Parking in handicapped spaces... (1 Viewer)

I have a situation that has been bothering me for a while. At my apartment complex, there is a space, one, right near the front door, that is CLEARLY marked as handicapped parking only. There is someone in my building (don't know who, never actually saw them) who has taken it upon themselves that this spot is their own personal parking space. There are no handicapped stickers, tags, or license plates on this car. It's always the same car, no one else parks there, even when it is open. This bothers me and I am asking the advice of the fine members here at HTF on what steps I could take to stop this (obviously ignorant) person from parking there. I've thought about calling the police to write them a ticket, but I am hesitant to waste the police district's time on such a trivial complaint. What do you think I could do to get this persons attention?

James

How is this trivial? If you were handicapped and a someone made you walk a great distance (especially through snow and ice since you are in Buffalo), I'd consider that to be a major deal. Maybe if it was a one time thing, but it's clearly a reoccuring issue.

Actually, the police may not even ticket the car, they may just have a nice word with the offender and tell them not to do it anymore.

Don't be afraid to call the cops, it's what they are paid to do.

Do the leave there car there or just park there to run in and out? We have two spaces in my building and if they are both free and im just running in or out. Or loading something heavy into the truck ill park there with the engine running and the four ways on.

If they are parking there for a long period of time leave a note of there car that if they don’t stop next time you see them there you’re calling the cops.

I'd like to see the a-holes who do this clamped with a £1000 release fee.

Same thing happens at my apartment complex. Apparently the people who live right in front of it think that it's their personal spot too.

Personally, I would call the police and let them handle the situation. Illegal parking in a handicapped space is not a trivial offense, IMO.

Funny thing is, the building is not handicap accessible. There are about 10 stairs to reach the front door.

And, like I said, I have not run into or met this person, though I've lived in the building for almost two years. This has been going on since last summer. I would prefer to avoid confrontation and remain anonymous.

or break their legs so THEY know what it's like to be handicapped and inconvenienced when someone takes your spot.

That's as bad as the dummies who take up handicapped parking spots at the Wal-Mart, and they're clearly not handicapped to begin with! No handicapped license tag, sticker, display card, window thing, you name it - they hog the handicapped spots and force legitimately handicapped people from using them. It just flaunts their laziness and ignorance.

If it's an accidental one-time thing, that's understandable, and it happens. If it's deliberate, it's completely uncalled for.

Talk to the manager of the apartment complex and report this driver to him/her. Provide him/her the tag number, description of the car and the driver, where he's continually parking, etc. If this driver turns out to be a resident there, then the complex manager can talk to the driver about it. And by all means report it to the police as well.

You may think this is ok, but look at it from the handicapped persons perspective.

Example, the Dunkin Donuts in my neighborhood is next to a car dealership. I was leaving DnD when I heard this old man complaining. It seems that this old man goes to DnD every morning and runs into this car dealer who parks his car in the handicapped space every day to run in and get coffee. The old man had trouble walking and had to park quite a distance away because there was no handicapped spots. When the car dealer guy came out of DnD, the old man said something to him about not parking there and the guy just sneared and drove off. I felt SO bad for this poor guy...

Not that you have this attitude Allen, but (in all sincerity) I just wanted you to think about what situation you may be putting a handicapped person in, with something you think is a "harmless" in-and-out parking job.

I'd talk to the apartment management first. A friend of mine lived in a complex that had assigned spots. He was given a handicap spot because the person it had been marked for had long since moved out. However it didn't have a sign in front of it, and it is my understanding that without the sign it is not really a handicap spot. The spot had been marked handicap at the time just to ensure that that person would have a place to park. One day my friend's car was illegally towed and it caused him all sorts of grief. He got his car back, as well as the money he had to pay, and the towing company had to pay for some minor damage done to his car.

All I'm saying is before you go calling the police or doing anything drastic, make sure you are in the right about this.

