Originally written in 1994, this story is still vivid in my mind today and is true for many looking to drive for the first time. Today it is a lot harder to find a full-service station. Just last month a local station stopped selling gas because of the high cost of gas and the low benefits the actual gas stations get from it. But places like Curative Workshop still exist to help with figuring out what you need in a vehicle and getting you on the road.
Light blue with Garfield mud-flaps, blue bug shield and driving controls that look as if they came off the starship Enterprise, are how I would describe my Dodge Caravan. Without my van, I would have a very hard time getting to work in Green Bay from Oshkosh. The road in getting my van was a bumpy one. There was even a time when I thought I would never drive.
Almost everyone around the age of 16 dreams of getting behind the wheel of a car and driving. I was no exception. The practicality of driving was the issue that I had to figure out first. Over the course of 2 years, I had 5 different driving evaluations to try to see if I could really drive and what I would need to drive.
My last evaluation was at Curative Workshop in Milwaukee. The instructor and I spent the better half of a day trying different controls in a full size van that they have. From the past evaluations and this one, the instructor said I would need a zero-effort steering system (power steering with no effort in turning the wheel). Second, with the limited range of motion of my arms, he recommended a smaller diameter steering wheel.
The big problem came up with all the dash board controls. My limited range of motion wouldn’t allow me to reach that far. The instructor gave me a toggle board and asked if I could work it without much trouble. It didn’t work so well. Next he showed me a computerized control board with soft push buttons. This was exactly what I needed.
The instructor set up the steering system and the control board and we went into an empty parking lot. With learners permit in hand; I got behind the wheel maneuvering the van with very little effort. I did circles and figure eights with no problem. He told me to drive into another part of the parking lot where there was cars and had me maneuver around them. I didn’t put a single dent or nick in any of them.
The really big test came when he asked me to go onto the street and drive down the block a way. I was quite nervous, but he said I did fine. No fender benders. I was happy when I got to pull into the parking lot again.
With the list of equipment I needed to fix up a van, I went to the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) and talked with my counselor. He said he would write a proposal for assistance in purchasing the adaptations, but I would have to buy the van myself. After waiting 4 months for the state to make up their mind, I bought my van and had it sent directly to the company that did the modifications.
While I was waiting for my van, I went back to Curative Workshop for behind-the-wheel driver’s education. For a solid week I had intense training of maneuvering the van around and going over the rules of the road. By the end of the week, I had no trouble hopping on the highways around Milwaukee. Although, (my personal opinion) I didn’t and still don’t care for the drivers that hog the left passing lane.
Now came the long wait for my van to get modified. Three summer months went by with me pacing in my dorm room, waiting for the phone to ring to tell me that my van was finished. When the day finally arrived, I was very excited to see my van. My mother and my sister, Theresa, went with me to Madison to pick up my van.
Again, I test drove the van around an empty parking lot to get the feel of my van. After getting all the controls in the right place for me, I drove back to Oshkosh with my sister as co-pilot and my mother driving behind me. It was a little hairy at first, because we left Madison during rush hour and it had been a couple of months since I had driven last. My sister was gripping the armrest so hard, you could hear a loud sucking sound as she peeled her arm off.
A couple of days later, I took my second driver’s exam. The first driver’s exam was taken the week I was in Milwaukee training. But, because of a bush growing in front of a stop sign on an on ramp to Silver Spring Drive (not that any traffic was merging at the time, anyway), I didn’t pass the first time. The second time I took the test in Oshkosh. I passed the test with flying colors and wasn’t even asked to parallel park (which I was really good at).
Now I am a full fledged member of the traveling community. I can go to the movies when I want to. I can go grocery shopping when I want to. I can go to the park whenever I want to.
Something, though, that I didn’t put too much consideration to early on was gas stations. I knew from driving with my mom that I couldn’t work a gas pump. The trigger was too hard to press and the cap on the gas tank was too hard to twist off. At the time I knew of several full-service stations, so I didn’t give driving a van and filling my tank much thought.
Nolte’s gas station in Oshkosh has been a regular place where I get gas because they are a full-service station and they are open 24 hours. The nice thing about Nolte’s is, after visiting it the first day I was in Oshkosh with the van, they told me to pull into the self-service pump on the side of the building and they would come and pump my gas for self-service prices instead of full-service. The same thing also happened at a full-service station in Green Bay when I first got my job there.
Recently, I found out, that it’s required by law that full-service stations have to pump gas for people with disabilities at the self-service pumps instead of full-service. The real disturbing trend seems to be that more and more self-service stations are popping up instead of full-service. This would not be good for myself or others with disabilities, not to mention everyone that likes to have their gas pumped for them. On Sundays, our family would dress for church and would not want to get the smell of gas on us before church. So we would either wait until after church to fill the tank or pull into the full-service island and have it pumped for us for a few extra dollars.
This one topic has been the root of many discussions that I have been involved with. Many people with disabilities have batted around ideas and thoughts on the subject.
“I usually go to the same place at the same time so the attendants get to know me, or, I ask a friend to do it while I’m giving them a ride somewhere. Even If I have half a tank. They get a ride and I get my gas problem solved. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship–like the shark and the remora.”
This situation is an ideal set-up for both the person with a disability and her friend, but situations like this are not for everyone. For myself, I can take part in the first half of what she said by going to the same station. But I go to work at different hours every week so a set time isn’t always convenient. I also don’t have a lot of friends that I drive around.
One of the people I talked to about going to the gas station said he had a lot of trouble filling his own tank.
“It takes a lot of time to get in and out of the van with my wheelchair. It’s also very unpleasant in bad weather. My lack of upper body strength is overcome in my van with power steering controls, but not at the gas pump.”
Another person said, “Many of the new pumps are too high to reach as well as having a concrete curb around the base making it hard to reach from my wheelchair.”
While doing some of the research for this story, I found out that in two states it is illegal for anyone to pump their own gas: New Jersey and Oregon. Gas stations in both states are required by law to have an attendant that pumps the gas for you. Some people in New Jersey are trying to get the law repealed because they think it’s costing them too much. But in fact, the price they pay in New Jersey for having someone else pump their gas is lower than full-service stations in surrounding states.
With the increase across the United States of new self-service stations comes the challenge of finding a station that will pump gas for people with disabilities. According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), even if you pull into a self-service gas station, they have to make “reasonable accommodation” for you if you have a handicapped plate or place card.
The problem comes with the term “reasonable accommodation”. If a self-service gas station only has one person working the cash register, you’re out of luck. I did find one place where the man behind the cash register locked the drawer and came out to help me, but only after I went in and asked. I got the help I needed and I didn’t have to drive another five miles to a full-service station.
There is not a clear cut answer here, but many different points of view. Even with the ADA, it can’t guarantee getting gas pumped for people with disabilities. I’m not afraid of asking for help when I need it, but when you offer a service to the public, you should be able to cater to everyone. “Business is business and the customer is always right,” at least that’s what I was taught in business management class in college.
Every day offers a new challenge and every day I face it head on. Some day maybe I will, or someone e
lse will, come up with a way for people with disabilities to pump their own gas. Until that day comes, I hope that I can find someone that is willing to take a few minutes out of their day to help me pump my gas when I need it. Happy driving!
While getting your new vehicle, you may want to consider one of these. One of the biggest challenges in parking is having enough room besides your vehicle to get in and out. Here is a custom sticker you can place on vehicle. You can also visit the Disabilities Unlimited Store to see other colors of this bumper sticker…Place it on your bumper or in the window on the side of your vehicle. It’s color is bright enough it will get someone’s attention.