Does anyone else have an issue when using curb cuts at shopping centers, business offices, etc., while in a chair, scooter or using a walker?
I have a very uncomfortable reaction when the curb cuts have the insets with the raised bumps. Some insets are red, some yellow and I have seen blue. I was told those were to assist sight impaired people to navigate the curb cuts. I have absolutely no issue with providing that assistance; however, when that inset covers the entire width of the curb cut thereby forcing me to roll over it that causes me much discomfort. It literally jars my teeth and I have all of my own with no cavities and no fillings. I find it so jarring that I sometimes avoid the cuts if I am using my walker and just “jump” the curb. Of course I can’t do that when using my power chair.
Is this an issue for anyone else?
I wish they would divide the width and leave half blank and smooth.
Exact same reaction. I try to go just a little at an angle. It’s also tough because it’s generally when traffic is stopped waiting for you and you need to hurry. I gave up the hurryI go at my speed.
They are there so that people with visual impairments can detect a change in elevation and they need to be across the entire width of the ramp because how could someone who is blind know where it is and where it is not? Sorry that it is an inconvenience but it does the same thing for a blind person as a curb cut does for a wheelchair user… it makes the sidewalk accessible and safe.
I agree at the bumps on the curb cuts are very unfortunate for people in mobility scooters and wheelchairs. When I’m riding my scooter I find them very jarring as well, and I think all the bouncing can’t be good for the scooter. Driving on bunpy pavement like cobblestones really decreases the battery life as well. I’ve tried going faster and going slower and it doesn’t help.
Susan Atlas
Stay safe and stay well.
Supposedly the pattern of the bumps are different depending whether the curb is at a street or other elevation change to allow a cane user to know what they’re facing. Though they may cause some temporary irritation, they probably should stay.
Agree those bumps are beneficial but quite painful to those without shock absorption on their devices. My back hollers for a long time after taking them but still not as bad as a fall on a curb—too many of those is why I need the chair in the first place!
I hate those with the bumps on curb cuts. Some of the bumps are so large that it stops my stamina of getting to the sidewalk. I also think they should half them.
Yes, I hate those things. Trying to get over them in a manual wheelchair is not great either. I guess they were thinking of the site impaired only and not any other disability when they decided this was the best way to go.
When I am using my cane to navigate the curb cuts with bumps, it throws me off balance and I’m afraid of falling each & every time! I understand that safety is an issue with all of us, including the sight-impaired, but I hope that a solution for all disabilities can be reached. If I could navigate a regular height curb I certainly would do so.
Nope. The little pebble bumps are so small they are hardly noticeable. They offer better gripping when it is slippery outside.
I have advanced multiple sclerosis. My autonomic nervous system goes into spasms from the jarring over these bumps and my spasticity kicks in and my body stiffens. I have resorted to making my husband try to get my wheelchair over the curbs. It’s harder and a little dangerous but so is having my body stiffen and slide off my chair. And yes I’ve tried a seat belt to no avail.
To be honest – I can put up with going over two-4 feet of raised bumps if it means my blind brethren can safely get up the curb too. I use a power chair with solid tire inserts so, sure, its bumpy - but I’m honestly not going that far in the great scheme of things. And I don’t see how narrowing the tactile surface area does anything but make it harder and less safe for people with disabilities. We ask the non-disabled world to accommodate us in many ways – we need to do that for each other
I can only walk with a walker. Attempting to traverse the bumps need for the visually impaired is very difficult for me as there is no clear place for me to position the wheels of the walker. I have nearly fallen several times. Unfortunately, I do think there is a alternative as without those bumps the visually impaired may fall.