ABSTRACT
See also: Disability Discrimination Act: compliance by designers; Housing Associations; Lifetime Homes ; and Wheelchair housing .
Handrails: complying 1 Handrails (also in some situations called grab rails or support rails ) are rails with the Disability that people may grip for guidance or support and to prevent accidents. Discrimination Act Situations in which they are recommended include the following:
● In bathrooms and showers (qv) to help people steady themselves while getting in or out of the bath; to assist them in raising or lowering themselves; and to help them avoid slipping and falling. See: Support rails . ● In buses, coaches, trains, and other public service vehicles. See: Support rails ; and Vehicles: public . ● At stairs (qv) and ramps (qv) – see below. 2 Private dwellings are not subject to the Disability Discrimination Act (qv), but buildings and spaces that may be used by the public are. Relevant authoritative practical guides (qv) for designing the latter include DESIGNING FOR ACCESSIBILITY (qv) plus the following: ● APPROVED DOCUMENT M (qv), the provisions of which must be heeded in order to comply with the Building Regulations for England and Wales. ● BS 8300 (qv) which applies to all buildings in the UK. ● INCLUSIVE MOBILITY (qv), which is the most authoritative reference for the inclusive (qv) design of pedestrian infrastructure (qv) and of transport-related buildings (qv) such as bus and coach stations, railway stations, air terminals, and transport interchanges. ● GUIDE TO SAFETY AT SPORTS GROUNDS (qv) which applies to sports grounds in general. Except for AD M, the above guides do not have the force of law, but conformity with their recommendations will help to demonstrate that the requirements of the DDA have been met. The relevant clauses in each are set out below:
BS 8300 5.8.5; 5.10; 8.1.6; 8.2.5; 8.3
For places other than England and Wales the following regulatory documents should be consulted: ● In Northern Ireland: TECHNICAL BOOKLET R of the Building Regulations (Northern Ireland) (qv). ● In Scotland: the TECHNICAL HANDBOOKS of the Building (Scotland) Regulations (qv). 3 Details that will in general satisfy the above requirements and recommendations are given below.
