Parking in Handicap Space

[Scottya21]

First of all, my grandma gets a handicap parking space licensetagthingy since she's old and decrepit.

A while back i was out with her, and yes, I parked in a handicapped space. Put up our tag and everything. Granted, it was only me actually exiting the vehicle for a couple minutes, so maybe that's kinda sucky, but whatever. We prominently displayed our tag.

Some guy pulled up behind me , blocking me in, and proceeded to harangue me about how us darn kids have no respect for the old folk blah blah I'm gonna call the cops etc etc.

Regardless of the ethics of the situation, why render me unable to ameliorate the problem?

[HappyCthulhu]

Sorry, but if you were the only one getting out, then you were the sucky one in this situation.
You could have parked in any regular spot and skipped on in.

[Special Patrol Group]

True, but what if Granny wants to get out for a bit. Maybe she needs to pee (many old people have to pee at the drop of a hat), or her grandchild is taking a long time in the store and wants to see what's going on. Granny shouldn't have to be trapped in the car because the space is too small for her to get out easily, or the space is too far away from the store. I don't think it's wrong to try and give your passenger some freedom although maybe that's not what you were thinking.

Driving frequently with a disabled person makes you get into a habit of "auto-parking" somewhere suitable for your passenger.

Abusing someone for something like that is extremely rude even if they were in the wrong (but hell they couldn't even know Scotty was in the wrong, maybe Scotty is sick, maybe the granny was going to get out at some point). Two wrongs don't make a right.

I think the abuser was probably just mentally disturbed Scotty. It's not normal to abuse a stranger like that.

[powerboy]

Yeah, maybe granny was going to get at some point, and/or maybe she would have to go pee. Scotty, you are not the sucky one. I have done the samething with my grandma also.

[SCSlave]

One of my biggest pet peeves is perfectly able-bodied people parking in handicapped zones. (I'm not handicapped, nor old...so It doesn't affect me personally, but it's beyond rude) I get VERY upset about it. Never once have I called anyone on it. Although I'd like to. I once saw a couple young kids park in the handicapped space at a movie theatre. I was outside with my 9 year old at the time, and I was livid. I stared them down as they passed. And turned to my son "They parked in a spot reserved for handicapped people" He said "But they don't look handicapped?" I said "I know, some people are just RUDE...you'd never do that would you?" He said "no way. That's 'mean'" hahaha

That said, had I saw you parking in the spot...with your grandmother and the handicapped sign, I would not have given it a second thought. So I don't think that's so bad.

[Banrion]

Just remember, not everything is visable or obvious. When I was 14 I had surgery on my foot. Yeah for the 1st 6 weeks or so, it was obvious that walking was a problem, After that, I was on restricted movement, so I still had the handicap parking sticker for when I went out of the house even though I was walking fine, I couldn't do it for long distances.

[protege]

Even though my grandmother walks with a cane, she doesn't have a handicapped tag. She refuses to get one. Even so, I try to park as close as I can. It's better to do that, than have her fall again. She can handle getting around with the cane, but she has to be careful--even the smallest pebble can send her falling. She's thought about getting one of those tags, but hasn't because she doesn't want to get labeled as "handicapped." She just turned 90 last week, and has never thought of herself that way....even though her vision is failing and she no longer drives.

With that said, I park as close as I can. If it still too far, I let her out at the curb...and go get the car later. It's easier, and better for her. Less chance of falling that way. It sometimes annoys other drivers because of the wait--she sometimes can't get out by herself and needs help, but too damn bad. Don't like it? Tough crap.

Some handicaps aren't readily visible. For instance, at home, she doesn't use the cane...but keeps it nearby, just in case. She can walk without it, but I'd rather she wouldn't

[Becks]

What does one do when the (non-handicapped) owner of the store parks in a handicapped spot when there's a snowstorm due to start any hour?

