Safer Access for Every Site

Accessible ramps are a different product

A cable ramp that a van can drive over is not automatically a ramp a wheelchair can cross, and this is the distinction that matters most on this page.

Standard cable ramps have relatively steep sides, because that is what makes them compact and stable under a vehicle. A wheelchair, a mobility scooter, a walking frame or a pushchair needs a shallower gradient and a wider, flatter top to cross safely.

Where a route is used by the public, keeping it usable for disabled people is a duty under the Equality Act 2010. A cable ramp dropped across a footway that a wheelchair user cannot cross has closed that route, whatever the sign says.

Sizing by what goes inside and what goes over

Two measurements decide the ramp, and both get skipped.

What goes inside: the channel has to take the cable or hose without squeezing it. A compressed power cable heats up, and a crushed hose fails under pressure. Count the runs and measure the largest diameter, then choose the channel count and size from that.

What goes over: a pedestrian ramp under a forklift or a loaded lorry is flattened, and everything inside it with it. Match the ramp to the heaviest thing that will cross, not the usual thing.

Hinged lids matter in practice, because they let cables be added or removed without lifting the whole ramp out of a live route.

Kerb ramps

Kerb ramps bridge an upstand so a vehicle can cross a kerb without grounding, or so a pedestrian can get up it. 4" and 6" rise covers most domestic kerbs; heavy duty 100mm and 150mm sections handle commercial use, and corner sections finish a run cleanly.

Two points worth making. A kerb ramp left across a public footway is an obstruction, and it belongs to whoever put it there. And parking over a dropped kerb, or blocking one with a ramp, removes a crossing point that somebody depends on.

Threshold and wheelchair ramps

Threshold ramps deal with a step at a door, which is the single most common barrier to getting into a building.

The specific ramps here, including the wheelchair-friendly kerb ramps, are designed for gradient and width rather than for load. Where the purpose is access for a person rather than a vehicle, use those rather than adapting something meant for tyres.

Visibility and placement

Yellow ramps are seen; black ramps disappear against tarmac at dusk, which is when people trip on them.

Run the ramp at right angles to the route rather than diagonally, keep the ends clear of turning points, and take it up as soon as the cable run ends. A ramp that has been there for weeks stops registering as something to step over.

For matting and trench covers, see access and ground protection.