OT - Handicap Parking

If I see a cart in an HC spot, I take it in the store and use it. If there are several, I point it out to the Greeter. Dunno if it helps, but they are usually gone when I leave.

Yeah, carts dumped in the handicap spots are another pet peeve of mine. Happens to us all the time. I LOVE going to the grocery store, so my husband tries to take me a couple times a month. The last 2-3 times we've gone, a cart has been left in one of the 3 spots I can take (my ramp is on the passenger side and while we CAN back into a spot if need be, the gas tank is at the rear and hubby has to be super careful NOT to bang into the cement block).

Sometimes, my husband has to stop, get out and move the stupid thing before we can park.

Good thing my husband is such a nice guy because it's almost not worth the aggravation to take me. He CAN shop without me, but I like to look around and pick out foods/treats that I don't think of when I make him a list. Plus an outing to the grocery store is frequently the highlight of my week.

Greetings,
Maddie, I understand your frustration and I suspect most people know the striped area is not for parking. But a general shortage of handicapped spaces may motivate someone to abuse the rules and squeeze in.

Someone who is dropping off and picking up the handicapped person should not park in a handicapped spot (regardless of the law) since they are essentially doing it so that the driver (a non handicapped person) doesn't have to walk so far. Seems like a misuse to me.

I am an amputee and at the beginning of a shopping trip, my walking is fine...but by the time I'm done and especially in a large store, I'm often limping and really appreciative that my car is close by.

Handicapped placards are often stolen. I had a lifetime placard stolen one day when I forgot to lock my car. Just one more flaw in the system. Don't have an answer for that one.
J

deerhound wrote:People in my Myasthenia Gravis support group get all kinds of nasty comments when using handicap parking spaces because they look very normal on the outside. The fact that their muscles can fatigue at any minute making standing, much less walking, impossible is hidden from view. I used to be self righteous until I got this disease and came to know that not all handicaps are visible. .

I drive a "parking privileged" van.
I drive Dad - 17% heart function - who uses a motorized scooter if we have to do a lot of walking, but not for going into the bank or the barber. He can walk fine with a military walk - for a block or so.
I drive mom - she has a wheel chair that I have to lift her in and out of so she fits everyone's stereotype.
I drive my sister - she has some sort of muscle degenerating disease/immune disorder on good days she can out do me, on bad days she is happy to make it to the bathroom from the bed, good days can turn to bad days in minutes, she used to be a model, she dresses well, uses makeup, has splendid posture, a seductive walk and likes to look good. She doesn't need a walker - all the damage is in her spine and shoulders but that doesn't mean she doesn't collapse in a dizzy heap when she gets an attack.

When I am alone I park well away from the store, it is an opportunity to get some exercise.

chunkyfrog wrote:While walking to the store, I will take a cart from an empty HC spot and push it into the store.
Sometimes it's a sure way to get one with good wheels.

It also acts as a shield against rude drivers with no respect for pedestrians.

I notice if I don't have a cart, they act like they will run over me thinking I am soft enough that their car won't get scratched.

But if I am pushing a buggy (oldster talk) they stay clear to protect their car.

Yeah, Granny, I noticed that too!

Someone who is dropping off and picking up the handicapped person should not park in a handicapped spot (regardless of the law) since they are essentially doing it so that the driver (a non handicapped person) doesn't have to walk so far. Seems like a misuse to me.

Jamiswolf, with all due respect, you shouldn't be making judgments about people when you don't what the situation is. When I picked up my mother at the beauty shop, she was usually incapable of walking very far on her own. Knowing what i now know about possibly violating the law, I would have arranged ahead of time to call an employee when I was ready to escort her out to the car so I could pull up in front of the shop and not have to risk parking illegally. But it isn't always that easy and people really need to be flexible about these situations.

By the way, when I go shopping and park my car, I always park further away than most people as I am always looking to get some exercise.

49er

Generally speaking, if there is a handicap tag or plate on a car in the handicap spot, I have no problem with it. What does bother me is the car or giant pick-up that parks with no tag or plate.

My husband and I both have legitimate tags, so for us, either one can park legally in the spot. Sometimes he drops me at the door, too.

Catnapper - Joanie

In my state there is a $250.00 fine for parking in a handicapped spot if you aren't entitled to. Finally a charge I can agree with!

I do not have a Handicap Sticker and do not know the laws. But I work with a person who has a sticker. According to him it's because he has screws in his foot. But he walks over 3 miles a day a at work. Why does he need a Handicap Sticker???? I don't get it ?? Why would a Doctor give him a sticker ??? Don't get it ? I thought it was for people who really needed it!