In Texas, for it to be an actual offense, the sign also
has to include the fine amount for parking there.
Parking in just a "handicapped only" designated space is NOT a ticketable offense, just a "moral" one.
Somebody correect me if I am wrong, please.

A very dear friend, now deceased, who was handicapped used to carry around little cards that she would place on the windsheilds of cars parked in handicapped spots without handicapped stickers. They read:

"If you are handicapped you have my sympathy. If not, you have my parking space."

If she saw someone who was clearly not handicapped getting out of a car in a handicapped spot, she would mutter loud enough for them to hear, "Must be a mental handicap!"

At the risk (or certainty) of sounding inconsiderate, I am generally not in favor of mandatory handicapped spaces. (I have never parked in one, though.) It's not that I'm against the principle of compassion--I just don't think they matter in most cases. (Does saving 50 feet in the parking lot matter when you walk 500 feet inside the grocery store?)

In addition, my gut feeling is that most people who would qualify for the placards do not use them because it's just another way to stigmatize them as not normal. Think about it: how many here look at someone exiting a car parked in a handicapped space and instantly try to scrutinize whether they "deserve" the spot? I wouldn't want people looking at me that way.

Just my opinion.

Cam is right. I don't know about other states, but unless there is a fine posted on the sign, it's not an official handicap parking space in the eyes of the law. It's just a sign that a company or store has put up as a courtesy to handicapped persons. Non use of the spot by non-handicapped is purely optional, but in my opinion, only an asshole would park there if they weren't handicapped.

Having a mom and dad that both use handicapped spaces (yet aren't what you'd consider 'unable to walk far') I can say that there's more to it than just saving you a few extra feet of walking distance.

My mom had both knees replaced, and while she can get around well, the handicapped space is great for her. The big thing for her is the fact that handicapped spaces are wide. This width allows her to open her car door all the way and not have to worry about the possibility of someone parking close to her car and her having to SQUEEZE into her car because she can't get her door opened wide enough. This would be almost impossible with her knees if she ran into the tight squeezes that I've encountered in non-handicapped spaces.

Also, she isn't too quick (as is also the case with really old people who use handicapped spaces), and she wouldn't be great at dodging cars that fly through the parking lot. I've come across MANY instances where I've had to jump out of the way of a car backing up when I'm walking through the parking lot.

With a handicapped spot, there's less chance my mom has to run out of the way of cars...once she's in the store, she can take her time and not have to worry about moving quick. This makes it easier for her to walk greater distances in the store as opposed to the extra 50 feet (or so) in the parking lot that she'd have to walk if she didn't have the handicap sticker.

So again, it's not that a handicapped space is only allowing you to save walking distance, it's more of a matter of getting the handicapped person inside the store as quickly as possible where it is much safer for them to maneuver around. Also, not to mention when it's snowed out and there's more of a chance of her slipping on ice if she had to walk further.

i'm with mark on this one.

my grandmother is 83 (i think). it takes her a good 10 minutes to walk the distance of a restaurant. so, for her ... those few feet are critical. plus, since we usually walk behind her it saves all of our sanity as well.

as far as the original topic goes, i think you should hit up management first. see what exactly is going on. heck, it's their responsibility ... not yours.

i can understand remaining anonymous though. who knows what this person could be like.

I agree with the previous post that the best thing to do would be to contact your apartment's management. Also, are you certain that the person is not handicapped? I hate to play devil's advocate, but is it possible that the person is indeed handicapped and simply hasn't received the appropriate license plate/placard yet? I doubt it, but it's worth mentioning.

i remember when i worked at a grocery store.

this dude pulled up, parked in the handicapped space and ran in the store.

by the time he bought his one gallon of milk, the police was already pulling up to his car. we could see the guy argue back 'n' forth with the officer.

when all was said and done, we saw the officer hand the dude his ticket.

that must have been the most expensive gallon of milk ever purchased. we pretty much all cheered.