You would have thought there is some sort of standard to make these ramps safe

Yes - agree fully.

yes i have neary triped up on a ramp that was serpost to make it safe for people to use

so as to not be a jerk, but just a question - Ms lisa do you have a ramp at your home and have a pole or something to grab onto. I see no difference of home or downtown to be able to maneuver safely! Very difficult to install things to fit everyone and some things are Government regulated, so go from there .....

It becomes difficult to make everything for everybody

I agree with Judy T 470524

Yes! A rail would be helpful for those who find it difficult to climb steps. Some ramps have wheelchair access, so someone 😀can help them

Some of the ramps at city businesses are far too steep and dangerous for wheelchairs.

this survey needs to be ramped up...ramps are awesome

.I have used always have had a grab rail

Yes.

Ramps aren't designed for people to walk on but rather for wheelchairs. I did need them once when I was confined to a wheelchair after breaking my knee and didn't experience any problems. I didn't find handrails useful because they are too high so decided they were for the people walking down the stairs.

Which is all well and good now but who knows when my knees or feet will need those ramps so I can negotiate the ramps!

Luckily I can still use my feet to walk both up and down ramps.

Yes

Ramps in Australia Must have a hand rail and not be over 12 degrees. So that the handicap in wheel chairs can go up and down safely.

That ramp has got too severe a slope on it for both disability equipment and for people with special needs. It needs to be longer and have rails on both sides. I wonder if there is any on the side of the stairs that aren't visible.

In Australia the slope must be no greater than 1.8 Metres in 8.00 Metres

As an ex Occupational Therapist many ramps are not actually great for ambulatory people. Often they are too steeply inclined. Plonking in a ramp which is not the correct gradient is just as dangerous as stairs. One's centre of gravity is thrown out of whack both going up & down. Can't speak for anywhere else but Australian does have building standards around ramps. Some builders are not on top of disability standards and simply don't allow enough space for ramps to be the correct length to get the gradient right.

In Australia there is legislation as to the safest degree for ramps

In the United States, handrails are required on both sides of ramps with a rise greater than 6 inches.

Yes but being out here in the stix of upstate PA, very few ramps are around here. I am 75 and still have no problems w/ mobility.

Even now councils are installing grey tiles on footpaths and are dangerous when wet. Some new buildings seem to be magnets for smooth tiles that are slippery

Some ramps when snows can be slippy not safe for anyone yes rails helps but also need straps keep from slipping when wet or snoy

I totally agree, a rail should be on both sides, as more than one person that needs help could be on eachside. It is not just older persons, but younger set also.

I think some ramps are not safe

Also ensure that they don't become slippery when wet.

Us I agree they should have something to hang onto

Yes, I agree. I understand that here in Ontario there are regulations that dictate the angle ramps are supposed to be to ease their use for the mobility needs.

Just after the end of World War Two a huge number of English migrants arrived in Australia, they, rightly, gained the reputation for being a bunch of "Endlessly Complaing, whinging Poms". Nothing was right, nothing was good enough, having travelled 10s of 1000s of miles to get here, did they really expect everything to be like it was in England? If they did they were incredibly stupid. Australians learned their lesson extremely well for they have now become, in addition to being the Fattest, Most Unhealthy nation on Earth the Bigeest Whingers! No matter how much businesses try to make things easier, more accesible it is never right, there is always something to complain about. We can't expect the politicians to do anything because if there are not lots of Votes in it for them they do Nothing. We had a family member who was confined to a wheelchair and, yes, some of the ramps weren't quite perfect but all we had to do was keep an eye out for any small faults. It would seem that Aussies are not tghe only whingers, it seems that the Americans aren't far behind. The World, people, is not perfect, it never will be just deal with it and stop complaining all the time.

yes

Yes Agree

Yes, that is a good point. They should have something to grab onto a rail or a bar.

I haven't thought a lot about that, but I do live in a senior apartment complex and there are short ramps from the parking lot to curbs and they seem to be very smooth. There is also a long-slopped section of walkway there they did install a railing recently.

I find some of the ramps have a lip and I almost tipped my mum out of her wheelchair because it caught as I tried to push her up. I am on crutches at the moment and some of the ramps are quite steep

I do not agree, I think it's a matter of choice. It works

Yes you are right Lisa these can be dangerous

I can say depending on personal choices thank you .may be like prams and wheel chairs who can walk they choose stairs

I live in Bali (Indonesia), here the on ramp is a great place to stand blocking off access to the ramp while taking photos of yourself and sending them to all your friends.😇 The off ramp is a lot more useful; this is the place to stand planning the rest of your life. Again, it is a good tactic if you can block the ramp off completely making sure that no one else can use it.👎

Yes i have seen some ridiculously steep ramps

they are mainly for people in wheelchairs

Yes definitely a t least a hand rail for both ways and non slip treads

I use ramps at my house, there was quit an argument with the person in charge of erecting them and the Occupational Therapist, they wanted them steeper and I KNEW what incline would be best for me. I WON and I think they WON with the cost they charged for having it put in.

