At a meeting Tuesday, Leon County Commissioners will consider a watered-down version of an ordinance aimed at making it easier for people with disabilities to get help pumping gas. Advocates for tougher rules still want the law to do more.
The proposed ordinance would require gas stations to display phone numbers on pumps that a driver could call for help.
Disability advocate JR Harding lives with quadriplegia and says he’s left stations without pumping gas because it’s so hard to get assistance. “Is my time any less valuable than your time? The answer’s no," he says.
Harding wants the county to go a step further and require a push-button call system so customers wouldn’t have to use a cell phone.
“I’m trying to be proactive so that none of our citizens have to go to court to ensure their civil rights," he says.
Federal law requires stations to provide help to people with disabilities as long as two or more people are on duty. Harding says the ordinance should also include signs letting drivers know whenever that’s the case.
The commission will hear public comment at a meeting Tuesday at 3 in the County Commission chambers.