Will New DOT Rules Make Travel More Accessible

Since I’m a traveler with disabilities, my eyes become wide open reading about the latest developments on travel accessibility.  So, when I learned about the new regulations that the Department of Transportation (DOT) issued on accessible websites and kiosks, my imagination went wild.  Maybe now I actually could book airline reservations without rushing to avoid a 15-minute timeout when I’d be compelled to re-enter all my data.  Not yet, I’m afraid.

The DOT’s website-and-kiosk regulations, which are amendments to the Air Carriers’  Act of 1986,  allows airlines  two years to make their websites accessible to persons with disabilities.  At that, they won’t even be required to make their websites completely accessible for another year, only the core features such as pages with information on how to store special equipment on planes and how to request assistance.   DOT bases the requirements on the World Wide Consortium Web Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0).

Apparently, the DOT thinks making something accessible takes years.  It seems to be oblivious of the thousands of companies that have made their websites accessible since the conception of WCAG 2.0 in 2008.  To make a 200-page website accessible (i.e. placing text alternatives on images, labeling form fields, structuring headings and data tables, etc.), for example, the estimate would be three months, not three years.  

As for kiosks, the requirement period extends to ten years for airlines to purchase new accessible ones, which could have been purchased from IBM years ago.  The new DOT regulations do not even require existing kiosks to be remediated for accessibility.  If existing kiosks were required to be retrofitted, all they’d need are headphones so persons who are blind could hear the synthesized voice in private; a keyboard with tactile keys, and software that already would be accessible.  Delivery and implementation of these components could take weeks, not ten years. 

So why is DOT being so time lenient towards airlines fulfilling the accessibility requirements?  One possible reason is that those at DOT who wrote these regulations didn’t research how quickly technology can become accessible.  However, this reason may be hard to swallow since the DOT has been receiving complaints from consumers on the topic for years.  Surely, some of these complaints have outlined how easy making websites accessible can be.

Additionally, the DOT has been involved in lawsuits against JetBlue Airlines on the inaccessibility of its website and kiosks.  In the case, the DOT determined that web fares could be provided through the telephone.  At least now the government entity is acknowledging that airline websites and kiosks should be accessible, though the declaration may not be stern enough.

What about cruise ships, trains, and buses?  Complaints about their sites and kiosks have not inundated the DOT yet.  Maybe in twenty years, all travel-based information technology will become accessible.

(Appeared in Sun Newspapers August 31, 1997)

ADA is not causing workplace woes

Law only enforces the employment of  qualified people

On June 15 The Plain Dealer published an article called “Civil Rights vs. public rights” by Walter Olson.  For those of you who didn’t read the one-sided article, it blames the Americans with Disabilities Act for making employers hire people who pose a risk to society.

In the article, Olson cites several examples including an epileptic truck driver who crashed; a surgeon who practiced while having HIV; potential Federal Express drivers who have only one-eyed vision; a GTE worker who stole due to a chemical imbalance; and female firefighters who lack the strength to carry more than 40 pounds.

Granted, these cases do cause a safety threat to everyone involved.  Yet, while I was reading Olsson’s article, I feared what employers were thinking as they read it.  Since it implied the ADA as done more harm than good, would employers now be hesitant to abide by the ADA and thus hire less people with disabilities?

The ADA isn’t the reason some disabled individuals pose a risk in the work environment.  The law only enforces employment of disabled individuals who are qualified for a particular position.

In fact, an employer can test an applicant who already been offered the job for qualifying standards.  For example, after someone applies for a truck driver position and passes the initial interview, then the employer is permitted to give him or her an eye exam.  Since decent vision seems like a reasonable qualifying standard for driving a truck, an employer has every right to deny the job to an applicant who fails the eye exam.

Olson even cites the ADA clause that allows an employer to refuse a job to someone who “poses a direct threat to the health or safety of other individuals in the work place.”

No, the reason isn’t a law that has the potential of helping thousands of disabled individuals gain employment, enabling them to get off welfare and Social Security.

Instead, the reason that employers hire potentially dangerous employers is bad judgment spurred by pressure from our legal system.  Even though the ADA or any other anti-discrimination law doesn’t require employers to lower performance standards, some still do for fear of being sued.

Their fear is unfounded, however, since only 650 ADA-related cases have been filed within the last five years.  Thus, Olson’s article cries work, fueling employers’ concerns.  To curtail their concerns, applicants, employees, and employers need to have more than adequate knowledge of the employment provisions of the ADA.

All three parties know how a disability is defined, what reasonable accommodations can be offered,  and what an employer can and can’t do.  For example, even though the ADA prohibits an employer from giving a medical exam to an applicant, the employer can still ask the latter to take an agility test from his or her own doctor if the position requires being agile. 

