Caughtya™
A "Hall of Shame" to expose cars parked illegally
in disability or mobility parking spaces.
A "Hall of Shame" to expose cars parked illegally
in disability or mobility parking spaces.
It hit New Zealand national newspapers a couple days ago. "Shocking misuse of mobility parks". This article isn't likely to stay on very long, stuff.co.nz doesn't archive content, and due to copyright issues, we won't re-publish it here. So hurry up and read it. In essence, it says that CCS did a survey about accessible parking usage. The result? About 50% of cars parked in mobility parking are parked illegally
This is a phenomal number. I must admit, even I am surprised at the number. I knew it was a lot, but didn't realise just how much.
This is where a site such as caughtya.org comes in to play. By tracking date and time of infractions, we can gather hard data. Of course, better data might be gathered by spending a day sitting in one location and actually systematically "capturing" every parking abuse as it happens. But that would be too much like doing a witch-hunt, and not the goal of caughtya.org.
In any case, there were several good comments found on Your Say about the article. Again, due to copyright we won't be publishing them "as is". But here's sampling:
Ann-Louise says:At least three days out of five it happens and that is just in the couple of minutes when I am there. What is worse is there are plenty of parks near the bookshop but the ignorant drivers just can't be bothered walking an extra 10 metres. They should be ticketed.Rawiri says:
I am also disgusted at the Government's inaction on these matters.Allison says:
I have challenged a young person who parked in one of these parks and received verbal abuse from them instead of an apology.Clive says:
[...] perhaps we should have tow trucks onsite to tow them away.Jon says:
Tradesmen, couriers, casual shoppers - none of these people have any excuse whatsoever to use these spots.Helen says:
The people parking in designated disabled car parks are clearly impaired, arrogant, ignorant or maybe plain stupid.Pamella says:
Today I went to visit a friend in hospital; the mobility parks were all full, including a taxi that did not display a mobility card. So, no hospital visit - I came home again, a wasted trip.
On the one hand, you have inconsiderate people parking illegally. On the other hand, you have people who are inconvenienced by the lack of accessible parking. Why is it so hard to get that issue sorted out?
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This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 30th, 2006 and is filed under Drive-by.
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Comment by: Webmaster
I may not buy more in one go, but I guarantee you I spend as much, if not more, than the average punter does in a week.
Comment by: Dirk
By that i mean they have few issues pushing around large food carts.
Comment by: Dirk
Stores will never enforce the mobility issue because to do so will create friction with customers.
Able-bodied people buy more.......
#ihatepeople who say "i Dont Care About Feelings" Whats up with th eWhite Boy? "Shhhhhhhhhhh...He still on the phone #CaughtYa
i got a bajillion calls already - "are you bidding suchnsuch?" on one of 'em, there was definitely a baby in the background. #caughtya
There's a thief in the camp! S/o to @BobbyTrendz who stole & posted my quote on FB LOL LOL #CaughtYa
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This story does not surprise me at all. Disgust at the extent of the problem, but not surprise. I am in Palmerston North and am just astounded by the large number of entries you have for my city. It is shameful and somewhat embarrassing.
I note that many of these entries are from photographs taken at supermarkets. I can certainly understand how the photographers must feel when they see these infringements. A member of my family is disabled and uses a wheelchair. There have been many times (usually when it's raining) that we have been unable to buy our groceries. One memorable day, we drove to every supermarket in Palmerston North and spent two hours trying to find an accessible parking space. In the end, we gave up, had takeaway for dinner and went out the next day to get our supplies.
The inconsiderate able-bodied have no idea of the impact of them taking these parks. I contacted a local newspaper to tell them about your site and I hope they bring some attention to it. It's a great site and *might* just make a difference in raising awareness.
City council gets tough on mobility carpark abusers...
From the PNCC press release: “SUPERMARKETS TOLD TO POLICE DISABILITY PARKS “
Palmerston North’s Mayor has written to local supermarkets asking them to be more vigilant about the misuse of mobility car parks.
Mayor Heather Tanguay was dis...
