Yet again, another story on handicapped parking and entitlement

[MoonCat]

Hey RK! Missed you, been wondering where you were.

My dad used to have a handicapped card (heart issues) and when he took us shopping, sometimes (not always) he'd park in the handicapped spot. I always felt guilty about it unless he also got out of the car.

There was a guy here a couple years ago who was caught selling handicapped placards to whoever had the money to buy.

And for the record, I don't think I could walk AT ALL in high heels anymore...let alone briskly!

[DGoddessChardonnay]

It really chaps me when someone is using a family member's card when they themselves are able bodied and their family member is not in the car.

I have to think that if you are the family member of a person with mobility issues, then you should know firsthand how wrong it is to misuse something like that.

Amen!

Stuff like this chaps my ass to no end. We have a hard enough time just getting a space for our little Toyota and a scooter at Wallyworld so Mom can go in and shop.

Luckily though we've seen people out patrolling the parking lot (this started around a year ago or so now) and tickets ARE being issued for those who are parking in handicapped spaces but have NO placard hanging from the rear-view mirror or a permanent plate on the back (Mom has both the placard and the license plate, so she's well covered.)

Now how many of those who are using those placard and don't need them personally I really couldn't say - but at least it's a step in the right direction. I would think a $250.00 fine per violation would get most folks' attention right quick.

[Kittykat]

Here it's $250.00 fine for the first offense, 500 for second, and suspended license for third.

[greensinestro]

I also hear placards may also have your tag number on them, like your license plate does.

[Aethian]

I also hear placards may also have your tag number on them, like your license plate does.

Not always, depends on the locality.

[greensinestro]

I think Florida does since this may be the state with the most abuse.

[Gerrinson]

I have to confess, I used to use my grandmother's car with handicapped plates back when I was a teenager. And not only when I was picking her up/dropping her off. I even got quite a few dirty looks from folks, too.

Right up until I got out of the car with my canes and started hobbling into the store/restaurant. Turns out even if you didn't have the handicapped plates assigned to you, no one questions the guy that needs at least one cane to stay upright when he takes a handicapped spot.

My knees are actually much better now than they were then, so I don't need a cane to walk at the moment. It's really just a matter of time until I have to go back or have TKR, but hey, I'll take what I can get.

[Eireann]

My mother did this all the time. I HATED it. I pointed out that these were places for handicapped people, and her answer was always the same: "I'll only be a minute."

Yeah, well, who cares? She was never "only a minute"; she often used the handicapped spaces when she went grocery shopping, and everyone knows you spend more than a minute in there. Meanwhile, someone who needed the space may have had to look elsewhere. She never was caught, which I think is a shame; a hefty ticket might have caused her to rethink her stupid parking habit. I nagged her about it over and over, but she never stopped.

[wolfie]

I've used the handicap space ONCE - it was the only place (other than blocking the aisle) within cable reach of the guy with a dead battery. Of course, once his car was running, I moved to a "regular" spot.

[bacchinalus]

I never question the people who have canes/wheelchairs and park in the spots. But I always question those with big honking trucks (I have a bias, I admit).

This, even though I have my own invisible handicap (and a hanging placard with part of my driver's license ID# on it), and have doctor's orders to use the spaces in cold/hot weather as much as possible. I can't tell you how many dirty looks I get from my customers (pharmacy), but no one has dared to challenge me so far.

[AnaKhouri]

My mother's friend has MS and has a great big SUV. It's easier for her to get in and out of, as opposed to a car where she would have to lower her body to get in.

Not saying you are wrong, just saying some handicapped people might legitimately have a big truck or SUV as well.

[bacchinalus]

Oh, I don't doubt that there would be legitimate reasons for someone to need a vehicle like that, and still need the spot. In my experience, though, the people with those trucks never seem to have any visible difficulty getting in/out, and it's hard to get past the bias against people with invisible disabilities (even though I have one myself).

[Sapphire Silk]

I never question the people who have canes/wheelchairs and park in the spots. But I always question those with big honking trucks (I have a bias, I admit).

Sometimes the disability is temporary, like mine was last summer. I had foot surgery and was non weight bearing for 6 weeks.

And I gotta tell ya: getting in and out of my big honkin' truck was a heck of a lot easier than getting in and out of a friend's Lincoln Towncar.

[ozcatbug]

I'm not sure if I have posted this before but here goes. I was shopping with my mother at our local shopping centre. We parked in the handicapped parking (mum has a lot of problems with her mobility so has a handicapped ticket). Where we parked there is about 6 handicapped parks plus another 5 (I think) senior citizen parking.

When I parked there, there was one car in the senior citizen parking, and none in the handicapped spaces. Mum and I went in and did our shopping and when we were walking out we saw a group of people, maybe 3 adults and 2 kids (not exactly sure as it happened a couple years ago) and 2 fully loaded shopping trolleys just near the car parks. Then this man driving a huge four-wheel drive parks very badly right next to my little van, and gets out and starts to load his car from the trolleys. Now when I say parked badly, he was about a foot from my passenger door, where my mother needed to get in. I was parked in the very centre of my park, and he had somehow managed to park himself in 3 parks, including my own. By the way, when I mentioned about there being 6 handicapped spots, and that when I parked there was no one else in them, there was still no one else in them when we finished shopping. So there are potentially 5 other spots that he could park in, not that he should have since he didn't have a handicapped ticket, but instead he has to park in the spot I am already parked in.

Mum yelled out to him to move his car since she couldn't get in, but as you can probably guess he ignored her (which is a feat, my mother is a very hard person to ignore.) She then yells out that it takes a real arsehole to park in a handicapped spot when he doesn't need it. Then she started spouting off that he must be blind if he couldn't see the loading zone 3 spaces away, but oh no, he has to park right here and stop her from getting in to her own legally parked car, and of course he drives a big 4WD but he must be overcompensating since he doesn't know how to park such a large machine. By this stage the other adults were glaring at mum, and I had quickly loaded the car, but the other driver was still trying to ignore her. Unfortunately I had to back out of the spot so that mum could get in, and when she did she let of a few more insults.

I can only hope that he learned from this, and I also hope that a pig flies right over my house. Mum felt a bit better letting loose as well. I'm just glad she didn't try to open my passenger door into his car, after all it would have been his fault, but she did admit later that it would have damaged my car, and the whole situation wasn't my fault.

[Casino Jockey]

we have something here in australia called "parents with prams" parking.
these parks have no legal standing, so therefore it runs on the honour system (unlike disabled spots)
i may have mentioned before i have a developmentally delayed 2 year old. because of her developmental issues she can go from 0 to effin psycho in about .4 of a second. because of this we park in the parents with prams park, even when we are not using the pram. i may be a big scummy doing this but when my little one gets going she needs to get out.. NOW.

i have been abused for parking in parents with pram spots, even when i have had a pram as "my child is old enough to walk" and "i should know better"