But regardless of how informed employers are on ADA matters, equal employment for qualified individuals who are disabled won’t be completely realized unless we don’t sabotage our chances.  If disabled individuals apply for jobs that they doubt they can handle, not only will they jeopardize their potential positions and perhaps pose a job risk, they always will tempt fate for those disabled persons who fully qualify for jobs.

Attacking the Americans with Disabilities Act won’t make the workplace safer and it won’t help create better hiring tactics.  It will only hurt those qualified candidates with disabilities who seek what they deserve: an equal opportunity to show their abilities. 

If you are an employer or a potential employee who is doubtful about your rights, call the ADA hotline sponsored by the Justice Department at 800-514-0301 (voice) or 800-514-0333 (tty). *

*Since the original publication of this column, ADA has a website, www.ada.org.

Dude Ranch Dream Come True

Mom dreamt of coming to America and marrying a cowboy who had a big ranch and a lot of horses. Well, Mom came to America, but my father was as far as being a cowboy as I am of being a marathon runner.

Mom’s dream of cowboys and horses never died, however.  When she talked about the Western fantasy or saw cowboy movies, her eyes lit up and she became animated.  That is one of the few things that made her excited.

I also have had a desire about riding horses under open blue skies.  The desire gave me a sensation of freedom, of moving without my wheelchair.  Although I took equine therapy near where I live, it wasn’t the same as riding horses amidst majestic mountains and bowing trees out West.

So, for Mom’s 80^th birthday, my friends and I decided to give her a dude ranch vacation.  After searching the Internet for hours for the perfect ranch, I decided on Sundance Trail Guest Ranch for a couple of reasons.  Owned by registered nurses, Ellen and Dan Morin, the ranch is wheelchair accessible—well, except for the rocky trails that lead to the riding area and campfire sites where the staff would assist me to get there.  From its website, I saw that the wheelchair suites were beautiful—spacious and rustic.  Pictures of the ranch also hooked me.  It was just as I imagined our dream ranch to be, surrounded by paradisiac views of budding trees, shimmering streams, and glorious mountains.
After Ellen picked us from the airport, our drive to the ranch seemed endless.  After we escaped the urban traffic snarls, I began to feel a million miles from everything and everyone.  As we passed open fields and silhouette peaks, Ellen recounted how the settlers inched their way across the plains and stage coaches were robbed.

Just as I imagined it, a couple of cute cowboys greeted us and helped us out of Ellen’s van.  After a quick tour of our room, which was wood paneled and decorated with Western artifacts, we went to dinner.  The ranch’s dining room was beautifully decorated just like its suites, only it included a romantic fireplace that added to the Western ambiance of the room.  Just outside was a long wooden porch with hanging flowers and a loveseat swing, which I’ve dreamt of our own house having.

The porch faced hovering pines and towering grey mountains.  Amidst these natural treasures, we seemed like characters from an old Western movie for two nights sitting around the campfire with some of the ranch staff and other ranch guests.  We listened to a local performing couple, Lars and Amy Larson, playing hillbilly tunes on the guitar and fiddle, along with chatter and laughter from their campfire spectators.  On another night, we sat at the campfire with old friends who came to visit Mom and me.  We listened to Cowboy poetry and funny skits performed by some of the ranch staff, most of whom are college students who work there during the summer.  The smoky whiff of roasted s’mores brought back memories of when I was a girl scout, being happy to experience friends and nature as I was now.

I could see the realization of Mom’s dream in her smiles and the glow in her eyes every time she saw the horses grazing the grounds. I had accomplished one of my goals in life.  Next I’d realize my dream.  Actually, my dream came true two days in a row.  As my friend helped me mount Stevie the horse the first day, I was surprised how balance I sat in the saddle.  Five ranch staff members, including Ellen the ranch owner, walked alongside Stevie to ensure that I didn’t fall.  They also made me laugh by teasing me about being a glamorous cowgirl.  My hips and thighs followed his strides, which made me feel connected with him.  We rode to the arena, where it was hot and sandy.   Then the ranch handlers guided us towards the bowing trees and the glassy pond.  I looked up at the clear blue sky and distant mountains, trying to let my memory absorb as much of nature’s beauty as possible.  Although five people were guiding Stevie and me, I felt free as the wind that blew through my hair.

Although another breathtaking Colorado day accompanied my second mount, I didn’t feel quite as steady as the first one.  Because my thighs were spastic that morning, I couldn’t maintain my balance.  In fact, I fell frontwards once.  The episode had its benefit, however, for two handsome cowboys straightened me back up. (Now I know why mechanical bulls are in Western bars.)  Despite the mishap, I relished the glory of the day before we had to depart for home in Cleveland, Ohio.  I tried to stitch the blue canvas above me and the grey gores in front of me into my memory.

