A news story worth reading =0)

[Baloo]

Webmaster Pete ask all of the moderators on the DIS to post this letter he got from a poster on the boards.It's about the trials and tribulations of traveling through WDW with an ECV or wheelchair. Webmaster Pete felt this email was important enough to make into a news story.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/newsroom/newsdetail.htm#1061688180

 

[Scarlett & Rhett]

Good story. Thanks.

 

[Steve BW99]

The tone of the letter is disgusting. This sounds like the rude, inconsiderate people that I see using these EPV's most of the time. It is the "get out of my way, I am special and my needs/wants trump yours" attitude that creates the rude glances this person suffers.

This person equates driving a car to piloting an EPV, and I agree. It is the operator’s responsibility to insure the safety of those around it. If a someone in a car hits a jogger on the side of the road, it is not excusable by saying a car is big, has no feelings and can cause major injury so the jogger should have gotten out of the way.

I don't know how many times an idiot (to borrow a phrase from the letter) on one of these have driven up behind me, nipping at my heels, beeping their horn. If these clowns want the same respect as ambulatory guest, act accordingly. A person's disposition does NOT afford them special privileges and trump my need for space.

 

[gillis95]

What was said in the letter was they get upset with people "playing chicken" and jumping in front of their ECV. If a jogger - to use the above 'example'- jumps in front of a moving car and gets hit then it's the joggers stupid fault and the driver must do what they can to avoid THOSE IDIOTS.

My friend uses one of these ECV's and it is amazing that people will just lean over her or nearly climb over it to get around her. Yes some people may 'abuse' the use of these vehicles but you cannot determine a person's disability just by a quick glance. Most able bodied (or whatever PC term you want) expect to see someone completely unable to move or broken arms/legs. My friend has JRA (juvenile rheumatoid arthritis), she is a young beautiful 30yr old. If you look closely you can tell her joints are deformed. She gets up and walks around the shops and gets onto the rides but she is unable to walk long distances. People with heart conditions and all kinds of diseases require the use of these ECV's so please don't assume (because you know what happens when you do) that someone is not in need of an ECV. I've learned so much from my friend and her perspective with her 'hidden' disability.