[trunks2k]

I think there is a bit of suckiness on both sides here. On your side if you were the only person getting out of the car and it wasn't likely that your grandmother would need to leave the car. And on the other guy's side because handicaps are not always easy to see. You may be able to walk just fine for a bit, but after that it may get very hard.

[Cia]

Only parked in a handicapped space once and that is because neither I nor my SIL noticed that it was that kinda space. Nothing was painted on the ground and the sign was invisible, didn't see it at all. Ah well, just paid the fine and went on our merry way.

[Broomjockey]

If you had just got to the spot, and he did that, he's an idiot, because when my mother and I used to take my grandmother out, often they'd send me in to grab one of the store's wheelchairs because those would have a basket on them. So at first, people would just see 16 year old me jump out of a vehicle and run inside.

I'm kind of mixed about your having parked there with no intention of your grandma going in. I mean, if you were going to be that quick, then being further away wouldn't hurt, but then again, a situation might have come up where you might have needed to grab her and bring her inside. So really, I can't fault you too much on it.

[Scottya21]

Again, I meant more to focus on the sillyness of blocking me out from moving so that all the handicapped persons could get in , but yeah.

Also, good point a lot of people made... It might've been me that needed the handicapped thing for all he knew. This was after I was already back in the car and attempting to depart. You don't have to be old or in a cast or something in order to deserve one of those things.

[Auto]

My feeling is, if the car's got a sticker/badge entitling the driver to park in handicapped parking, that good enough for me. I'm not going to second-guess just why an apparently able-bodied person is parked there. Maybe he's picking up a handicapped person, maybe he's got some medical condition that's not easily apparent -- whatever.

What bugs me is that it's too easy to get a handicapped parking permit. In my old neighborhood in downtown Chicago, construction workers putting up high-rise buildings all had handicapped parking permits entitling them to leave their pick-up trucks on the street. If you're working construction, then you ought to be healthy enough not to need handicapped parking. Clearly, these guys were using permits they shouldn't have had.

Once I asked the meter maid why she didn't write them tickets. She said each time they cracked down, they cited too many drivers who were with a legitimate handicapped person. They would start complaining to their alderman who told the cops to back off. If the permit's valid, the city won't look too closely at who's really behind the wheel.

The solution is to make it harder for your friendly doctor to sign the paperwork that allows drivers to get a handicapped parking permit. I read somewhere that Boston was thinking of making applicants go before a board to explain why they need the permit. Or why it should be renewed.

Obviously, if your van is carrying someone in a wheelchair, then getting a permit ought to be pretty straightforward. But if you're a construction worker who hurt his neck in an accident and claims soft tissue injuries, then maybe your need for handicapped parking suggests you really ought not to be back at work. And if you have a permit, then you're just a scammer trying to find easy parking.

[wagegoth]

Only parked in a handicapped space once and that is because neither I nor my SIL noticed that it was that kinda space. Nothing was painted on the ground and the sign was invisible, didn't see it at all. Ah well, just paid the fine and went on our merry way.

If the space is not properly marked according to local law, you are not liable. But the phrase "local law" means it could be city, county or state.

[SuperDan]

Slightly OT, but just a friendly reminder...

Normally there will be what appears to be a parking spot either between two handicap spots or at the end of the handicap spots further away from the store. These look like spots but they're striped over in blue (or sometimes yellow). DO NOT PARK IN THE STRIPEY SPOT! It doesn't matter if you have handicap permits, these are not handicap spots, these are nobody's spot. I've had regular customers start fights because they weren't left with enough room to set up their ramp to get their Hoverounds back in their van. It's also fun watching people get tickets for parking there and either ask me what was wrong with parking there or demand to know who called the cops on them (nobody usually, the cops are around once or twice a month for parking enforcement on their own and our county has parking enforcement volunteers who are around occasionally as well).

Handicap parking isn't just about being close to the door, it's just as much about space. While an old person with a cane could probably handle a normal sized spot, someone with a van lift, or even someone who needs to set up a wheelchair outside of their car and transfer someone into it, needs much more space.