You guys don’t have an indicator near the door handle?? It’s super common in the Netherlands. Almost every toilet has a small indicator, except for maybe some old doors the owners didn’t replace, but all else always shows if it’s occupied or not (not that people won’t try anyway even if red for occupied).
Most stalls are bolted together pieces of cheap metal with the most basic latch you can imagine. If an indicator adds 10 cents to the cost it’s not going to happen.
The US is cheap. We even famously have large gaps between the door/stall panels. I can only imagine it is to accommodate temperature/humidity changes so that they don’t jam.
Nicer places sometimes have actual deadbolt locks connected to a vacant/occupied indicator on the exterior. But it is rare. Usually it’s just a gapped stall with a sliding lock that will often not even line up correctly without wiggling the door.
In some instances I have had to use my gym key fob in place of the missing sliding mechanism to secure the door.
It’s to shame you out of doing drugs and having sex in the stalls. It doesn’t work because people who are going to do that in a public toilet are usually immune to said shame.
Never seen one in the US. Also in the US, 10% or so don’t even close right. Plus a 30 cm gap on the bottom and a half cm gap on both sides of the door.
It’s only an illusion of privacy; anyone can look through the door or under the stall.
Wait till you see Kansas City airport they have lights outside showing you how many occupied, and lights inside showing you red or green for what’s empty full
I did this to someone once because the signage didn’t quite match the locking mechanism, and it was not a secure lock… like at all. If it makes you feel any better, the shame was horrific and immediate, and I still feel the aftershocks today, so that lady probably does too.
The mega travel center in the South Eastern US, called Buc-ee’s, does have these indicators. However the last time my family was there, my wife encountered a Karen who was concerned she couldn’t tell which stalls were open and my wife pointed out the red occupied/green unoccupied indicator on the locks and she was like, “No, I don’t know, I’ll wait for someone to leave.”
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