How Can Senior Citizens Board and Disembark Buses, Trains and Planes Safely?

Buses, trains and planes were not designed with the physically challenged in mind when boarding them. The first step up, to get inside them, is about a foot off the ground. This is much too high for seniors to navigate, given the limited strength in their aging bodies. In order to make the transition from the ground to the first step on the vehicle safe, transportation companies are learning to provide a safe step stool for their physically challenged and aging passengers.

What should transportation companies look for when offering a safe step stool for their passengers? Traveling seniors may have more than one physical disability. Their eyesight might not be as good as it used to be. And their balance may be a little bit off as well. They tend to be a bit hard of hearing but you might think it’s just “selective hearing”. Oh, and don’t forget that they will speak their mind and give you an attitude you only thought a teenager would possess, given the chance. If you take all of this into consideration when helping seniors with their travel plans your life and theirs get much easier.


The biggest problem traveling seniors encounter is having enough strength and balance to step up from the ground to the first step on a bus, plane or train. The second biggest problem is their vision. So the step stool that a senior/active adult uses to get to that first step should do a couple of things:

First, it should be easy to see and navigate the top of the step stool and it should have a large surface to stand on.

Second, it should split the distance from the ground to the first step on the bus, plane or train.


Another feature a safe step stool for seniors should have is, No legs!! Legs allow the visually impaired senior to accidentally place their foot under the step stool when they think that they have their foot on top of the step, then when they try to take the next step up, they fall.

Oh, and make certain that the step stool has a minimum load rating of 500 pounds. This will ensure that they are using a sturdy, heavy duty step stool that will last for many travels to come.

David C. DuPont had invented the safest Shurestep step stool not for his own gratification but specifically to help people prevent unwanted accident like he had before while using unsafe crate to stand on. That incident pushed David to create a more stable, sturdy and safest step stool anyone could use. You can check for yourself the above mentioned senior step stool on his site www.shurestep.com.

CLICK HERE to order Shure-Steps

A Really Safe and Sturdy Step Stool

What makes a step stool safe or not safe? Why are some step stools more dangerous than others? Let’s take a look at the construction of a step stool first.

What is the step made of; plastic, metal, wood...a combination of plastic and metal? Then look at the design of the step stool; does the step have legs, does the step have a load rating, does it fold, does it have rubber pads to keep it from sliding? All of this plays a part of telling if the step stool is safe or not.


Let’s start with the material the step stool is constructed from. There are plastic step stools made very cheaply and are intended for use by little children. You can usually tell by how thick the plastic is on the step. Thin plastic (1/16 – 1/8 inch) step stools are not designed to hold very much weight, so they should only be used by young kids trying to reach a water fountain or wash their hands/brush their teeth. However, if you find a plastic step stool that has thick plastic, maybe a double wall construction, you may find that it is more of a heavy duty step stool, especially if the step has a load rating of 500 pounds. Just because a step stool is made from plastic doesn’t make it a cheap step. Survey the step, see if it slides on the floor, and look at its construction design.


Metal step stools tend to be from 2 different schools of design, either heavy duty (heavy weight), or folding (so they store easily). There can be spring loaded rollers on the bottom of the step stool or the manufacturer may make the step platforms from plastic to keep the step from being too heavy.


Wooden steps are commercially made for kids and can be painted or designed with children’s cartoon characters on them. The wooden step stools tend to be very sturdy, but usually lack non-slip pads on the bottom to keep them from sliding. Wooden steps are easy to make in your wood shop or by maintenance personnel at retirement homes, however, these wooden steps do not weather well. So over time the homemade wooden step stool will deteriorate and become unsafe for adults or even kids to use.


David C. DuPont had invented the safest Shurestep step stool not for his own gratification but specifically to help people prevent unwanted accident like he had before while using unsafe crate to stand on. That incident pushed David to create a more stable, sturdy and safest step stool anyone could use. Together with this excellent invention, David offers a unique and great guarantee that no one could just ignore. Try to visit his site for more info about the world's known safest step stool.

