Fair Mobility

The Oregon Legislature has recently proposed a bi-annual renewal process for residents who qualify for a Disabled Hunting Permit in the state. The change mirrors the 2 year duration of a handicapped permit for drivers. The Statesman Journal opened the floor to residents of Salem, Oregon to see what they thought of the change.

While many readers spoke in favor of the 2-year duration license, some feel as though the change is unsupportive to disabled persons who wish to lead active and free lifestyle in hunting.

My question is, why not demand a biannual renewal from every person who obtains a hunting license in the state? It seems as though it would be a wise choice to prevent accidents and prove competency over time. Currently, the non-disabled hunting permits are good for as long as the hunter remains an Oregon resident.

Read the full commentary here.

Fair Mobility has followed trends in mobility and hunting. Learn more!

I first came upon the mention of accessible hot air balloons when reading a press release from Ford Motors. My journey came to a head when I started searching on my own and found some great information about wheelchair accessible hot air balloon rides.

The balloon is called Serena’s Song. It was originally named for Serena, a young girl who was invited to her first ride to the sky at the age of 2. From then on, her father, Gray Waldman worked to make this a possibility for everyone across the US.

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Did you know that a few manufacturers have been developing accessible PT Cruisers? My favorite part is the Delorean-inspired door.

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society just released a list of its 2005 MS Leaders of Hope award winners. These individuals were honored for their practical, confident and hopeful approaches to the challenges that multiple sclerosis dealt them. Winners were chosen in 7 categories: memory, time management, mobility, employment and workplace, relationships, caregivers and youth. Their innovations provide both concrete solutions to MS symptoms and deep inspiration.

The US Department of Justice Civil Rights Division just released a report detailing its work on disability rights. The report highlights the fact that the Department of Justice created more than 12,000 new housing opportunities for people with disabilities in fiscal year 2005. According to the report, “this is more than three times the number of accessibile housing opportunities created between 1992 and 2000.” The Department achieved this through settlements with major developers in states ranging from Michigan to Nebraska.

The report also gives details about the Civil Rights Division’s mediation and outreach efforts. It’s written in plain English and provides valuable insight into the government’s efforts on behalf of individuals with disabilities. You can access the full report at www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/newsltr0905.htm.

Ziggi over at Wheelchair Diffusion caught wind of the TankChair - a comfy-looking powerchair with monstrous tank treads!

According to tankchair.com, the creator of the chair developed the Tank Chair so that his wife could maneuver around better in the great outdoors. Here is an excerpt from the site:

The TankChair started a little over 2 years ago. My wife, five kids and I were in a cabin in the woods. To our surprise a herd of elk came walking through our camp. My kids, having never seen an elk before, woke up and rushed outside. My wife got in her power chair and wanted to see them too. As we went outside the elk had moved on about 100 yard and you couldn’t see the through the dense tress. We started walking to get closer but had to keep stopping and help my wife get her wheelchair unstuck. Anyone who has a loved one in a wheelchair knows what a pain in the nether regions that can be.

The TankChair reminds me of an older promo video for the iBOT in which the iBOT drives over small logs and sand within a demonstration at an expo center. As staged as that was, it gave me a little rush just like seeing the TankChair does. Although Ziggi brought up the necessary question regarding the giant - “how do you transfer into it?” - it’s refreshing to know that minds are at work developing a tool that could reconnect or simply connect wheelers to something as circumstantially fantastical as hiking. And hopefully those people will catch wind of it.

The Americans with Disabilities Act states that employers must fulfill a disabled employee’s request for accomodation, so as that request is “reasonable.”

Below I’ve posted an interesting outline of two Massachusetts cases that demonstrate the circumstances that may be considered when an employee requests specific accomodations for his or her disability. At issue in each was whether an employer is required to accommodate a disabled employee by allowing the employee to work at a location other than the workplace preferred by the employer.

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Check out this Press Release.

Distributed by RAMP (the Restore Access to Mobility Partnership), it attempts to outline new “interim rules” being imposed by CMS. I would have liked to report the progress being outlined here, but the syntax they use is utterly confusing.

It’s almost as if the public isn’t meant to understand the maneuvers being implemented.

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IMS (Independent Mobility Systems), known for its Rampvan line of accessible Minivans has released a new product, complete with rear-entry wheelchair access and a modern design. IMS worked with Toyota’s Scion division in developing the Scion xB xRamp system. Conversion work is done by IMS and can be installed in any Scion xB, including previous editions already on the road.

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In a letter to the editor that was supposedly published in the October 15, 2005 edition of the Toronto Star, a supporter of Segway usage on public sidewalks in Toronto argued that Segways, which are barred from Toronto’s sidewalks since city lawyers have ruled them ‘motor vehicles’, should be allowed on the sidewalks since electric scooters used by the disabled sidewalk-legal.

Stuart Rogers of Toronto wrote to The Star:

“Well, what about those electric scooters that disabled people use? They have no licence plates, usually no headlights or tail-lights, and barrel along the roads and sidewalks taking up three times the space of a Segway. Yet we all somehow accommodate them. Provincial bureaucrats and city lawyers don’t ban them as ‘motor vehicles,’ in spite of the obvious fact they are vehicles with motors.”

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