Businesses Still Discriminating In 2009

Today’s blog was inspired by a story from the BBC in Wales. It states that a law was passed in 2004 that allowed for a ‘reasonable adjustments’ clause to be added to the Disability Discrimination Act, to make it easier for the disabled to access public places.

Despite this, 5 years on, there are still complaints from many disabled people about unsatisfactory access into places that the able bodied take for granted. Such as; banks, butcher shops, deli’s, cafés and restaurants.

Kay Jenkins (pictured above) from Aberdare suffers from brittle bones and has scoliosis, she is confined to a wheelchair and needs oxygen to breathe.

She was chosen by a BBC Radio Wales as a secret shopper to investigate the progress of the clause added to the DDA. While trying to enter a travel agency, she had to wait outside in the rain as there was no ramp to get in. Out of 10 stores Kay visited, 8 presented some difficulty for her.

I can definitely relate to Kay’s experience, I am constantly faced with high counters, luckily for me, I can stand up (even though it’s unsafe to do so), but for those who can’t, it is nearly impossible to be seen.

I have included some photo’s of counters to show the height that most people wouldn’t even think twice about.

I think places like post offices and banks should definitely be compliant to these laws, disabled people are people too and they need to be able to function as normally as possible in society. Lets make things change for the better!

To view the original story and to hear the recording of Kay Jenkins out shopping, click here http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/8265653.stm

Guide Dogs Not Allowed In Taxis With Their Owners

This blog is about blind passengers who are refused entry into a cab because they are accompanied by guide dogs.

I have read many articles on this issue, I stumbled across this one whilst researching for my blog, it’s a few years old but I think it still happens. To read the original article, go to http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21785791-421,00.html.

It says that passengers have been denied access into a cab because they had a guide dog with them and the cab drivers were claiming that it is against their religion - (for example; Muslim’s believe that dogs are unclean), claims were also made that the drivers were ‘afraid’ of dogs or they had allergies and couldn’t allow the passengers on. Another claim was made that a gentleman was told to go to a non-existent taxi in front of the one he was at, while he was walking to the invisible taxi, the original driver sped off.

It makes my blood boil that this can happen in today’s society. Surely, regardless of religion or beliefs, taxi drivers are told that it is illegal to discriminate against a blind passenger or any disabled passenger. I know I have been driven away from when I’ve tried to catch a taxi, on my own and with friends.

They say you can report drivers for refusing to take you on board, but what about blind people? How are they supposed to get the number plate details? I personally don’t like taking taxi’s anywhere, if you order a wheelchair one, you usually have to wait half an hour longer, and if you don’t, you run the risk of not being able to get a lift anywhere.

Sometimes, I haven’t even had a chance to write down a number plate or get the driver id number, I’ve had incidences where they’ve been pulling in to the footpath, then have sped off once they’ve realised I was in a wheelchair.

There should be bigger fines for cab drivers refusing to take disabled passengers, and those who are ignorant to the laws should be briefed accordingly and warned that it’s not on in our country to discriminate on grounds of disability.

If we’re going to start discriminating, how about the taxi drivers who can’t speak English or don’t know where major city streets or landmarks are? Or those who have offensive odours? You know what I’m talking about, we’ve all been in a taxi with someone who doesn’t appear to know how to use deodorant.

Has anyone had any similar problems whilst catching taxis? I’d like to hear your stories, disability discrimination or otherwise.

No Policing For Disabled Parking

I was at Henry St Medical Centre in Penrith earlier this week, trying to find a parking space. There are only three disabled spaces available directly outside of this particular medical centre, all of which were taken.

Unfortunately, one of the spaces was occupied by an employee in a Barrett & Smith blood courier car. I thought to myself, maybe they had a disabled pass and I continued to find parking up the other end of the car park.

When I got out of my car and wheeled myself to the entrance of the medical centre, I saw that not only was there no disabled pass on the window, but the driver was returning to his car and appeared to have no disability. I said to him ‘you can’t park here’ and he said ‘I’m allowed to park here when I pick up blood, I only stop for 5 minutes’. I told him that it doesn’t matter, there are plenty of other spaces and that no one should be able to park there unless they need to, I advised him that I had to park all the way up the other end of the car park because he took the last disabled spot, with this, he shut his door and drove off.

I went inside and spoke to the staff behind the front desk, she said that the blood courier does park there when picking up blood and she wasn’t sure if he’s been given permission to do so.

I don’t think it should be excusable for anyone to park in disabled spaces if they do not need to, if they are only stopping for 5 minutes, they should double park if absolutely necessary. This highlights the problems that can arise from parking illegally in disabled spaces, even for just a short time, it can majorly inconvenience someone who really needs it.

This infuriated me so much, that I sent emails to the Laboratory Director of Barrett & Smith in Penrith, the CEO of Barrett & Smith, and the Practice Manager of Henry Street Medical Centre, letting them know what happened to me and that it wasn’t on.

The Laboratory Director emailed me back saying the following: ‘Barratt and Smith Pathology does not condone the use of disabled parking spaces by our staff in any circumstances unless they have a valid disabled permit’. She also said ‘I have passed your email on to the Laboratory Manager and the Courier Supervisor. The courier involved will be spoken to regarding the misuse of disabled spaces and the lack of courtesy extended to you at the time. We will also reinforce with all our couriers that the use of disabled spaces is not permitted’. I am yet to hear back from anyone else.