As Ellen drove us from the ranch onto the long, historical path that brought us there, a trail of nostalgia already formed in my mind.  It was made of the kindness and the patience of the ranch staff, along with the magnificence of the place itself.  It may lead me back someday. 

When Travel is a Bit Too Dangerous:
Touring Austria and Germany

by Rosemary E. Musachio ©1997 

On a trip through Germany and Austria, Rosemary E. Musachio  found that travel and adventure often make strange bedfellows.

Have you ever noticed how the word "travel" is usually followed by "fun and adventure?" What a combination! These words blend together like orange juice and vodka.

Take, for example, when my two best friends and I took a trip to Germany and Austria a couple years ago. I guess the adventure part started even before we arrived in Germany.

After we landed at LaGuardia Airport in New York, we were supposed to take a connecting flight to Munich. Since the flight was in another terminal, the airline was supposed to take us over with a shuttle bus. Two hours later the bus arrived just in the nick of time so we could miss our flight. Out of the goodness of their hearts--which showed after an hour of arguing with airline officials--they allowed us to take another flight. We even rode first class!

As soon as we arrived in Munich, we encountered another adventure that many travelers experience: the airline misplaced our luggage, along with my wheelchair. Where in the world would I find a wheelchair rental place in Munich? Besides worrying about that, I also had to contend with my one friend's hysteria. You know the impression "acting like a chicken with its head cut off?" Well, that's how my friend looked like as he paced around the airport trying to ask officials what happened with our luggage and my wheelchair. Mind you, none of us spoke or understood German so that made our trip more of an adventure. My friend became so hysterical that he wanted to return home. My girlfriend reacted completely the opposite of him, being calm and optimistic about the whole thing. As for me, I was pretty calm. Well, ok, I thought our stuff was in Italy where my mom went on her trip.

Our luggage and, most importantly, my wheelchair finally arrived on another flight two hours later. Now I figured we were ready for some fun since we had enough adventure to last the entire trip. NOT! As we were marveling at the gold decor of the Residence Museum, my wheelchair decided to have a little fun of its own by rolling down three steps with me in it. This time my male friend acted like two chickens with their heads cut off. He kept saying, "Oh my God. It's my fault." Meanwhile, I was worrying about his being upset, not about the fact that my chin bled like there was no tomorrow. Then I did what not many other American tourists do when they visit Germany: ride in an ambulance. Actually, the ambulance wasn't that bad since the paramedics were hunks.

Obviously, I was all right because we continued on to Austria. As soon as we passed the German-Austrian border, an uplifting feeling overcame me. Seeing all those awesome, majestic mountains with small quaint Bavarian houses scattered beneath them made me believe the adventurous part of our trip was behind us, leaving the way for only fun and serenity.

And that's exactly what happened--at least until we returned to the Munich airport. In Austria we visited more churches than the Pope. Some had beautiful gold wall engravings and gold altars; others had magnificent wall paintings of religious figures. I don't know if going to all those churches helped our souls any, but it sure did wonders for our understanding of religious contributions.

Since one of the Austrian cities we went to was Salzburg, my male friend had to take the "Sound of Music Tour." Even though he drove my girl friend and me crazy with his continuous singing of the movie's songs, the tour was a blast, especially because of our tour guide Leopold. Leopold wasn't your ordinary tour guide who only describes famous landmarks and sites. He also told us about all the dirt that went on behind "The Sound of Music," kind of like a male German version of Joan Rivers. By the way, according to Leopold, the real Marie Van Trapp was a dog compared to Julie Andrews.

Our days in Austria flew away and soon we were back in Munich. We had our share of fun but, unfortunately, not our share of adventure yet. After standing in line for an hour waiting for our luggage to be checked, the airline clerk told us our tickets were cancelled.

Remember when the airline officials in New York gave us first class seats? Well, those angels (cough) in New York must have wanted us to prolong our stay overseas permanently. Once again, however, we managed to nicely persuade them to put us on another flight. It's a pity they could only squeeze us into first class again.

We landed in New York! I thought our adventurous, fun trip was finally over. Well, at least the fun was over, but the adventure still continued. Because the weather was bad, our connecting flight to Cleveland was delayed seven hours, which wouldn't have been so bad if the airline had provided me with a wheelchair. But it didn't! Two hours later, however, it did give me a vertical stretcher which was just as comfortable as a bed of nails.

Next time I think I'll try something a little less adventurous like traveling down the Amazon River on a raft.