My dad was in a wheelchair for the last 15-odd years of his life. People used to yell at him for using the handicapped stalls because his wheelchair was powered and so he didn’t need it - they didn’t seem to get that he needed space to put the wheelchair lift down so he could get in and out of the van.
I used to really like the jackasses on motorcycles who would park in the ramp zone next to the handicapped spot. I was driving him somewhere one day when an ape on a Harley did that. I nicely asked him to move his bike so I could get the ramp down when dad came out of the store. “F-- you!” So I started bringing the ramp down. He got the idea when it got right above his handlebars and kept coming.
It was also entertaining to watch people’s reactions to him before he was in the chair - he walked very slowly with arm crutches, and the number of people who would get furious, sometimes honking and making rude gestures, at him for using a crosswalk was astonishing. At first I’d yell at them if I was around, but it never did any good.
I have no patience for jerks who park in the handicapped spaces. They’re very badly needed by the people who need them. Unfortunately, non-handicapped people tend to not understand what handicapped people have to deal with - combine that with the fact that an awful lot of people out there are jerks and you have a recipe for unpleasant outings for people with disabilities.
That said, as others have mentioned, there are lots of handicaps that are not visibly apparent. I have a friend who has a condition in which her bones are very brittle and break at the drop of a hat. She walks perfectly normally, but at any moment her leg could snap. She needs to use the handicap spots to limit the amount of walking she has to do. People yell at her all the time for stealing someone’s handicap tag, etc.
I’ll yell at anyone who parks in the spot if he doesn’t have a tag or a plate, but if he does, I assume he’s got some condition that is none of my business and don’t say anything. I’m sure some, if not most, of them are using grandma’s tag, but if I can’t prove that, I have no right to assume anything.
they're going through. I'm sure I don't look "disabled" (imagine finger quotes) to many people. If you aren't blind and have two legs there are people who think you can do anything. I wish. It's not a matter of will power.
I know a guy who has HDCP plates and looks perfectly fine. But he has a back problem that causes him sharp pain and numbness when he walks more then a few hundred feet.
And then there’s the guy I use to work with who’s wife was wheel chaired bound and drove to work with the van that had HDCP plates and parked in the hdcp spot…and was proud of it too.
Actually ran for congress in NH as a Libertarian.
@Barkydog, I haven’t been up to all that in the last year, but I am now. I think that as long as I’m able to move, I should, and as often as possible. I like to think that not taking the HC tag is one of the reasons I feel so good today. Still, I consider myself one of the luckiest guys around.
I would have liked to have been there and seen the political hack with the Benz in the story mountainbike related. No doubt that guy has the same “the law is for you and not for me” attitude about other statutes.
About 20 years ago I managed to embarass an OK state senator a bit in front of a small crowd during an impromptu town hall meeting by allowing him to commit to a local and volatile issue first and then hammering him on it.
A vaudeville dancer in one of those old vintage reels couldn’t tap dance as fast as that guy did and a number of the crowd was chuckling and laughing at him squirming like an eel on a hot sidewalk.
Oregon has 6 month temporary HC permits. Renewable if needed with Doctor’s signature. The permanent permits have to be renewed when driver license is due. Driver’s license is now good for 8 years which I think is to long. Lots of things such as eyesight can change in that length of time. At least you have to go to DMV for renewal. When the license was good for 4 years it could be renewed once by mail so I guess it’s basically the same. There are no fees for either HC permit.
Just this week I saw a 30ish mother with her 10ish daughter park in an HC spot. They both appeared to be in fine shape. Probably grandma’s placard. As I walked past, a 30ish young lady with no legs, at all, wheeled out to get into her minivan. It had a powered rear driver’s side door. She pulled herself into the the van and pulled the light weight chair in behind her. Then she pulled herself back into the chair as the door closed, and wheeled into position behind the steering wheel. As I entered the store, I said to the mother and daughter, “Now there’s someone who needs a handicap space”. I got an icy stare, but there was no move made to vacate the the HC parking place.
I once took a picture of a FedEx truck blocking the two HC spots at a store I go to several times a week. I called FedEx, asked them who to send it to, and emailed it. I can only hope the driver was not working for them the next day, but I’ll never know. In all probability, they praised him for his inventiveness.
In my city, there are volunteers who are allowed by the police to issue $100 parking citations to those who use HC spaces illegally. They are not supposed to confront the drivers, but issue the tickets when there is no placard or license tag indicating legal use. Tickets are also issued to those who park motorcycles in the hashed line areas by the HC spots. That is just as illegal as parking in the space itself, as is blocking an HC spot with another vehicle.
Temporary placards can be issued for as little as a month here. My wife got one for six weeks when she had knee surgery. It was nice not to have to park half a mile away when we went to our nephew’s university graduation. Hey, I drove, and pushed her borrowed wheelchair. I don’t think she would have gone otherwise.
MG McAnick The police allowing volunteers to issue citations is an excellent one. More cities should do that.
I wonder if there have been any situations where someone being cited arrived on scene, confronted the volunteer, and became belligerent and made threats? I would imagine someone might adopt a “you’re not a real cop so kiss off” attitude.
We have those volunteers here in Olympia as well, usually have some sort of badge or vest on and driving a Ford Escape in police livery but with Police Volunteer on the rear doors. And it’s actually more like$400 (If the customer who told me is correct).
People are weird about parking lots. The folks that feel entitled to any spot they want no matter what drive me bonkers. Thankfully I’ve never had to use handicap plates as I’m in good health. However I remember going grocery shopping once, 9 months pregnant and very obviously so. After more than an hour of shopping I waddled myself out to the car, got 3 kids strapped in, got all my groceries put in the back, and thought I was going to die from exhaustion. There were plenty of open parking spots, so for once in my life I left the grocery cart in the parking spot next to mine (not a HC spot or any type of special spot at all) rather than walking it back up to the store. About that time a lady was cruising through watching all this and decided she wanted to park in that spot and only that spot and got all bent out of shape. I had already sat down in the driver’s seat and wasn’t going back out for the cart. She made a point to circle back around, drive up alongside me, and honked until I put down my window, at which point she hissed “I saw what you did there!” Really, lady?
@NomadInHerBus–
My response–which I have actually used with a few crazy people–would have been, “Would you like me to wait while you phone the cops to report my heinous crime?”
OK, OK, I admit it, I’m guilty. I usually return library books at night when the library and adjacent rec center are closed. Its about a 50 foot walk to the night deposit from the two available HC stalls. Double that if you don’t use the HC stalls. Especially if its very cold out, I sometimes use the HC stall. Everything is closed and no one is around, and certainly no one needs the stall, and I always just leave the car running with the lights on. But I am scared to death the police will drive by and give me that $100 plus ticket. Its not the money but my name would be in the paper for parking in a HC stall and would be very embarrassing. I try not to do but still this is Minnesota and it gets very cold and windy. I wonder if its actually OK to use them for a few minutes when everything is closed?
@NomadInHerBus being a male, I would forgive a pregnant lady anything, having not able to experience the situation myself. Still remembering pregnant wife wanted pickles and ice cream, sure I went to the store and got them. Sure I law abiding citizen take a shortcut from time to time, I went into the theater to pay and pickup tickets ordered from the automated system. Sure I parked in the fire lane for 3 minutes, sure there was a policeman reprimanding me when I came out, sure I was wrong, he let me off, but will not play that game any more.