NO I dont agree. I have seen an unsafe ramp. Where doyou live. In Australia ramps have to meet legislated safety standards and they are really strict about it.

i live in the country, my on ramp is dirt, and only 2 people get on/off it

some are not safe at all. I use a walking stick and have a bit of trouble getting the knees to move some times, some are built at such a steep angle it is easier to use the stairs. I don't know what it will be like when I eventually have to go up some in a wheelcahir

This is just a little thing I have done today for my hubby well it's actually for both of us in a way. I looked up how to make bake-able play dough as I wanted to get a print of our pets paws. They are looking so cute and I had green dye and red dye. This would make the cutest Christmas gift and if small you could add a hole at the top so people could then put them on their Christmas tree. Inexpensive and a gift to last a life time. Get creative and if you have cookie cutters you could make lots of different shapes too. Great activity for a rainy day with the kids/ grandkids. Hope this is helpful and every one tries it. I am wrapped in ours and I wanted to do our old boy's print before it's too late because he's nearly 16, time was of the essence maybe. Was messy but worth it and found putting down baking paper helped and then I have baked the prints on the paper too. Just make sure a pet doesn't eat dough because it is very salty. Enjoy and have fun.

There are regulations. Such as for every 1mtr in height to go the ramp has to be 12 mtrs in length, it doesn't have to be straight though

I thought all ramps needed a hand rail but then I guess councils and building codes are different to per country and states. My parents have steps going down to the park out the front and they had to have a rail for the bottom part but not the top so any way Dad has put a rail up just so Mum has some thing to hold onto. Any one can fall down stairs, I fell down ours not that long ago. I was trying to turn the sensor light on for our dog who more than likely didn't need it on and went crashing down onto the concrete and grazed my knee. Ow I was sore for a few days afterwards. Public ramps are of course needing to be more secure as if people fall people not all may sue whom ever the ramp owners are sadly.

Usually it's a problem of space. Many wheelchair ramps have been retro-fitted to existing buildings that weren't designed to have a ramp. Some places install a little elevator, but those often break down, and is usually a case of throwing good money after bad continually repairing it. It's not just wheelchair ramps though. There's a public walkway between two streets near me that is ridiculously steep, and can get very slippery when wet, with only the fences of the houses on either side to hold on to. Whichever City Council idiot agreed to that idea needs to be sacked. It should have been steps or simply not put in a walkway at all (it's only a couple of minutes and far less steep, to go the longer way round!).Edited 09-Oct-24 14:03pm

I don't know who designed this ramps up. They needed test out by someone how used its to see if ok. How do this design go in if not safely at all

Im a paraplegic so im in a wheelchair and my experience with ramps are they are not many that are 100 per cent safe. They are either to steep or have a lip at end. My electric chair is unsafe on steep ones and my push chairs tend to tip. But i guess its better than some places having no ramps at all so i cant even get into those places and you would be surprised how many dont. Next time you out and about take a sec and you will realise because until you in a wheelchair you dont realise.

the pictured ramp I'd defy most wheelchair bound people to run up it.

some of the ramps/slopes are terrible and I need to hold onto the railing OR sometime cos of my disablity I need to walk up the ramp backwards

I need a rail to get down a slope or I can lose balance.

Fully agree

Yes I agree with you but the ones I have seen are mosty for wheel chairs so they dont have a step up

I know buses have a on and off ramp they carry for wheelchair people and the drivers job is to put it on

I know from experience that if a Veteran needs a ramp at his/her home, there are specific measurements they have to go by to get it permitted. I've only seen ramps at loading docks, so I'm not familiar with ramps, except on base!?! They are really rough metal with holes in them! ;-D

my brother had one built in his backyard for his son .it cost him 15,000 and took up a fair portion of his backyard, it was built over 3 days under the specs of the NDIS, and it has the correct slope of incline which is about 5% or 1.12 inches, some of the ramps I've seen, as in the picture look much greater than that and I would hate to see someone in a wheelchair try and access that slope alone, I think cost has a lot to do with inappropriate ramps and people just throw things together to come up to code but who checks the code, if you are going to do something/anything do it right not half-arsed

Agree wholeheartedly especially when you are handicapped.

I truly agree

Yes, it is scary to use some of those ramps-often designed by well meaning, but not getting it, people.

Yes

HM, HAVE SEEN BUT WITH NO POLES

yes

Agree, I’ve seen some that are loose that won’t hold anyone up if they were to use them.

Yes poles would be a great idea

Yhey also need to have anti slip markers on them for when it rains on the ramps for people coming down . Even a few stairs can require a small handrail for those with sore knees or unsteady on their feet .

I hardly noticed

Rails on BOTH sides for slopes...AND handrails both sides on staircases too...it is obvious common sense and most of the time its just not there...well done lisa! ...the picture above shows clearly how NOT to do it....we have designers who know all this...why don't they use them?...to save money...and we wait till somebody get seriously injured or dies before we fix things.... Edited 09-Oct-24 00:48am

The ramp is for wheel chairs, dollies, trolleys and carts. I use them all the time, but my hands are busy pushing or pulling carts or wheel chairs, so a hand rail wouldn't be necessary. People on foot always take the stairs, but I usually see hand rails on ramps anyway.

They always have railings. Never had a problem with any ramps I have used or have had to use for someone else. Never seen a ramp you had to step up onto or down for that matter.

Aren't those hand rails part of the structure? I've seen steep ramps and/or no ramps but never ramps with no railing.