To wish people would give my and my wheelchair more room?

[WinterBones]

I was out in my wheelchair today, had to join a couple of queues at the pharmacy and so on.. so i wheeled up to the counter, then had to leave.. which required a slight reverse before i could spin the chair ( it's hand propelled not an electric one).. both times i nearly squashed the toes of the person behind me.. who had got so close the could have been holding my handles.

It's like having someone breathing down your neck then getting pissed when you accidentally step back on their toes.

I know its likely they don't think, or don't realise.. so for everyone not familiar.. please leave us space, those things can spin pretty well, but often we need room to turn, which sometimes means a slight backwheel to give us space to turn.

Another YANBU in solidarity from a fellow "sick of this shit" wheelchair user!

I'm a wheelchair user. I've learnt to be less worried about people's toes. A worrying and nasty majority of people on the street around me or in shops, have no regard for me at all. Before I became this disabled I thought more disabled people (usually ones using wheelchairs etc) were particularly grouchy. Boy do I know why, now. Last summer some absolute toffee nosed prick pushed me out the way and stood in front of me while I was waiting for my turn to look at a food stall at an outdoor market. I'd been waiting nearly ten mins as it was, because I can take up a lot of space, it was busy, I didn't want to be rude. He was the straw. So entitled. I ran over his foot and didn't even look at him after. He was not amused. I absolutely can't give a shit for cunts like him anymore.

The other one which really annoys me is when your at a museum or similar looking at an exhibit and someone comes and stands in front of the wheelchair.

Do you say anything before you reverse, say excuse me as you back up etc?

Of course we do. Do you want to know how common deafness is these days? Must have something to do with not being able to see or hear people with disabilities. Or paying more attention to whatever podcast they have stuck in their ears than what is around them. I regularly have people walk inches in front of me, walk backwards into me, or - and I don't even get this one - weave about on the pavement so I can't get past them whilst I am YELLING "excuse me".

I have the same with my walking stick, especially in supermarkets. I can't begin to count the number of times someone has rammed my stick with a trolley and almost had me over.

I used crutches for about 6 months when I was recovering from an operation and was appalled by some people who literally couldn't give me an extra couple of seconds on stairs. Luckily some people were the complete opposite and so accommodating or I'd have completely lost faith.

YANBU, I work in a pharmacy and the amount of people seemingly incapable of giving others space is bewildering. It’s not uncommon for the next person in line to be pushing forward, barking out what they what before the first person has even moved. It’s a supermarket pharmacy so most people have trollies to manoeuvre. I find myself kinda freezing, torn between saying goodbye to the person I was serving and greeting the next. People in general are just ruder nowadays, they haven’t any patience.

You could do us all a service and make a point of ignoring the rude person while you politely say goodbye to the one you are serving, make sure they've picked up their receipt etc, before turning to rude person and asking them how you can help them, as if they hadn't said anything yet. People behave badly because they are allowed to get away with it. If you find you need to change the till roll, all the better.

I'm visually impaired and noticed it's getting worse. I've had friends with me who've had to tell people not to get so bloody close

And then there's the amount of people who walk into me because they can't take their eyes off their phone

I think there's a general lack of disability awareness tbh. When my DD was alive she had a wheelchair with a large footbox. On more than one occasion people who stopped suddenly in front of us got the footbox in the back of their knees.

@Floatlikeafeather2 I do usually make sure the first person is finished, and I will admit to lingering over a chat that has nothing to do with pharmacy (particularly if it’s an OAP, quite often they like a chat and I know sometimes they’re lonely). Other times I’m just stunned at the rudeness of the person butting in. I’ve actually never thought of changing the till roll before but I have had to go in the back for something that didn’t exist. I have told people they’re rude before and they always act so surprised, I mean seriously I can’t be the first to tell that that??

I haven't had to use my wheelchair in a long time but when I did I used to make beep beep noises at people to get them to move. My pet peeve was people standing chatting on narrow footpaths.

I was in my chair in the supermarket looking at the chilled section , a woman came up behind me and moved me and my chair so she could get her cheese.

White van men are the fucking worst.

Parking where they like, verbally abusive to others when called out. Driving like dicks.

Not forgetting how often it's white van drivers yell sexualised abuse at women.

Or that they don't pay their taxes,you still get workmen offering cash jobs at a discount so they don't have to pay tax. The same tax the funds schools and hospitals. Yet no doubt they're the ones blaming every Tom, Dick and Harry for everything that's wrong with the country whilst never considering their own wrongdoings.

Although it isn't just white van man who is inconsiderate, when i was having walking issues a suited man walked behind me so close that he was almost touching me, whilst huffing and puffing. He then brushed me out of the way at the exit, but as he entered the door vestibule a lady was being pushed in. Instead of waiting he loudly let out a really dramatic 'arghhhhhh' and physically rammed himself between her chair and the exit and squeezed himself out.

We all just looked at each other in absolute shock at his behaviour but I don't think it's uncommon.

I've just started using a walking stick and it's an eye opener. I feel for you OP

I think before kids leave school they should have a life course including trying to navigate the world in a wheelchair for a week.

I agree with a PP that said ppl seem to be much less spatially aware.
Or less considerate.
Or both.

I hate ppl too close in a queue or walking right behind me. I will step aside and let them go by.

I live in a busy tourist town and some of the paths are small-ppl seem to think it's ok to walk 4 abreast holding hands so I would have to walk in the road to get round them.
Or 3 pushchairs side by side and not giving space for oncoming ppl.

@WinterBones I think your post a good reminder to ppl-and not exactly the point but surely in a queue at the pharmacy would be spaced out for privacy reasons so doubly rude.

Can you pump your wheelchair with spikes on the back and the wheels?

Obviously intended as humourus and pithy but I'm wondering if it might work?

not sure about that.. i do have them on my handles though to discourage people from doing what happened to @Pasithean as mentioned upthread. Had that happen a couple of times before!

People cutting across/butting in when you're serving someone else is a really big bug bear of mine as someone doing the serving. I think it's so rude.

I generally say "I'll just be a moment" while I finish with the customer in front of me, but that makes me rude apparently, I had a woman complain the other day that I 'made her feel like crying' because I did exactly that.

Ignoring them doesn't work because they either push closer and get louder to be more noticeable or start complaining bitterly and loudly that they, a paying customer are being ignored. The fact they're being ignored or I say that I'll be a moment because I'm already dealing with a paying customer escapes them, the usual accusation is that you're 'chatting with your mate' because you're being polite and friendly to the other customer you were serving first.

I remember a wonderful lady who was struggling with paying and juggling bag/purse etc and her stick and I was helping her as much as I could and chatting about the weather as we did so, when another woman cut across and just barked her order at me, lady I was serving first turned and gave her a dressing down for being rude and not waiting her turn like everyone else. Which of course made everything take longer then. Worked far better than me saying anything!

That is absolutely outrageous, @Pasithean! So sorry that happened to you! WTF is wrong with people?!