Disabled Parking

Yup. People would have nothing to go to their Dr. to complain about (not that they would not do it, but it would be unreasonable and the Dr. could pass the buck).

I'm curious, when the cops are called by me and they get a ticket or are towed. Some venues will do so at the owner's expense.
Do you think they will actually feel sorry for themselves?

[Stormieweather]

I see that a lot here in Fla...perfectly healthy young people driving a car with a disability tag and utilizing it. I assume they are mostly using someone else's car and just being assholes. I scowl at them but rarely say anything, because I'd hate to disparage someone who actually had a disability that simply wasn't obvious to me.

I do wish more stores had temporary spots for pregnant women in their third trimester. The only store in Clearwater that I know of is Babies R Us and they'd better have them!! In my last pregnancy, I literally became housebound because walking any distance was so terribly painful. I would only go out if my partner was driving and could drop me off close to the front doors. Severe back damage isn't helped by carrying an extra 30 lbs around at an awkward angle and the extreme swelling of my extremities due to toxemia made every step agony. However, it is only temporary and can be dealt with.

And yes, people will feel sorry for themselves when they get a ticket or towed. If they really believe what they are doing is wrong, they wouldn't be parking there in the first place. For people like that, I hope they one day experience something that gives them firsthand knowledge of how selfish they were.

Stormie

[limey]

Originally Posted by orthodoc

rzkenrage said: 'This is why I think a third party system would be best, like SSI.'

I agree. Hate it when the government sticks docs with decisions over access to benefits. I'd rather just supply, on request, a statement of fact about diagnosis and physical findings and let the bureaucrats say yea or nay.

I think this is the system in the UK. You still get fuckwits in the disabled spaces though.

Those tags never seem to run out, either. I have a neighbor who had knee replacement surgery a while back. Naturally, it was pretty hard for him to get around for a while. Now his knee is all better and he STILL uses that tag.

[Sundae]

Originally Posted by rkzenrage

When I could walk with my cane I did not use the disabled spaces. If you can walk... you can walk.

I can't say I agree with this - but only on personal experience from within my family - I accept you have much longer and more personal experience:

My Dad drives my Grandad to the supermarket every week and parks (with my Grandad's disabled pass) in a disabled space. Grandad has Parkinsons, walks with a frame and needs help in getting into and out of the car. The extra space in the disabled bay makes it much easier for him. The shorter distance to the supermarket means there is less chance of a fall before he gets to a trolley. He has never fallen in the supermarket car park, but at 84 and with a history of other falls behind him, he doesn't want to risk it. He doesn't walk anywhere unattended btw - it's not just this trip that he is cautious of.

Even in the weeks before his knee replacement op, when walking with a cane was painful and getting in & out of the car was difficult, my father has never used Grandad's disabled badge unless Grandad is in the car.

I totally support strong penalties for able bodied people using disabled spaces. I think it should be legal to let their tyres down. Thought you were disabled did you? You are now. Or glueing flyers like the one you posted to their windscreen. In a hurry were you? Just popping in for a second? Lets see you take the time to scrub that off before you can drive.

But I am for the same penalties for people who park on double yellow lines as well. They're there for a reason folks, show some common sense and personal responsibility.

[Bullitt]

Originally Posted by rkzenrage

When I could walk with my cane I did not use the disabled spaces. If you can walk... you can walk.

One thing though, we need to take into account the different situations that can arise for each disability and handicap (yes there is a difference between the two). My example being up north the sidewalks get icy during the winter, and it would better for someone with a walker or cane or some kind of disability that affects walking to use the close handicap spaces than someone who is in a motorized chair that will have much less difficulty moveing over the ice. Environmental conditions like ice or snow or slush or sleet greatly influence who needs the closest and most accessible space. On top of that, all the handi spaces I've seen are "lift spaces", I have yet to see a handi space without the extra car sized space next to it in any parking lot in any state I have lived in. Not here in OH, not in TN, and not in CA.

That being said, I think there should be more handi spaces, 4 for for every 50 rather than 100, even just for the fact that our elderly population is growing larger and larger (the largest it has ever been I've heard). And also so that there is no competition for spaces or resentment towards other disabled or handicapped people whose disability or handicap may seem to be less severe at first glance.

If they are just walking in to use a powered cart and not walk the whole store, I have no issue with their using the space.

[Sundae]

Grandad walks in the shop - leaning on his shopping trolley. In the UK there are specialised trolleys (carts to you I think?) for people who usually walk with a cane or a walker. They are not motorised, but are designed to support people who cannot walk unaided. On a bad day Dad has to be with him every step of the way as Grandad's Parkinsons mean his shaking hand is likely to knock a shelf-load on the floor.

Dad uses a normal trolley, but even that means he doesn't have to use his cane while shopping - they do have a stabilising effect.

Again, I don't know how things are in the US - in the UK (at least in the supermarkets I use) every disabled space is either directly in front of the store, or is in a section where each space is adjacent to a paved pedestrian area - with a zebra crossing to the store. This means no matter which space a disabled driver parks in, they will not be walking/ wheeling/ motoring across the carpark.

No-one with a disability should have to worry about inattentive drivers.