Disabled "Press to Open" Buttons - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: steve30
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2019, 12:34:53 am
content: Has anyone else noticed a large increase in the number of these large 'Press to Open' switches on or near motorised doors in recent years?For example:Thereisa need to increase accessibility for people with mobility problems, and thereisa need for door opening buttons. For example, a button can be a much better option than a sensor activated door, to prevent unwanted openings.But I often find that doors with these buttons tend to be badly designed. Some that 'look' like normal doors don't appear to have handles and some seem to have the motor engaged all the time thus making pulling/pushing them extremely difficult. Some have the buttons quite some distance away from the door meaning you have to go looking for it, and may not realise that it is there.And finally, what really gets me, is that some which are intended to be opened solely with the button, have that wheelchair symbol on them. If I see a button with a wheelchair symbol, I naturally assume that it is there as an aid for people with mobility issues (e.g. wheelchair users). I am perfectly capable of opening a door myself, so why would I press a wheelchair button?I notice some places go to the effort of putting instructions on the door, but even that isn't as obvious as it seems. Opening a door in the normal way is such a normal repetitive task that I just don't think to pay attention to any door-opening instructions. Here's a random example I found on Google Images. The button is actually quite well signposted, but the first things I looked at when seeing the image are the metal pads which you put your hands on to push the door open. It actually took me quite a while to notice the red-coloured instructions, read it, understand it, and look around for the button.</rant>

author: tsman
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2019, 12:45:43 am
content: Quote from: steve30 on February 12, 2019, 12:34:53 amThat looks like a door in a hospital and most likely has a magnetic latch to keep it shut. Usually people will try to open, find they can't move it and then start hunting for a release/open button. The red pads are bumper strips so the hospital beds don't damage the door. They're at roughly the same height as the plastic bumper on the walls.

author: PlainName
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2019, 12:57:27 am
content: What tsman said, but also I'd add that it could well be a security measure. Out of hours the doors might be disabled (yes, even internal ones) and that's easier to achieve if they are automated than if they are manual. Many such doors I've come across allow opening from inside but not outside, for instance.

author: Domagoj T
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2019, 08:33:08 am
content: If one needs instructions on how to open the doors, then the problem is with the doors.Another problem is if the doors open towards you and if the button is too close a person in a wheelchair may not be able to move out of the way of the motorized door, but fully mobile and healthy individuals too can find themselves in an uncomfortable place when being sandwiched between the moving door and a corner of a room where the improperly placed button is.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2019, 09:07:39 am
content: We have a lot of those in silly places in the US too, mostly a result of the ADA, a well intentioned but deeply flawed law that requires wheelchair accessibility at virtually all businesses, even those that a person who is unable to walk could not make use of. It also requires those stupid lever type doorknobs that snag on my clothing, headphone cables and all manner of things that I'm carrying. I personally find it more difficult to grip those than a standard knob but "studies have shown" them to be better so they're required in all businesses. Stupid stuff like that.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2019, 11:37:28 am
content: I find the handle style to be generally far superior than knobs, since you can open them with your hands full. They’re a better design for everyone, on the whole.

author: IanMacdonald
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2019, 11:56:05 am
content: Yes they're common here, and the problem is that they are not always visible when entering, and the motor makes the door too stiff for little old ladies or children to open. Another example of well intentioned but poorly thought out changes.Another example of such is the lowered kerbs for wheelchairs which allow illegal cyclists to scream along the pavement and then shoot into the road full pelt at junctions. I've narrowly missed killing one or two such when driving in a perfectly normal manner. You can't see them approaching when they are riding right against a wall, on the pavement. Also had a nasty gash on my hand when I was hit by one whilst walking. In this case he was shooting onto the pavement from the road, the lowered kerb meaning no need (from his selfish perspective anyway) to slow down or look. I suppose here the proper response is to deal with the lawbreaking, mind you. The fact that the lowered kerbs make certain acts of dangerous riding possible, is beside the point. Also, if bikes are to be allowed on the pavement then they should be required to have no sharp edges such as brake levers, which was what cut my hand. If cars are not allowed to have such on the road in case of injuring pedestrians, then that should definitely apply pedestrian space.

author: steve30
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2019, 02:45:49 pm
content: Riding a bicycle on the pavement is illegal already, and dropped kerbs have always been around to help frail people cross and to help vehicles get up people's driveways.As for door handles, I prefer the handle type over the knob. Can't say I'm too fussed though.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2019, 06:39:05 pm
content: I hate the handle type, they're uncomfortable for me to use and I constantly snag on them. Not a huge deal but it annoys me that they're required due to someone deciding that they're better.

author: G7PSK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2019, 09:26:12 pm
content: My local doctors have one of these buttons near the door in such a position that most wheelchair users cannot reach it, cannot understand why they even fitted it as the doors have a pir as well set such that it dose not detect you until you are so close to the door that it will hit you in the face if you dont step back. The button out of reach is something I see all too often along with grab handles in toilets that appear to be put in for Orangutans, I notice these problems a lot as my wife is in a wheel chair, it is a constant battle when going out anywhere, I have to scout ahead for such pitfalls one of the worst offenders is the local hospital where you would think they would have got it right, but the toilet doors which were built to swing both ways have been blocked so they swing in but not out now, and once inside there is not enough room for a wheel chair user to be able to open the door inwards, I have to hang around outside looking like some sort of pervert waiting for my wife to knock or call for me to open the door.

author: basinstreetdesign
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2019, 09:55:55 pm
content: We have those buttons all over the place here in Canada. Doesn't bother me but its still more convenient for me to just push the door or use the handle. My wife always goes for the button to avoid germs, pushing it with her sleeve. I haven't noticed any catch-22's such as forcing a wheelchair-bound person to park right in front of the door so s/he can get at the button, then being struck by the door as it attempts to open. Cases where that might be possible have always been solved by the builders by putting the button several feet from the door. But anything can happen.