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Usually the handicapped spaces are all empty wherever I go, but I do occasionally see people abusing them, usually at Wal-Mart. I used to see cops handing out tickets a LOT in those situations but I haven't seen that since I got back.
My adopted sister Michelle is physically challenged and we live in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. She is a legal permit holder. We don't own a vehicle but I rent from time to time and her permit is NEVER used unless she's in the vehicle with me. She uses a wheelchair and I remember one occasion at the mall when an older couple gave us some really dirty looks when we parked in a handicapped spot. It was interesting to note the change in their attitude when they saw me open the trunk and pull out the wheelchair. LOL!! )
Seriously, though, disabled parking abuse annoys me to no end. I'm not one of those people who judges a person based on whether or not they "look" disabled, though. When I check the disabled parking spots at Wal-Mart, for example, my only intention is to look for the permits and if a car doesn't have one, I'm immediately on the phone to our local bylaw office. I recently did that in our own parking lot and got a call about 15 minutes later, reporting that the car had been given a ticket.
I also have a real problem with the low fines for disabled parking abuse. Here in Oshawa, the minimum fine is $100.00 and the maximum is only $300.00. In the city of Brampton, ON the fine is $5,000.00 and the parking signs display the bylaw office's phone number!! That's the way it should be!!!!
It annoys me too! So much so that I will get their plate number and call the police.
Really, I would find a better hobby.
Its just that I know to many people who DO NOT look like they are handicaped.
I once knew a man who had numerous heart problems, but he looked very stately, and very healthy. He was not.
To tell you the honest truth. My husband had heart surgery at 38 and then another additional one later on..........
You would be turning him in too, because he looks quite fine. ( on the outside)
You might be turning in a cancer patient also..........
I've known some leukemia patients that look like they are just off of a beach.
I really, personally get quite annoyed from the looks or the postings in editorials........about how someone shouldn't have parked here or there.
Looks can be deceiving........
Thank God for these spaces.........and bless all who use them.
It angers me when perfectly healthy, able-bodied people take up handicapped parking and reserved seats/areas for the disabled. I understand that not all disabilities are visible, but I have seen people park in a handicapped spot and then jog into the store. How handicapped can one be if you can jog? If you can jog, then you can walk a few extra steps and park in a regular parking spot. Also, no handicapped permit or plate was in sight on the cars.
I feel blessed that I don't need to use handicapped parking. I am thankful that I have two strong legs, a strong heart and lungs, and I can walk across the parking lot from a far distance parking spot without any problems. Let's leave the handicapped parking to the disabled to use. It's the least that the rest of us can do.
This drives me crazy as well. I saw someone without a placard continually parking in our parking lot so I called the police one morning...$200 ticket! They have not parked there again since!
It's clearly a case of "I am more important than you" snobbery.
You can be damn well sure that the person parking illegally in these spots will be at the gym working out sometime later in the day or week. They can run 10 miles on the treadmill, but refuse to walk another 20 feet.
My wife has been a quadriplegic for over 30 years and is able to drive. I have been through the whole history of disabled access. In recent years I have noticed a huge increase in disabled parking abuse and something needs to be done or the whole program will be useless to those for whom it was intended. You will find four types of people who use handicapped.
1. Those who are clearly handicapped, like my wife. No question, no problem.
2. Those who are handicapped but do not appear to be. These people have cardiac, respiratory, visual or some similar disability and cannot walk or should not walk further than necessary.
3. Those who have asked their doctor for a handicapped sticker to make their lives easier although they really do not need preferred parking. Many doctors do not really care who they give placards to and many people only care about their own convenience, at the expense of a truly disabled person who may have to forego something because there is no parking or suffer a truly severe inconvenience.
4. Those who use a forged placard or someone else's placard.
This is one of those things which, relatively speaking, doesn't effect that many people - only those actually handicapped. However, in my opinion, this program is revealing a despicable class of people among us.
I was diagnosed with a painful, progressive disease several years ago. My doctors will give me whatever I request to help myself. I would not ask for a parking placard or anything of the kind. I exercise, I walk, I push myself and, guess what, I feel a hell of a lot better.
How would you like to be forced to remove a wheelchair from a crowded movie theater parking lot because all the disabled parking is taken. Seeing a Yukon and a HumVee with placards. And then go in the theater to find an obese family of five sitting in the handicapped row eating popcorn. Been there?
I understand most of your points. However, please don't judge obese people just because of their obesity. They may have gotten obese because of a medical condition. I used to be a runner and an avid biker until I ruptured 2 achilles tendons and gained 100 pounds after 4 years of steriods, surgeries and not being able to be active. I also have a bulging disk, severe asthma and have had knee surgery. Everytime I lose 50 or 60 lbs., something else breaks! I have a handicap placard and I hope to God that people don't judge me and say I don't deserve one just because I'm obese and may eat popcorn. I walk as much as I can. But my body doesn't always tolerate it. I live in Utah with lots of mountains and uneven ground to walk and it's not only painful but I am prone to falling easily. The asthma, 3 leg surgeries and disk problems all started before I was obese.
My pet peeve is just plain old, people parking in handicap without a placard. It happens to me at work almost daily. There will be no handicap place for me to park and 4 people illegally parked in handicap spaces. And my place of business doesn't seem to do anything about it. I'm just a complainer.
I agree let's not judge a book by its cover here. My mom has a handicapped tag, even though she walks two hours a day every morning. The reasons is she has a bad hip (not to mention a bad-hip-surgery) and whenever she has been sitting down for a bit it hurts her a great deal to get up and walk. She also needs to hold a shopping cart to get around through the grocery store, and usually checks out before getting all the items on her list because she is so worn out she can't go on.
Is she handicapped? Does she deserve her doctor-issued handicapped tag? According to some of your descriptions here, if she is able to walk for her health every day she should not qualify.
If someone has a handicapped tag they have the legal right to a handicapped parking spot, regardless of outward appearances. Maybe some people do 'scam' themselves tags, but we have no way nor right to judge who those people are, and who they are not.
I agree with enforcement of the law for all people who park where they have no tag that says they have the right to park there. Maybe the $5,000 fine plus the phone number to turn offenders in posted at the parking space is a great idea to spread around!
Dear South Florida Guy,
I recently came across your posting regarding disabled parking abuse and would like to respond to you for the record. What you think you “witnessed first hand” is completely false and I am hoping you have made an innocent mistake. I do not have a handicap sticker or placard on my car nor would I take advantage of the “system”. I do own a SmartPark In-Car Parking Meter and do use it very often when parking in permissible areas downtown Fort Lauderdale. (The SmartPark Meter can be purchased from the City of Ft. Lauderdale.) I do care very much for individuals that suffer from a handicap, illness or aging and would be the first one to move or assist someone in need before I would consider my own convenience.
With respect for your cause,
Victoria Ranger
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Disabled Parking Abuse
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I walk as much as I can. But my body doesn't always tolerate it. I live in Utah with lots of mountains and uneven ground to walk and it's not only painful but I am prone to falling easily. The asthma, 3 leg surgeries and disk problems all started before I was obese. 
