transabled.org

 

• About
• Login
• Contact
• Accessibility

Google Search:
Web transabled.org Go

 

Home / Thoughts / Sean's Thoughts / Using accessible toilets: Ethical or not?

Using accessible toilets: Ethical or not?

Written by Sean on Tuesday, May 3, 2005

Actually, this is a bigger question than just getting into the ‘loo or not. One could ask the same question about accessible parking spaces, or accessible seating at the movie theater, and a whole list of other things. And the question is, should pretenders use those facilities or not?

I think it depends on the situation and what amenity you’re wanting to use. For example, parking spaces are always at a premium, whereas toilets are rarely used by wheelers. I can count on my hands the number of times I encountered another wheeler in a public in my last 8 years of wheeling full time (except at disability specific events and conferences). In fact, it’s been the case more often than not that I had to wait for a teenager to get out of there, or a man obviously relaxing and reading the newspaper. In view of this, I have no qualms about using the accessible stall, and I don’t think anyone really could have an issue with this.

Parking is another question. Everyone and their brother uses accessible parking spaces, whether they need it or not. You’ll often see someone park in an accessible space, jump out of the car and run into a store. Yet they display the parking placard appropriately. Apparently, a lot of people are using their grand-mother’s placard. Of course, some people have genuine need for it and don’t have a visible disability (like my friend K. who got in an argument with a lil’ ol’ lady who was abusing her about not needing the space, until K. pulled her pants down, and removed her prostethic leg!).

Similarly, the accessible bays at movie theaters are rarely used.

Louise, who was paraplegic, used to tell me that she saw my use of the chair just as genuine as hers, and didn’t see any problem with me using accessible spaces. She’d say that she thought I had more right to park there than a lot of older people for whom the exercise might do them good. Of course some of those older people might just object to that point of view, but the point is, for a lot of people, the accessible space is needed because of the extra width of the space, not always because of the proximity to the store.

So I’ll use accessible spaces, unless there are alternatives, like an end space I know I won’t get stuck in with another car parking beside me. This may be pushing the edge of ethical.

How about accessing other services? There are no easy answers there.