LinkC wrote:If I see a cart in an HC spot, I take it in the store and use it. If there are several, I point it out to the Greeter. Dunno if it helps, but they are usually gone when I leave.

I do that also as people leave them all over the place. One time, I was so proud of myself for being able to take two of them at once back to the store. That may not be a big deal for most people but it was for me.

49er

Let me sleep wrote:I do not have a Handicap Sticker and do not know the laws. But I work with a person who has a sticker. According to him it's because he has screws in his foot. But he walks over 3 miles a day a at work. Why does he need a Handicap Sticker???? I don't get it ?? Why would a Doctor give him a sticker ??? Don't get it ? I thought it was for people who really needed it!

Yeah, I know this kind of thing happens. While I find this upsetting, I know there are all kinds of people out there that manage to take advantage of imperfect systems designed to help those in need. Sometimes, though, things aren't as they appear. Your co-worker SEEMS like someone abusing the system, but since I don't know them or their personal circumstances, I will withhold judgment on it.

I've shared this before, but I had someone accuse me of not needing my power chair. At that time, I was only using my chair outside the home since walking distances increased weakness & fatigue, but would use a cane or walker in emergency situations where I couldn't use my chair for whatever reason. This person saw me WALKING with my cane to an emergency vet appointment (the vet was NOT wheelchair accessible). That person then decided that I was faking needing a power chair.

It's hard not to be judgmental, but unless I know for certain that a person doesn't have a reason for needing the handicapped plate/placard, I try to shrug it off.

And I do know that while hopefully rare, there ARE people that have some pretty strong opinions about the disabled (not very nice ones I might add) and park in and/or block handicap spots simply because they feel those people shouldn't be given special treatment.

Madalot wrote:

Let me sleep wrote:I do not have a Handicap Sticker and do not know the laws. But I work with a person who has a sticker. According to him it's because he has screws in his foot. But he walks over 3 miles a day a at work. Why does he need a Handicap Sticker???? I don't get it ?? Why would a Doctor give him a sticker ??? Don't get it ? I thought it was for people who really needed it!

Yeah, I know this kind of thing happens. While I find this upsetting, I know there are all kinds of people out there that manage to take advantage of imperfect systems designed to help those in need. Sometimes, though, things aren't as they appear. Your co-worker SEEMS like someone abusing the system, but since I don't know them or their personal circumstances, I will withhold judgment on it.

I've shared this before, but I had someone accuse me of not needing my power chair. At that time, I was only using my chair outside the home since walking distances increased weakness & fatigue, but would use a cane or walker in emergency situations where I couldn't use my chair for whatever reason. This person saw me WALKING with my cane to an emergency vet appointment (the vet was NOT wheelchair accessible). That person then decided that I was faking needing a power chair.

It's hard not to be judgmental, but unless I know for certain that a person doesn't have a reason for needing the handicapped plate/placard, I try to shrug it off.

And I do know that while hopefully rare, there ARE people that have some pretty strong opinions about the disabled (not very nice ones I might add) and park in and/or block handicap spots simply because they feel those people shouldn't be given special treatment.

Totally agree Madalot.

As one who has an invisible disability that I think having undiagnosed sleep apnea for years contributed to, I have had experiences where if someone has seen me appear "normal", they assumed I was simply faking my disability. What these idiots didn't understand was that it took alot of energy to come up with compensatory mechanisms to appear that way. So yeah, it could appear that someone is abusing the system but because of my own experiences in encountering judgmental people about my own situation, I always try very hard not to pre-judge a situation also.

49er

My own family was pretty bad for a while. My brother told me flat out that I didn't have Muscular Dystrophy, which I found really strange. My sisters were quietly questioning everything until I was visiting one of them and we were going out to dinner. As I was getting into their car, as I lifted my one leg into the car, the muscles in my other leg gave out and I ended up on my back in their driveway. Hit my head pretty good as well.

My sister was visibly shaken by it, but it was that incident that proved to her this was no laughing or non serious issue. It was also the LAST time I got into or out of a vehicle like that without my husbanding standing right there to support me if my muscles gave out.

Disease progression has forced me to use my chair to go places now, so something like that isn't likely to occur again. It's a shame it had to happen to PROVE to my family that I wasn't faking the issue or the severity of it. And if that was necessary for family, no way could I expect strangers to "get it."