The Intersection of Travel and Disability
You can hang any old backpack on a wheelchair handle. But what if you asked top designers to build a better backpack for use with a wheelchair? What would it look like? That’s what Jansport did with its new Adaptive Collection. Read More
TravelAbility TakeAway: It’s wonderful to see a leading backpack maker dedicate a collection for the adaptive market.
One of the most talked about segments at the Emerging Markets Summit in Savannah last month was InnovateABLE, a Shark-Tank-like competition of accessible products. Here are the presentations of the judges’ top three finishers:
Tied for First: Translate Live’s Instant translator speaks, reads, and writes more than 100 languages, including American Sign Language and Braille: Watch presentation
Tied for First: Color blindness is now covered by the ADA. Enchroma glasses and screen viewers allow color blind people to see true colors: Watch presentation
Third Place: GRIT Freedom Chair: Designed by MIT engineers, the GRIT Freedom Chair is a mix between a manual wheelchair and a mountain bike. Watch presentation
Ultimate traveler John Morris of the blog wheelchairtravel.org found himself in 4A instead of his favorite, 4F on the last flight he was scheduled to take pre-pandemic. No problem, he masterminded a plan, “I decided to play a classic game of chicken with Mr. 4F, hoping that fear of coronavirus would cause him to surrender the seat.” Find the seat map, or game board, here.
OUR TAKE: This is pure genius in a six-feet-apart world. John even gave readers the gameboard or seat plan, above.
Sure, it’s a seat you can use on the airplane, but it’s so much more. Designed by disabled entrepreneur Josh Wintersgill, who was recently named Young Entrepreneur of the Year in the UK, easyTravelseat, can go with you on outings to the beach, help you to get into a pool with or without the use of a hoist and experience a day touring by car. Boats, hot-air ballooning, and helicoptering aren’t out of the question either.
Our take: This British entrepreneur is on the cutting edge of a massive movement to make multi-use accessible designs at affordable prices. Of course, safety comes first. This one has gotten the thumbs up from several UK experts and is being praised for how easy it is to use.
First, the good news: Since U.S. airlines began tracking and reporting the number of wheelchairs/mobility scooters damaged in December of 2018, there’s a clear improvement! But there’s still a lot of room for improvement. At TravelAbility Insider, we’ve been tracking the numbers and, in honor of the law’s most outspoken and effective advocate, Senator Tammy Duckworth, we’ve named it The Duckworth Wheelchair Damage Report. Here’s the short story:
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