how do you get you wheelchair on a bus?

homealone_2

i had an accident on a bus last year where i was on one of those bendy buses. the driver did not slow down when approaching a corner and so the back of the bus swung out. i toppled backwards on my car and went skidding along until eventually stopping as my head crashed against the double doors. i was in hospital for a while and am ok now, well hopefully who knows what long term effect a head injury could cause. well the story goes that a solicitor took on my case and up till now bus company denied liability saying that on tape no one else fell. not a great reasoning. well today my solicitor has written saying it has come to light that i was facing the wrong way when the accident occured and have sent photos of the posters on the bus saying how you should be positioned. well my question is do you have any problems getting in position intending for travelling on bus? i personally have been in chair on and off for 6 years and have never been able to get in required position. once you are wheeled up ramp you would need to then be pushed quite a way down the bus to then be able to somehow reverse in to space allowing for pole that is there and i can only see it being possible to do if bus was empty. on this particular night the buss was very busy as it was november 1st and was travelling from a busy oxford st (shopping area in london) on a saturday evening around 7pm. i find that passengers are usually stood in and around that entire area and usually the odd buggy. is it just me or who pushes me that finds this impossible or are there ways you have found of getting in there? my solicitor says he will wait to hear from me with further comments but it looks as though my claim will now end up in bin all because i was facing the wrong way.

daska

I'm not a lawyer but these are the questions that spring to mind: If you'd been blind how would you have seen the signs - does the driver have no responsibility for ensuring that you are aware of the safety requirements? Did the bus driver give you the time and assistance you required to ensure that you were able to get into position? If this had been a vehicle requiring seatbelts would the driver be at fault for not ensuring you were safely belted in? What measures do the company take to ensure that able-bodied people do not block the space designated for vulnerable wheelchair users as signs obviously are insufficient if you are regularly unable to access the designated area...

homealone_2

daska wrote: »

I'm not a lawyer but these are the questions that spring to mind: If you'd been blind how would you have seen the signs - does the driver have no responsibility for ensuring that you are aware of the safety requirements? Did the bus driver give you the time and assistance you required to ensure that you were able to get into position? If this had been a vehicle requiring seatbelts would the driver be at fault for not ensuring you were safely belted in? What measures do the company take to ensure that able-bodied people do not block the space designated for vulnerable wheelchair users as signs obviously are insufficient if you are regularly unable to access the designated area...

you have really hit the nail on the head and raised some issues that i say myself regularly. no, the driver does not keep the bus at a stand still long enough to get in such a position as shown and no, the driver does not take any steps to make sure the area is not used to stand in or to ask passengers to perhaps not stand in the doorways making a reverse turn impossible. i would be very interested in the bus company actually carry out what a disabled person needs to go through to board one of their buses in the manner they suggest with a bus full of passengers. thats when the bus actually does let you on at all, many times they refuse to open doors completely. what annoys me more than the possability of losing a claim is that disabled people across the country will still suffer the same thoughtlessness in helping them remain safe while travelling on the bus. my accident took place on 1st november 2008 and meant 4 nights in hospital. i have not had the nerve to travel on a bus until today and surprise surprise i still had to sit in the same position due the the same barriers that were in place the last time i travelled on a bus. something must be done to help disabled people have the same safety precautions as able bodied passengers, thanks for your comments and please anyone else finding themselves in the this position please do add to this thread. i am after todays trip going to try and get things changed and want to send a copy of the thread to the bus company with your findings so that they can see that we are risking our own safety when we board a bus

sheeps68

I'm not a wheelchair user but due to balance issues I ask driver to let me sit before they move. Did this twice today and both times they moved before I got to my seat. OK I dont look disabled as in no stick etc but not all disabilities are visible but my freedom pass should have told the driver along with my request. However on a positive note I managed to hang on and not fall today or urgently sit on the floor to prevent the fall.

pipkin71

My experiences of a wheelchair on the bus are positive. The driver has asked other passengers to move and there are plenty of signs showing how you must be positioned, which the drivers do see to it that you have done correctly.

When I'm on my crutches, most drivers do wait until I have sat down, and have asked passengers to move from the front seats for me to sit down quicker, but there has been a couple of occassions where drivers have started off straight away.

Not sure about your buses OP, but ours do have signs in the wheelchair area of how you should be seated so I can imagine them trying to dismiss your claim if you hadn't done so. That said, I also think the driver should bear some responsibility too, as he should have waited until you were sat correctly.

luxor4t

I have RA and use a stick, I also have a free bus pass.

I try to get into a seat before the bus starts but have regularly been propelled forwards as the bus gathers speed, once losing my balance. Thanks to a very strong gentleman I did not fall but I was badly shaken and in pain.
The driver ignored me when I spoke to him on leaving the bus and as I had not been given a ticket on boarding (this happens regularly ) I could not get the local company to take me seriously when I asked them to review their procedures & offer the driver safety training.

I resented their assumption that I was looking for money. I just want to travel safely.

daska

I got on a train yesterday (having arrived in plenty of time!) and the guard left me trying to manoeuvre my wheelchair into the disabled space on my own - the train then moved off without giving me a chance to apply my brakes and I narrowly missed hitting another passenger. It would be interesting to know whether any potential injury would have been my responsibility or the guard's...?

mealone

homealone wrote: »

i had an accident on a bus last year where i was on one of those bendy buses. the driver did not slow down when approaching a corner and so the back of the bus swung out. i toppled backwards on my car and went skidding along until eventually stopping as my head crashed against the double doors. i was in hospital for a while and am ok now, well hopefully who knows what long term effect a head injury could cause. well the story goes that a solicitor took on my case and up till now bus company denied liability saying that on tape no one else fell. not a great reasoning. well today my solicitor has written saying it has come to light that i was facing the wrong way when the accident occured and have sent photos of the posters on the bus saying how you should be positioned. well my question is do you have any problems getting in position intending for travelling on bus? i personally have been in chair on and off for 6 years and have never been able to get in required position. once you are wheeled up ramp you would need to then be pushed quite a way down the bus to then be able to somehow reverse in to space allowing for pole that is there and i can only see it being possible to do if bus was empty. on this particular night the buss was very busy as it was november 1st and was travelling from a busy oxford st (shopping area in london) on a saturday evening around 7pm. i find that passengers are usually stood in and around that entire area and usually the odd buggy. is it just me or who pushes me that finds this impossible or are there ways you have found of getting in there? my solicitor says he will wait to hear from me with further comments but it looks as though my claim will now end up in bin all because i was facing the wrong way.

You dont, dont you understand we must be not go out in public, we are a drain on the public purse and socially unacceptable?

We dont deserve reasonable adjustments, we are just whingers.

We shouldnt go out on weekends because the people who work all week dont want us to get in there ways.

Dont get me started on the things people have said about BBs and disabled parking for me having the nerve to leave the house but I still go out, being disabled people think I have no feelings and thats why they say things like the above to me.