Automatic opening (and closing)

Now I know I told you that I was away with the BMB the weekend before last, but I did forget to tell you all about my adventures with the door and since they were so exciting, I thought you’d better not miss out….

The place that we normally stay is a pretty old building and the original architect had obviously never heard of the Disability Discrimination Act (Rights to Access) . I’m guessing that it wasn’t a big issue in 1820 since although the wheelchair seems to have been around in some form or another since ummm ages ago (OMG, ancient China, really?), there were always a few more servants around to carry you up the stairs – hey who needs independence if you’ve got a few footmen looking for a job? I dunno tho’ the BMB might be a good mate, but I don’t think he’s carry me up stairs at all – he’d collapse (luv ‘im) under the weight….! Anyway, I’m digressing (nothing new there then) and want to get back to the tale.

So, we have established that this place is old and I should add that there are a few (3 or 4) steps up to the front door. At present, wheelchair users go through a side entrance and everyone else goes in through the front door. That includes me, ‘cos I can manage steps just fine with my sticks.

In an effort to make life easier for everyone (and to comply with the DDA) they decided to fit automatic openers and closers to the front doors. Just like any other automatic door, they work with a little sensor that ‘sees’ you coming and triggers the motor to open the door. Actually at the risk of digressing some more, the one at a nearby Tesco used to be a target for the local kids from the estate; they would run to and fro in front of it and the door would be open, close, open, close, close open, open, close close….eeek and then the motor would go phut! So, what do you think they did to stop this happening? They set the sensor to about 5 ft tall so that kids were too short to set it off. Sadly I am also too short to set it off and I have to wait for a grown up to come along before the door will open for me…


Anyway, that has nothing really to do with this story apart from the fact that they both have sensors! Now these doors where we stay have got shiny new sensors and motors and are set to open, stay open for a few minutes while you go up the steps and into the building and then close again behind you. Now I may have mentioned that I am a slow walker and I am even slower on steps (can you guess where this is going?). The doors open, I go up the steps, I get to the doors and start to go through – the doors start to close, but I am not through, I’m in the way of this heavy 16ft tall door^*1. There is no sensor to say that there is a person in the way (like there is for lift doors^*2) and the doors continue to close pushing me backwards. Now, I don’t have much in the way of balance – if you try and push me over backwards, I will fall – in fact I don’t even need pushing, I can fall over backwards just by looking up, or by someone breathing a bit too hard near me, so the relentless pressure of the door has an easy job of it and I fell backwards into the arms of the BMB who just happens to be behind me ^*3.

This happens 3 times over the course of the weekend and I am now making sure that every time I go near those doors I have someone behind me to catch me. I am trying to make a sprint for it (stop sniggering right now) but think that the doors can see me coming and are closing faster every time! (This may of course simply be paranoia and is therefore best ignored)….Now, maybe you had to be there, but it was actually really funny…..!


^*1.It may not actually be 16ft, but it must be at least 12ft
^*2 Er, umm, that would be elevator doors – (do we really have a common language?)
^*3 No, this is not some kind of an excuse, it really happened this way…