"You wouldn't pick up an able-bodied person and carry them — so don't push my wheelchair."
Sarah Kerr is frustrated and angry.
She contacted Seven Sharp to try to raise awareness about wheelchair etiquette. The Christchurch weaver says it caused her anxiety when she was out in public as she feared a well-meaning passer-by would try to help her.
"With my disability, I can't turn my neck, so I can't see behind me — it could be any Tom, Dick or Harry," she said.
Disability advocate Ayo Martins said he has had people push his chair without permission, take it on joyrides, and tilt it back at an unsafe angle.
He said technology has moved forward, but attitudes haven't.
Over the years, tremendous developments have occurred in wheelchairs. Materials such as titanium have created lighter frames, and there have been advances in athletic models for sports performance. Artificial intelligence was taking it a step further using joystick and sensor controls.
"It's not trickled down in the slightest to general wheelchair etiquette in New Zealand," Martins said. He was concerned that disabled people wouldn't call out bad etiquette.
"I think most disabled people using wheelchairs will suck it up because they don't want to be perceived as rude or arrogant."
'Harm rather than help'
He also believes it could have a significant effect on self-esteem.
"The journey to getting out in the community in one's wheelchair is a pretty big step. Going out of your way to interfere with someone in a wheelchair can harm rather than help."
Wheelchairs were not one-size-fits-all. They had differing specifications, and fiddling with them could cause damage, requiring expense and repair.
Kerr wanted people to do the right thing — and ask.
"Pushing someone in a wheelchair without asking is akin to picking up an able-bodied person and carrying them... which you just wouldn't do."
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