posted by Vacation Home Rentals on Apr 22
Accessible wheelchair travel is becoming a lot less complicated nowadays as the majority of sectors are now fully geared to disabled or mobile impaired people. The use of travel wheelchairs is much greater as there are fewer obstacles put in the way of the disabled traveler.
There are almost as many different types of wheelchair as there are different types of disability. Today many disabled people want their independence. Many disabled people will have limited mobility or will want to travel unaccompanied and for these people a light wheelchair is a must. Walking long corridors such as from airport check in desks to airplane departure gates can become a massive problem for those unable to walk huge distances, but with the purchase of a wheelchair this problem is easily overcome, and the wheelchair is easily stored on arrival.
A typical lightweight travel wheelchair weighs no more than 10kgs and is a great way of traveling because they can be stored in extremely small spaces, such as the boots of even small cars. They can be reassembled very quickly and safely by almost anyone.
Something that is even more amazing is that these lightweight wheelchairs can hold the same weight as a conventional wheelchair. For those that do have partial mobility they will often keep a lightweight wheelchair in the boots of their cars just in case they decide they will be unable to manage a trip that they may have planned.
Most forms of transport are now available to disabled travelers. This is due to two facts. Most forms of public transport have specially adapted seats near entrance and exit doors reserved for the disable and elderly and accessible storage for wheelchairs. The wheelchairs are so light that they may easily be stored. Easy access to public transport means that the chair user is much more able to travel to different places without fear of being stranded.
Technological advances have seen the most important part of lightweight wheelchairs, the weight, be reduced in recent years. One of the lightest wheelchairs on the market today weighs in at around 6kgs! This is because the framework of the chair is an aluminium alloy. The wheelchair is so sturdy that it can take the weight of someone weighing 90kgs. It is also extremely portable and has all the extras that you would expect of a more standard model (such as breaks and foot rests).
All over the world cities, towns, hotels and tourist attractions are assisting wheelchair bound or mobility impaired people. Disabled people are no longer locked into their own homes because they do not have the equipment to travel freely. Lightweight travel wheelchairs have changed so much in recent years that they are now cheaper and much more affordable. Ten years ago no one would ever have dreamed that a wheelchair would weigh only 10kgs.
posted by Vacation Home Rentals on Apr 3
There is a need for some serious revamping of what we call accessible travel in this country. Anyone facing a disability is going to require a little more effort on behalf of those around them to get from point A to point B. It is painfully clear that the laws on accessible travel require the appropriate access but there really isn’t much to require that the accessibility is maintained to any functional standard.
The biggest problem with the travel industry is that the disability access areas are designed by able bodied people. Something relatively simple like making sure the doors are light enough to be opened by someone in a wheelchair is overlooked by the able bodied designer. Something as simple as that could truly help make travel for the disabled more of a reality.
Handicapped accessible cruise ships have been cited for not having the ability to allow wheelchair bound guests to open the doors. In fact, many of the doors are so heavy that those who are assisting the disabled have difficulty getting the wheelchair through the door. Airports require people to wait excessively long periods of time when a wheelchair is required and cab companies will leave those same people waiting for an additional 30, 45, 60 minutes or more while waiting for the one access friendly van to come which has often been dispensed by the parent company.
What the travel industry really needs is to gather real life experience from those who have tried to navigate an airport or train station while disabled. This should come in two forms. The first is to ask those who face the disabled life on a daily basis how to make things easier for them. You would be surprised at the insight available by just going to the source.
If employees of the airports, train stations, and cab companies were all required to spend just a few days in a wheelchair navigating the area without assistance there might be some valuable insight gained. We need to stop hiding elevators at the far corners of the buildings and start recognizing that the disabled have regular needs as well.
Something as simple as requiring assistance for refueling at a gas station often becomes a compromised situation. Read the fine print of the assistance sticker and it is made clear that if there is only one person on duty those needing assistance will not be helped. Requiring those with special needs to wait for the simple things is not only insulting, but it can in fact be dangerous.
Access should be easy enough to get to that those with all kinds of disabilities should be able to travel without the need for extra assistance that they would not normally require. Management of travel facilities can play a huge role in creating the safe and user friendly environment that is required not only by law, but by the state of consciousness.
posted by Vacation Home Rentals on Dec 21
Human beings have invented a lot of things over the years. These have been great inventions. Even among us there are people who have some kind of a disability. This article deals with disabled accommodation for the wheelchair travel enthusiast.
They have given attention to the disabled people. Some people won’t have their legs or they may have the legs but they won’t be working properly.
Only in the recent past have these facilities made friendly to these people. In the past people who weren’t able to move were discarded in a place in the houses. But with time they started to have mobility thanks to the invention of the wheel chair. Then there are also people who don’t have very useful arms. These are the people who suffer the most.
When the various companies design variety of products and services and buildings they don’t take into account these disabled traveler. But they too have to be taken into account. In case of a vehicle such as a bus or a train there are entries which don’t allow these disabled people to enter normally.
These days there are a number of holiday homes and villas which have been designed to allow these disabled people to use them with ease. These villas would be just like the ordinary villas with bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, terrace, veranda and the other features of any ordinary villa but also help in accommodating disabled people.
In some countries there are cottages in very high number that allow disabled people to have a happy outing. These cottages have all the necessary luxuries of any other cottage. These resorts would have bathrooms with showers and these would be able to accommodate a person on a wheel chair. Special grips and rough surfaces would be provided in the bathroom to help the disabled person to use it in a safer manner.
The transportation provided by these cottages is also great. They use vehicles that are fit for use by the disabled people. They have separate entrance for disabled people. It is of much lower height than the other.