CLICK HERE to order Shure-Steps

Alzheimer’s Sufferers Best Step Stool

When our beloved seniors who have Alzheimer's or are stricken with being senile are outdoors trying to get on a bus or at home getting into their beds, they need a step stool that will not harm them in any way while using it. These seniors have very special needs we should consider. They need special attention and with extra care dealing with their needs. So what do you look for in a step stool with Alzheimer's sufferers in mind? Most important thing is to make sure that the step stool has a large standing area on the top of the step stool so they have enough space for both feet moving around. Next, the top surface should be rough enough to prevent their feet sliding on it. Then the color of the step stool should be distinct so they can see it easily, since some of our elderly have poor vision. The step stool should also be rated for 500 pounds. Load rating is very important if your loved one is a bit on the heavy side.


A step stool with rungs like a ladder is not a good option for your Alzheimer's sufferer. These types of steps are dangerous because the person using this step needs to balance themselves on a 2 or 3 inch wide rung. You probably don't want your elders doing this.

There are bus step stools that are made of metal that may at first appear to be stable enough for your senior. This kind of step stool will usually have legs which could make it wobble and unstable on uneven surfaces. The legs may also cause another problem for your elderly; if their foot gets under the step they may not realize it. There are testimonies from bus drivers at Alzheimer Assisted Living facilities of horror stories about the unwanted accidents of visually impaired seniors who have gotten their foot under the metal bus step stool instead of on top. Then when they try to lift their foot up, they fall.


If you want nothing but safety for your beloved senior with Alzheimer, you must take the extra time to carefully consider who will use the step stool, where it will be used, be it outside in the weather, in icy conditions or at home in getting on to bed. Make sure to dissect all the features a safe step stool may bring to your loved one. Choose the step stool that possesses all the safe features as mentioned above. I hope these tips will help you decide which step stool to pick when looking for a safe step stool for your Alzheimer sufferer.

David C. DuPont had been dedicating his life making the safest step stools for everyone, be it a child, senior citizens, bariatric patients, and many more. His products have been awarded many times for quality and excellence. You can check all of his products and choose what suits you here at www.Shure-Step.com

CLICK HERE to order Shure-Steps

How To Test Non-Slip Pads On The Bottom Of Step Stools

When buying a step stool one of the first items to check, after the load rating, is the non-slip pads on the bottom of the step. You only need to use a simple test to make sure the step stool is safe and won’t slide when you use it at home or work. The non-slip pads are usually the last thing anyone thinks about when purchasing a step stool. Most people using a step stool find out about the non-slip pads the wrong way, when they use the step stool on a slick, wet floor, and then it’s too late.

Here’s my simple test:

On a slick floor: Like linoleum or smooth concrete floors, in stores like Target or Home Depot, set your step stool on the floor. Apply weight to the top of the step while trying to push the step slightly sideways.

Does it slide easily? Or does it “stick” to the floor? Or move slowly as you push?

This slide test will tell you if your step stool has good non-slip pads and will stay put with you standing on it or if it will slide with you on it.

The next test for the non-slip pads that you want to do is to try to push your thumbnail into the rubber pad on the bottom of the step. Does your thumbnail make an indentation in the rubber? Is the non-slip pads hard plastic? Do the non-slip pads feel like the rubber on the bottom of your tennis shoe? Are the non-slip pads large enough for the intended use of the step stool?

If the non-slip pads are hard plastic, they can’t keep the step stool from sliding, that’s why you want the pads to have a rubbery feel like the bottom of a tennis shoe.

The last thing you’ll want to check is, How easy would it be to order and replace the pads? Some step stools do not have replaceable pads, so make sure to check this if you plan to use the step stool for a long time.

David C. DuPont had been dedicating his life making the safest step stools for every one, be it a child, seniors, bariatric, and many more. His products had been acknowledge by different bodies and awarded many times for quality and excellence. You can check these products and choose what suits yourself. You can also see here the above mentioned replaceable rubber pads. Check it out now!

CLICK HERE to order Shure-Steps