The Disability Discrimination Act and Public Access Using Lifts

DDA is an abbreviation for the Disability DiscriminationPassenger lifts are important and very convenient in
Act which applies to individuals who have disabilities inlarger commercial premises as they allow individuals to
their life. The act is to help the lives of people withquickly and safely exit the building and enter the
disabilities easier and covers all aspects of publicbuilding. Not having the correct access into your building
transportation, employment and education. Public andcan make it incredibly difficult for disabled people as
commercial buildings that are accessible need towithout passenger lifts they are unable to move
adhere to the DDA as access in the building andaround easily.
around the building has to cater for individuals withAs well as passenger lifts being convenient they are
disabilities. The DDA recommends that buildings shouldalso attractive. No longer are passenger lifts ugly grey
be installed with passenger lifts which carry individualsmonstrosities, there is a choice of colour, styles and
up and down stairs within a building.you can even choose the passenger lift decor to
The most common type of lift for people withmatch the rest of the building allowing it to blend in with
disabilities is a platform lift. Platform lifts are mostits surroundings. Whatever your platform lift
suitably designed to transport wheelchair users safelyrequirements they come in many different styles to
from ground floor level to upper levels. Different typessuit your needs. You can have vertical lifts that will
of platform lifts are available for disabled people whotransport individuals up to 9 metres and you can even
use wheelchairs to move around, these includehave models attached to stairs enabling people to
hydraulic wheelchair lifts, electric wheelchair lifts andtravel up and down stairs easily and safely.
stair lifts. Having a platform lift installed for wheelchairUnder the Disability Discrimination Act all building
access avoids the need of having a ramp installedowners must provide easy access for entry and exit
which can be quite costly.into buildings. It is their responsibility to ensure that
Installing suitable platform lifts can also help withbuildings are accessible for all types of people disabled
access as they can transport people from floor toor not, this can be done by ensuring that all lifts fully
floor quickly and safely. Larger commercial models cancomply with the DDA.
rise to a height of 9 metres and even higher.