself… as in what if someone slipped and you had a bunch of people falling down the stairs. Egad. What, in a bar? Unthinkable! ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-handicap-access/598298/22 "2011-10-04T17:21:50Z")
I totally agree that your complaint is valid. And it’s a good idea to file a complaint with the ADA, and to tell the manager’s manager that the manager is a fucking idiot. That said, go to another bar. You really shouldn’t continue giving them your business. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-handicap-access/598298/23 "2011-10-04T18:51:36Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > While it may have been the policy before that no one was allowed to use the elevator except employees before, I’ll bet the new policy requires the manager to let someone use the elevator to go to the handicapped bathroom. Probably all because of your letter. > > Congrats Jamie, you finally handled one of these situations like a grown-up. But did you really need to start _another_ thread about your handicapable adventures? Yes. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-handicap-access/598298/24 "2011-10-05T01:00:05Z")
Wait, this is jamie??? Was there a name change I missed? ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-handicap-access/598298/25 "2011-10-05T01:03:57Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > Wait, this is jamie??? Was there a name change I missed? Yes. He wanted to become more anonymous or something. ---
**Author:** ![Silophant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Silophant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silophant)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-handicap-access/598298/26 "2011-10-05T05:40:57Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > Wait, this is jamie??? Was there a name change I missed? The subject matter didn’t tip you off? ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-handicap-access/598298/27 "2011-10-05T05:42:14Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > Wait, this is jamie??? Was there a name change I missed? > **[jamiemcgarry is now Ambivalid.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=626402)** > > I just wanted people to be aware of my username change. My initial decision to use my real name has outgrown it’s usefulness and I decided to go a more anonymous route (but not really since my real name can easily be found). Anyway, just wanted to... ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-handicap-access/598298/28 "2011-10-05T05:50:33Z")
> [@Silophant](#): > > The subject matter didn’t tip you off? > **[You call \*this\* disabled-accessible?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=624191)** > > While the closest I’ve personally been to disability has been minor surgery on a heel, we have quite a few posters who are permanently disabled and many more who’ve been temporarily disabled. For some reason, disabled accesibility has been very much... Look, I’m obviously not the only one who is interested enough in such matters to post about it. This thread is discussing the exact subject matter I am discussing. I didn’t want to resurrect an old zombie thread, so I just told the story in a fresh thread. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-handicap-access/598298/29 "2011-10-05T06:15:16Z")
Two weeks isn’t a zombie, zombies are several months old at least. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-handicap-access/598298/30 "2011-10-05T06:20:57Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Two weeks isn’t a zombie, zombies are several months old at least. Ok. I felt it deserved it’s own thread, given that the other accessibility thread was no longer active. ---
**Author:** ![Silophant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Silophant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silophant)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-handicap-access/598298/31 "2011-10-05T06:52:04Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > [You call \*this\* disabled-accessible? - In My Humble Opinion - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=624191) > > Look, I’m obviously not the only one who is interested enough in such matters to post about it. This thread is discussing the exact subject matter I am discussing. I didn’t want to resurrect an old zombie thread, so I just told the story in a fresh thread. I wasn’t trying to offend, I’m just saying that I tend to associate certain subjects with certain posters. If a name I didn’t recognize posted an OP about something that happened in Thailand, I’d probably assume **Siam Sam** had changed his name. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-handicap-access/598298/32 "2011-10-05T18:16:12Z")
> [@Silophant](#): > > I wasn’t trying to offend, I’m just saying that I tend to associate certain subjects with certain posters. If a name I didn’t recognize posted an OP about something that happened in Thailand, I’d probably assume **Siam Sam** had changed his name. Oh, my bad. I’m just a little accustomed to more snarky responses, so I read your as such. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-handicap-access/598298/33 "2011-10-06T11:41:09Z")
So I take it you took the lift to the second floor, was the upstairs loo up to snuff? I was recently at the hospital waiting on an outpatient person. When I went to use the rest room there was a big sign encouraging people of all sizes and mobility that the handicap stalls were there to accommodate anyone who wishes to use them. I found that very refreshing, but it puzzled me as to why there was a sign - maybe to avoid calls to the complaint desk about overuse of the handicap stall? ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-handicap-access/598298/34 "2011-10-06T14:33:57Z")
I hope you don’t mind the hijack, but this reminds me of something. My office was on the 9th floor of a 12 storey building. I had been anointed with the job of being fire marshall for my wing. This meant that during a fire drill (or a fire, for that matter) I was responsible for making sure that everyone along my corridor was up and down the stairs since the elevators were automatically turned off. Oh yes, there was an occasional false alarm, especially during final exams. One year a nearby office was occupied by a guy in a wheel chair. Naturally, I enquired what I was supposed to do about him, with the elevators off. Several months later (!) the answer came that he was supposed to be carried down by four able-bodied people. Down 8 storeys? Yes. Where do I find four able-bodied people willing to do this. No answer. Fortunately, he wasn’t in when we had a fire-drill. What is the solution? I would say keep one elevator operating for anyone in that situation, but this apparently is not allowed. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-handicap-access/598298/35 "2011-10-06T18:06:02Z")
> [@chela](#): > > So I take it you took the lift to the second floor, was the upstairs loo up to snuff? > > I was recently at the hospital waiting on an outpatient person. When I went to use the rest room there was a big sign encouraging people of all sizes and mobility that the handicap stalls were there to accommodate anyone who wishes to use them. I found that very refreshing, but it puzzled me as to why there was a sign - maybe to avoid calls to the complaint desk about overuse of the handicap stall? Yes, that is what adds even more nonsense to this story. The bathroom itself was designed to be handicap-accessible-I had no trouble using it once I was up on the second floor. Yet the only way to _get to_ the “_accessible_” bathroom was to be carried up stairs; even though a perfectly usable elevator was nearyby. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-handicap-access/598298/36 "2011-10-06T18:23:21Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > I hope you don’t mind the hijack, but this reminds me of something. My office was on the 9th floor of a 12 storey building. I had been anointed with the job of being fire marshall for my wing. This meant that during a fire drill (or a fire, for that matter) I was responsible for making sure that everyone along my corridor was up and down the stairs since the elevators were automatically turned off. Oh yes, there was an occasional false alarm, especially during final exams. One year a nearby office was occupied by a guy in a wheel chair. Naturally, I enquired what I was supposed to do about him, with the elevators off. Several months later (!) the answer came that he was supposed to be carried down by four able-bodied people. Down 8 storeys? Yes. Where do I find four able-bodied people willing to do this. No answer. Fortunately, he wasn’t in when we had a fire-drill. > > What is the solution? I would say keep one elevator operating for anyone in that situation, but this apparently is not allowed. here really is not a good solution. You might consider pointing out the OSHA guidlines to HR about how people in health care facilities are to handle people, you _never_ pick the patient up without assistance, and you _never_ heft the patient around in the wheelchair … and by assistance, I mean _mechanical_ assistance [unless it is to shift them around in bed, and frequently even then you use mechanical assistance…] \ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inaccessible-handicap-access/598298.md?page=1)