DON'T DISCRIMINATE AGAINST THOSE WITH INVISIBLE DISABILITIES:
Not all individuals with disabled parking permits are old, use wheelchairs, have scooters, walkers, canes, knee braces, etc. There are a host of other conditions and these individuals lawfully get their disabled parking permits such as: Heart conditions, Lung conditions, Muscle conditions i.e. Multiple Sclerosis, Fibromyalgia, Arthritis, etc. Some people are young, some such as MS and Fibromyalgia may look fine and walk fine, but they need it in order to bank enough energy to get through the day. HAVE SOME CHARITY IN YOUR HEART. IF ANYONE SPEAKS TO THESE INDIVIDUALS WHO LAWFULLY HAVE PERMITS, I hope they charge you with HARASSMENT. That is why there are Parking Police. Let THEM do their job.
Fuchsia, I think you'll find we fully agree with you. Caughtya does not judge the validity of permits, but only whether a permit is displayed or not. We are fully aware of non-visible disabilities and have discussed this issue a couple times, included here:
http://caughtya.org/drive-by/2006/08/dont-throw-baby-out-with-the-bathwater.html
Sorry, but I disagree with you, Fuchsia. I am disabled and see many young and very obviously able bodied folks who use others disability stickers for their own use. It truly annoys me to see these lazy people use the very last space available to park their cars, then literally jog to the store so I am forced to drive around and around the parking lot until another space becomes available.
I work in a retail store and I see many people abusing the disabled parking laws. Despite that there is a sign that says "Disabled Parking Only", the sign also says that there is a huge fine for doing so. However, the problem is it is only enforced when either the store owner reports someone or an occasional drive-by from the local police.
I'm apalled at the people who park in disabled parking spaces. I have even seen people who DO have a disabled placard on their car walking just fine and are youthful. Just because they have someone in their family who DOES require the placard, other family members abuse the right by using it for themselves when they do not need to park there.
I think the people who are caught parking in disabled parking spaces should have to spend one entire day in the life of a disabled person. They should be sentenced to a wheelchair and have their feet tied together so they cannot walk and see how is to be disabled. Maybe then they will understand why it is so important not to park in these spaces and possibly appreciate being able to walk. If they were unable to walk, they would definitely have a different view on people who parked in disabled parking spaces.
I, myself, would like to apologize for those who park in disabled spaces when they should not be. I believe there should be more spaces marked off for disabled people.
It tears at my heart to hear people say that they are unable to do their shopping because ignorant, LAZY people are taking up their parking spaces.
If people parked in the spaces they are supposed to, despite that it may be a few feet further away, this country may not have the obesity problem we do.
I myself have learned alot listening to people who are disabled. I don't agree with putting stickers on people's cars', but I do think that putting a piece of paper on their car noting that they are illegally parked does no harm. If people want to be upset with anyone for putting the notices on their car, they should be upset with themselves for parking there in the first place!
I am new to this site and I also live in the "city of shame"...Palmerston North, I couldnt believe how many offenders we have and not to mention how many are at one car park area in particular, the New World Supermarket! Why nothing has been done by the local council about this supermarket is beyond me! I always thought I was being a grumpy and an antisocial b@#$ard because I would always comment on people taking up the mobility parks, I am glad to see I am not imagining things and arent alone in my campaign to stamp out ignorance. On one occassion I was photographing a number plate when the owner and his girlfriend returned, the owner called me allsorts of wonderful names, non of which I recognised as "terms of endearment"... but the girlfriend reached into the back of car and pulled out steering wheel locking device and threatened to beat the snot out of me with it.... Now for a quick bit of information, although I have mobility issues, I am actually six foot tall and weigh in at about 300 pounds and are usaully 'armed' with a pair of elbow crutches... and she was about 5 foot-five and after a big mac and large fries may have clocked the scales at about 90 pound...so you can that when I laughed at her threat, as I thought it was funny, she got even more angry at which point her very vocal and apparently vacabularly challenged boyfriend told her the get in the car and they left... Such is the wonderous life in paradise... to be fair though, our drivers in Palmerston North dont just limit their ignorance to mobility parks, they are generally the worse drivers I have ever seen, they run lights, stop signs etc... thay are all morons spawned for a seriously depleted gene pool!!!
In response to Al...
Supermarkets are privately owned and all the city council can do is ask the owners to ensure their disability car parks are kept available for those who are entitled to use them. The city council has no way to enforce this. It is only responsible for the car parks that are controlled by the council. Council is aware of the problems and investigating ways in which it can facilitate solutions but the most obvious solution may be one which needs to be taken up at central government level.
In gaining consent for building a supermarket, carparking has to meet certain requirements. There seems little point having a requirement for a certain number of disability parking spots if the use of these car parks cannot be enforced.
Lynne Pope, PN City Councillor.