Up with loos!

When I bought my radar key (about 20yrs ago), I was asked to provide proof of my disability.
These days, anyone can get one, as a ppl has stated, they're freely available on eBay and Amazon, so anyone can have one.
This being the case, what advantage is there to someone disabled having one when so many non-disabled have them?

I used to work as a learning support assistant in a school with a disabled student unit. On one occasion I accompanied a disabled student on a camping holiday doing bushcraft along with another colleague. We were used to assisting her to go to the loo, usually just making sure she was safely in then leaving her in relative privacy. On the camp site the loos were of a portaloo type and the disabled one was only slightly larger than the others so our student couldn't get the wheelchair in. Fortunately she could walk a few steps, but on reaching the grab rail by the loo she found it was not fixed in place so came away in her hand! We had to stay in this tiny cubicle with her while she used the loo, turning our backs and whistling! Thankfully the site did fix it when we complained! On another occasion I went to Paris on a school trip with the same student and a different colleague. We found it was very difficult to find disabled loos in Paris and had great difficulty getting three people into a regular loo cubicle!. Our student was very resilient and used to us giving her personal care but the indignity of these things should not be something disabled people have to experience.
I'm still able to cope with a low loo, unless I've done too much weeding in the garden and strain the muscles in the back of my legs, but I think I may invest in a radar key to future proof myself. When I worked with disabled students before I retired I always had access to one. The height of the loo is something I will definitely bear in mind if I ever replace any of my sanitaryware!

I'm currently at a hotel in the Netherlands and the loos are high! Too high for me, and even for my husband. Everything is placed high that I can hardly reach - hooks, towel rail, etc.

Nanna8, we don't have radar keys here as far as I know because we don't need them. I have never come across a disabled loo that is locked.

Harmonypuss

When I bought my radar key (about 20yrs ago), I was asked to provide proof of my disability.
These days, anyone can get one, as a ppl has stated, they're freely available on eBay and Amazon, so anyone can have one.
This being the case, what advantage is there to someone disabled having one when so many non-disabled have them?

Many disabled loos here are locked, so a key is still necessary. If you don't have a radar key, you are in trouble.

Disabled public toilets in some Ayrshire resorts require a radar key.

I have noticed in pubs, that you often have to ask at the bar for the key (not a radar one). A tad embarrassing, asking at a crowded bar.
Recently I used a disabled loo in a restaurant in Edinburgh, it was being used to stack chairs! 🤬

I hadn't heard of radar keys either! What a great idea (off to look).

I can thoroughly relate to all of this - bad knees and low loos. I just about manage with ours at home by holding onto the basin. But in other places I'm in the habit of just not sitting on the seat! I can hold a squat better than getting up from a low seat but also maybe a habit from my Mother telling me never to sit on the seats in public places in case of germs!

I bought my radar key from Amazon, they come in a pack of three.

I bought a pack of three radar keys from Amazon. They only cost me about £5.

2oaktrees

Why dont you all just stand over loo?

Do you mean astride the loo, with one leg each side? Not ideal for several reasons -
- A short person would need to be a contortionist to get their legs that far apart.
- Tensing some muscles to stand or to crouch in uncomfortable positions is not conducive to relaxing others to release urine.
- Given that many women who have had children have a tendency to spray in unpredictable directions, it would be a recipe for peeing all over the seat - not very nice for the next person.
- If God or Gaia had designed us to stand up to pee, they would have fitted us with a suitable hosepipe.