Unbelievable at the toll booth...
 

I approached a toll road near the coffee and cars show/gathering at the Ford facility in Irvine, CA that occurs each Sat morn. As I got to the booth, I realized both open booths were unmanned. I drove up to the ticket machine and I couldn't reach the paper money receiver from the seat of my 911 and I couldn't open my door either. There was a line of cars behind me anxiously awaiting their turn to be on the toll road, so I pulled through and walked back the pay the toll.

Of course, I got a summons for a fine totaling 3600% of the toll. I have my receipt for the toll I paid on the spot.

So, I call the "Toll Roads Violation Dept." and tell them that the stations are not ADA compliant.

"What does that mean, what is that?"

"American Disabilities Act," I inform the idiot on the phone. I said I didn't have the use of my left arm and was disabled.

"Oh, I've never had a call like this."

"Well, just how is someone supposed to use your machine if they can't from the front seat? I mean, what if my left arm has been amputated?"

"I don't know, I'll get my manager."

(long pause]

"It's all taken care of."

I have my receipt for the toll," I add. No reply. "So how does someone use these things if they somehow can't do it physically?"

"I don't know, I've never had a call like this."


Really. Good Lord, if I open a small shop to do any kind of business, I have to ADA the bathroom, the entrance, the parking, the whole works. Apparently the State of California does not need to apply. (I know the tolls roads are operated by a private entity, but under the jurisdiction of the state.)


Planet stupid, for sure.

[/]edited for spelling. [/i]

Funny zeke. Do as I say not as I do

Some ADA lawyers swept through our town here and sued all the businesses for non-compliance. I wondered why all the older 2 story office buildings were getting new elevators.

Here's another one, although it affects mainly non-sighted(blind) folks, and most of us Porsche pilots are not in that category-all the roundabouts now being constructed(I don't know about the West, but the NE is getting lots of them) are not ADA compliant. It seems that because the traffic never stops anywhere in the circle, a blind person cannot get enough clues to ever tell if it is safe to cross the highway. So now we need ped overpasses(throw another $million at that intersection, Jed!).

NOTE;

1. get sales job at elevator company
2. talk to ADA lawyers and follow them

If I were the guy, I would have asked how a one-armed man is driving an 86 911.

ADA is a HUGE deal in design/construction. They could very easily be sued (and lose, bigtime) for that.

A significant portion of every one of my days is tied up in ADA compliance in some way, shape or form. It's a major issue in design right now for sure.

Case in point - ADAAG guidelines for a job we're doing in Kingman Arizona required ALL of our emergency exits to be ADA compliant - not just a minimum of two on the ground floor level. Required construction of a $40,000 ramp in the back of a shopping center that will likely never be used by anyone.

Yes, this is common.

Thats great. Many new round-a-bouts are being built in central Indiana near Carmel, and I cant wait to hear the blind cause a stir because of them. You're right, the blind cant hear the cars stopping or starting. The next new item on your tax bills, "blind overpasses".

<img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/Boston_tea_party.jpg/400px-Boston_tea_party.jpg">

We had a good solution to taxes in the 1700s.

Re: Unbelievable at the toll booth...
 

Milt, I'm with you, but I laughed out loud at that. "Americans with Disabilities Act", to help such people, not to legislate disabilities!

JP

That picture does not depict a revolt agasinst taxes.
It represents a revolt against taxation without representation. Big difference, as in, we have representation. If we don't like the decisions made by government we get to vote to change things. Back then they didn't get to do that.
that is why they revolted, that is how the revolution came about.

You honestly think our current represents our interests?

I don't.

Unfortunately lawyers take advantage of these situation and threat to sue business owners in order to extort money which never goes towards the improvements.

so the solution is to shoot all the lawyers right?

I did think of that, smart ass. I guess you should see my wife drive the Boxster with a cup of coffee (no holders) and a hand held cell phone. Anyway, I can do it, but it's not easy. I think you miss the point entirely. If I had a Tiptronic, I couldn't have reached the slot. I could have made the toss into a coin receptacle, but I had bills, no coins. I didn't expect an unmanned tool booth to start with. The point is there should be at least one clearly marked ADA compliant booth or kiosk. All it would take is a better design.

(I know, I know about the wife and cell phone, but she has had less accidents than me, which are damn few, and I'm talking about things like backing into a pole. I don't think she has had people honking at her either, she's a pretty good driver and has driven Porsches the majority of her driving life.)

OvrPS, I see ADA, not ADWA, so that the way I say it. It may not be correct, but I'm in construction, so I hear it a lot. People know what I mean.

I don't know how this digressed to lawyer talk, but the shake down mentioned goes on around CA daily. It's a damn shame. In my mind, many lawyers are simply psychopathic in their behavior. The day may yet come when those types are dragged into the street and shot. The world would be a much better place if we could do that now and then.

Oh, by the way..
 

I unbelted at the booth, rose up out of the seat and tried a couple if not 3 times to reach and insert a bill. I couldn't do it. So, in that respect, I am disabled. Try that some time with a jacked up F-150 inches from your rear bumper.

The other point is, I PAID the toll.

It wouldn't be a bad start.

i know a building in the city that built a 6ft wheelchair ramp at a cost of $450k.


boomers are just hitting retirement age. The old 80yr old is morphing into a 90yr old. Oldsters have the highest % of voters/group. Even the PD and politicians don't want to rattle their cage.

the AWDA + activists is a party in motion although drugged seniors driving is a concern.

I worked with a guy who had his right arm ripped off in an industrial accident and he continued to drive his pick up truck with the floor shifter. He was a terror to ride with but a nice guy otherwise

roundabouts here, bicycles, and pedestrians crossing the road at a roundabout, have right of way...so for blind people they should hear the car stop for them when they are about to cross...

you say high way... how could a pedestrian ever get on a highway and expect safe passage across??? blind or not blind???