I contacted Jeff from Penrith City Council, asking what the outcome would have been if a parking inspector had of come across this particular incident, and he said that as it is a privately owned car park, there is nothing they could have done.

Raine & Horne Penrith runs this car park, called Henry Lawson Centre Car Park, I spoke to Greg Knott, who manages it, and I asked him how they enforce the rule so people don’t illegally park in disabled car spaces in this car park. Greg said ‘there is no procedure, and it is up to the individual to know that what they’re doing is wrong’. I think this is a joke and something needs to be changed.

I urge anyone who has a disability or is in a wheelchair, or knows of anyone who has a disability or uses a wheelchair, report people if you see them using disabled parking spaces without the legal permit.

There is an RTA number that you can call – 1300 884 899 – this number is the cost of a local call and to pursue a complaint, they need to know the cars Registration Number, the make and model, the colour of the car, the name of the street or shopping centre the car was seen at, and of course, your own name.

You can also get free flyers from your local council or the RTA that can be put on peoples cars who take advantage of the spaces, they say ‘being lazy is not a disability’ and ‘running late is not a disability’. I think they’re a great idea; they just need to be used by more people.

I once read on a website that a disabled man suggested writing in lipstick on the rear windows of cars that were illegally parked; ‘I park in handicapped spaces’. This is a great idea as the lipstick needs to be washed off for it to be removed. It could anger people though, so only do it at your own risk.

Victory: Jo-Blogs 1, Parking Inspector 0

Just an update on my parking fine that I received from the airport a week ago. I sent them an email saying that they were in the wrong and I am not going to pay the fine.

Some of what I sent included:
“I couldn't have been parked for more than 10 minutes and as a holder of a disabled parking permit, I am allowed to park in a parking space that is 30 minutes or less for a maximum of 30 minutes so I have not broken any rules and I was certainly not asked to move along.”

“I work for Nova Employment which is a disability employment agency, I write a blog about how difficult it is to be a disabled person in society, I have written about this incident as I feel I was discriminated against, the security guard could've clearly seen my wheelchair on my roof.”

“There is no way I am paying this fine and I would like some acknowledgement of this letter and a response advising that the fine will be waived.”

I got a letter back yesterday stating:

“We refer to your recent correspondence regarding the above infringement notice.

We have reviewed your enquiry and advise that on this occasion we have cancelled the infringement notice.”

Short, but straight to the point. Yay! I win! They’ll think twice before fining someone with a wheelchair on their roof again!

Disabled: Too Poor To Rent Accessible Properties

This article was also found on the www.SMH.com.au website. It talks about how people with disabilities live in lower income areas, they believe this is not an option but more likely they are forced to do so because they usually earn less and have higher living expenses due to disability.

The highest rate someone in Australia on the Disability Support Pension can receive is $569.80 per fortnight. I personally have lived on my own trying to survive on only this and it is almost impossible to pay for rent, car costs, food, bills ect. There would literally be nothing left over to have any luxuries that most people take for granted, like going out for dinner, having pay television or going to the movies.

Luckily for me, I have lived in a friends’ granny flat for the past year where the rent is very low but am looking in the future at moving into a unit that is bigger, after looking around, there is practically nothing for someone in my situation to rent unless I had a higher income. For example, looking in St Marys in Western Sydney, if I could live anywhere, so not being restricted by stairs and tight spaces ect, then I could rent a 2 bedroom unit for $200 a week. Looking for something that would even come close to being wheelchair accessible, I would be looking at an extra $100 dollars a week, so that’s $300 a week and it’s a 3 bedroom villa which would be too big anyway. I don’t even get the option to have a 1 or 2 bedroom place as most villa’s and places with no stairs have 3 bedrooms, or are even more expensive than $300 a week.

I have always thought that there should be a real estate agency that finds property’s just for people with special needs. In the past when I have tried to find somewhere to live, I have to call over 15 real estate agents before I can find a property that doesn’t have stairs. If my disability real estate agency idea isn’t possible, there should be some kind of government supplement other than the Disability Support Pension that assists disabled people with having to live in higher cost rental properties.

To view the entire article, click on the “Disabled: Too Poor To Rent Accessible Properties” heading and it will take you to the link.

No Mr Parking Inspector!

It was recently my birthday and my wonderful brother flew down from Queensland just to celebrate with the family and I.

Taking him back to the airport the other day, I drove... Parked in the 5 minute disabled parking drop off spot, everyone in the car made a quick stop off to the bathroom before my brother left for his flight home.

I was waiting in my car with my wheelchair on the roof as a security guard/parking inspector came up to my window and asked if I was picking someone up and I advised that I was waiting for people who had gone inside to use the bathroom, that I was dropping someone off for a flight and they would be back in a minute. He gave me an angry look and walked off.

My Brother, my Mum and my boyfriend came back to the car and we were talking to my brother before he left as we don't get to see him much anymore. The whole time we were there couldn't have been more than 10 minutes. My brother left and we all drove off home. I thought that was the end of my trip to the airport, but I was wrong!

I received in the mail yesterday a parking fine for failure to obey orders at the airport. I was never given any such orders and being in a wheelchair, I'm legally allowed to park at a parking sign that is less than 30 minutes for a maximum of half an hour. So technically I didn't break any laws to begin with and I certainly didn't disobey orders as I was never given any!

Ironically, my Mum took a photo of the very sign we were parked in front of, which is above, so I could use it in my blog if I needed to for any reason. I am definitely going to fight this one and I will keep you all updated on the progress of the fine. I say good luck to them trying to get any money out of me.