Warning: Your wheelchair ramp could be a fall risk in rain (I learned the hard way)

I used to think those rubber ramp mats were enough to grip, even in wet weather, until I slipped sideways twice last month on my own front ramp in Portland. Turns out the rubber gets a slick film when it rains heavy and my cane just slid right off it like ice. Has anyone else had trouble with ramp traction and found a mat or surface coating that actually works in the rain?

2 comments

2 Comments

oscarmurphy5d ago

Got the diamond plate ones too and they actually work in the rain.

the_beth5d ago

Your cane just slid right off it like ice" - yep, that's exactly what happened to me with those interlocking foam tiles I put on my back deck. Turns out moss grows under them in the damp and they turn into total slip-n-slides. I switched to those heavy-duty rubber utility mats with the diamond plate pattern from a farm supply store. They drain water way better than the thin rubber ramp mats ever did.