Handicapped Stall:One Handicap trumps another?

[snowdragon]

A question for a friend of mine.
 
 Nina goes to college with me, she is on crutches and is in a thigh to ankle cast, her knee will.not.bend  because of this, she needs a larger stall and hand bars to help her get up off the toilet. Today she was in line for the handicapped stall when a girl a wheelchair came in and got in line next to her. Not behind her, next to her. When the occupant came out the girl in the wheelchair tried to go in first. Nina protested and the girl said to her " That stall is for people like me, either use another one or wait til I come out!" Nina had none of this and scooted in before this girl, as she had already waited her turn when the original occupant had been in there.
  The girl in the wheelchair was upset that Nina was "so rude and so obnoxious as to go ahead of someone in a wheelchair, don't you know that we go first?!"

Nina was quite upset, but did not think she had done anything wrong. 
What do you all think, does being in a wheelchair trump all other handicaps when it comes to that stall?

[sparksals]

Nina did nothing wrong.  Wheelchair lady was SS and abyssmally rude.   

[Really?]

Sounds like your friend did fine. No one handicap does not trumph another.

[DottyG]

Your friend was right. Wheelchair does not trump crutches (or the other way around, either). She was next in line.

[Rohanna]

So in that girl's world, if two wheelchair users roll up to the same stall, do they have to compare handicaps to determine who goes first, or do they duel Highlander style since apparently there can "only be one" disabled person per bathroom?

[KenveeB]

Handicapped folks get first priority for those stalls over non-handicapped. But if two people both want to use it and are both handicapped, then it's first come, first served just like any other line. The little wheelchair symbol on the door doesn't mean wheelchair-handicaps only!

[Bluenomi]

Handicapped folks get first priority for those stalls over non-handicapped. But if two people both want to use it and are both handicapped, then it's first come, first served just like any other line. The little wheelchair symbol on the door doesn't mean wheelchair-handicaps only!

POD. Friend was first so she gets to use it first.

[Rohanna]

Handicapped folks get first priority for those stalls over non-handicapped. But if two people both want to use it and are both handicapped, then it's first come, first served just like any other line. The little wheelchair symbol on the door doesn't mean wheelchair-handicaps only!

And you shouldn't confront someone who you think isn't handicapped, as some handicaps aren't immediately visible (and, in some cases, you may get an explanation you don't want to hear).

[Slartibartfast]

IMHO people who need the handicapped stall wait in line with everyone else.  Once they get toward the front of the line the people ahead of them may choose to let them go as soon as the stall is next free, but otherwise they get to the front of the line and then let others ahead of them (for the regular stalls) until a stall opens up they can use.  Yes, it's *nice* for people to let them cut ahead, but it's not rude not to unless the handicap also means they can't wait.

I end up using the handicap stalls all the time now - they're often the location for the infant changing tables, and also the only stall I can fit both me and Babybartfast when she needs to go.  I would assume someone with a visible handicap is capable of waiting the same way anyone else would unless they told me otherwise.

[Softly Spoken]

So in that girl's world, if two wheelchair users roll up to the same stall, do they have to compare handicaps to determine who goes first, or do they duel Highlander style since apparently there can "only be one" disabled person per bathroom?

I have to admit I snickered at the snark, but you are pointing out how unrealistic and SS wheelchair girl was being.

My interpretation of the HC stall is that it was created for anyone who cannot use a regular size stall for whatever reason. The reason shouldn't matter. The point is if there are restrooms available, every needs to be able to have access to them. I think people in wheelchairs are the most visible majority/example of that, and so the "handicapped" symbol reflects the obvious - wheelchairs can fit in the special stall (ETA: or at least they're supposed to but I've now read some posts saying they don't always and that is just so wrong! ).

Now I am wondering if wheelchair girl has a disabled parking permit and has ever told another permit owner to move their car because her disability "trumps" theirs...

Ridiculous.

Also Slarti you raise an interesting point - I always assumed people in wheelchairs needed to (or should) go first because it would take them a little extra time to get from their chair to the seat - but that is assuming their physical urgency is equal to or greater than everyone else in line. I suppose that is the difference between special treatment and equal treatment - you may get a special stall but if you aren't next in line you get to clench your thighs together and wait for your turn.

[afbluebelle]

So in that girl's world, if two wheelchair users roll up to the same stall, do they have to compare handicaps to determine who goes first, or do they duel Highlander style since apparently there can "only be one" disabled person per bathroom?

Drag race  

High school buddy of mine who was/is a total gearhead made a souped up motorized wheelchair when a car hit him on his bike and left him paralyzed. He would never need to wait in line again!

[Onyx_TKD]

So in that girl's world, if two wheelchair users roll up to the same stall, do they have to compare handicaps to determine who goes first, or do they duel Highlander style since apparently there can "only be one" disabled person per bathroom?

I have to admit I snickered at the snark, but you are pointing out how unrealistic and SS wheelchair girl was being.

[snip]

"You're sitting down* while I'm precariously balanced on two sticks and you think you're the one who can't wait?" 

*Note: Not belittling the hardships of being in a wheelchair, just commenting on the absurdity of the wheelchair user's logic. If you're going to ignore the rules of waiting in line, then it seems sensible for the person less likely to topple over (because they're sitting in a stable chair instead of balancing on one leg and a pair of crutches) should wait longer, instead of being the one to barge ahead.

[DottyG]

they're often the location for the infant changing tables,.

Which is a huge pet peeve of mine, by the way. I know that, sometimes, it's the only space available. But there are lots of times when there are other options for the location of it - the establishment just isn't utilizing their space properly.

[DottyG]

wheelchairs can fit in the special stall.

An even bigger pet peeve of mine - one that infuriates me.

Quite often, the above is not true. I can't tell you how many times I had to use a bathroom with the door left open because the wheelchair I was using after my accident didn't fit into what was called the handicapped stall. Attention building designers: putting a handrail into a stall that's not big enough for an actual wheelchair does NOT make it "handicapped accessible."

Goes back to what I decided then - every architect and builder should be req hired to spend a month in a wheelchair before construction just to make sure they understand the handicapped concept completely.

[/irritated tangent!]

[MariaE]

"You're sitting down* while I'm precariously balanced on two sticks and you think you're the one who can't wait?" 

*Note: Not belittling the hardships of being in a wheelchair, just commenting on the absurdity of the wheelchair user's logic. If you're going to ignore the rules of waiting in line, then it seems sensible for the person less likely to topple over (because they're sitting in a stable chair instead of balancing on one leg and a pair of crutches) should wait longer, instead of being the one to barge ahead.

OT, but still related... when my DH and I went to NYC two years ago, I was on crutches. We were standing in line to get our passports checked, an employee noticed my crutches and sent me towards the priority lane (which also had a clear handicapped sign - i.e. the man in a wheelchair). The man behind the priority counter immediately sent me back again because "that line was only for people in wheelchairs, and I wasn't in a wheelchair. The original employee and I exchanged puzzled glances, and he commented that he would have thought I needed that line more than people in wheelchairs did.

Thankfully another line opened up right at that time, and he sent me to the front of that instead.

(Note: I have NEVER had people be as courteous towards people on crutches as in NYC. It's incredible! People in London or Copenhagen don't even come close! Good for you, NYC )