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.
You'll ask, "Disablism, what's that?". In some circles it's known as Ableism, in others, simply Disability Discrimination, though I feel that Disablism and Ableism are more than just discrimination. I think it's an attitude that puts people with disabilities even lower on the totem pole. " What's that got to do with parking?" you'll ask again.
A lot, actually. The constant and repeated abuse of disability parking spaces by people who don't need them is a form of discrimination. Of course, some would say that the mere existance of dedicated accessible parking spaces is discrimination - against people who don't have a disability. And that, my friends, is an Ableist attitude.
Another example: The store manager who says that he won't monitor his store's parking lot for disability parking abuse, because "they are my customers too, I'll let them park there rather than bothering them."
In fact, until and unless ableist attitudes change, we're unlikely to ever be able to eradicate the abuse of disability parking spaces.
And unfortunately, parking fines don't change attitudes. They change behaviour, but they don't change attitudes. They just make people upset.
You might say that as long as people have changed their behaviour and aren't using the spaces when they shouldn't, we'll be fine. And you'd be right. To a point. I really think that we need to change attitdues, more than just behaviours, because once we've changed attitudes, we don't have to keep fighting at changing other ableist behaviours.
Problem is, how do we change attitudes? I don't know.
In the meantime, just don't even think about parking in my space without a legitimate disability parking permit!
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This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 1st, 2007 and is filed under Access Issues, 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 is officially my first stop on BADD! You're the first of many posts for the occasion that I'm reading, and it's a wonderful place to start--the everyday frustrations and the unnecessary nonsense add up, don't they?
Thanks for stopping by Penny :) It does indeed add up :(
I find the abuse of disabled spaces really depressing, because I think people who do this must imagine that the space is some sort of unfair privilege. I think the project you have here at Caughtya is great. :-)
Here, here.
I get increasing fed up at my local supermarket about a) the lack of disabled parking spaces and b) their abuse by non-disabled people. I don't use this store any more and go elsewhere.
*Applause*
Ugh. I hate it when people abuse parking spaces. I've taken to carrying pen & paper with me so that I can write notes when possible. I try to make them humourous while still getting my point accross. I think the most recent one was something like: "Aren't you glad I don't have a van with a lift or ramp? You'd now have a squashed motorcycle. It's always illegal to park on the hashmarks!" [for a motorcycle parked on hashmarks -- I nearly couldn't get my chair back in my car as is with where he was parked]
I want legally mandated towing, actually.
I once blocked a kid in the doorway of a local Walgreen's from entering the store because he'd parked in the handicapped spot. He refused to move his car; I made a scene; I ended up leaving after holding him there in the doorway for five minutes ordering him to move his car with no authority whatsoever; and then I wrote down his license plate number and published it on Craigslist with the story of what happened and why I felt this kind of behavior was unreasonable. I sent copies of what I'd written to Walgreen's and to the local cops. The local cops warned me not to do stuff like block people in doorways because that kind of thing can escalate into violence, and a number of people on Craigslist called me a whiny, self-involved bitch (like I haven't heard *that* before), but many others were more supportive. The cops were actually supportive, too, just worried.
Just thought you'd be amused. Oh, and I was serious about the towing. Nothing says "We really mean handicapped only; do you get it now?" like making someone go pay a couple hundred dollars to get their car back.
Penelope, if you are able to, get yourself a small digital camera, take a photo, and submit it to this site. Then you can print out one of the "Caughtya notices" and stick it under their windshield. :)
It is amazingly effective :)
Sara, I am unsure how I feel about towing. Yes, it's a major deterrent, but what if it's someone who's forgotten to display their parking placard and have no way to get home (happened to me once, no accessible public transport from the convention center, center a $40 taxi ride away from town, etc). Forgetting to display one's placard is not good, but mistakes do happen.
As for not blocking cars... I learned the hard way. I used to do that when i was in Chicago. Then one day a big nasty dude pulled out a gun and told me in no uncertain terms to "shove off". I recently heard of someone who was run over by a car and nearly died, spending months in hospital, because they stood behind a car illegally parked. Just don't take chances with your life.
Not all disabilities are visible all the time. I am disabled, but I have good and bad days as much as anyone else. If I can walk it, I don't park in the handicapped spots, if I can't I do. Ma Nature made me this way. I may not use a walker or a wheelchair, but I do use a cane at times since I was 28.
Oh dear. A subject that causes me grief. I have got to the point that i just don't know how to handle it. Ignore it, and remain sane, et this lets them get away with it. Say something and be abused and then be angry all day.
I have found that in the mainland Euro countries, France, germany Scandinavia etc, I have not had this happen. I find the attitude much friendlier an dmore helpful than here in the UK. Here people don't give a s**t and will just abuse you. The last time, I nearly got hit by the husband of a woman i told off. he just couln't quite bring himself to hit a man in a wheelchair. I am ALWAYS polite when i do say something but it does not alter the response I get which is always abuse.
Have any of you every seen Mind of Mencia? I’ll go ahead and agree that you need “special†parking spots but only on the condition that you agree that I am somehow better then you. I am better then you and there for I should allow you to have the best possible parking spots, cut in line and any number of other requests to make your life easier. Now if you think that we are equal, as I think, then you’re just going to have to wait in the back of the line, and park in the back of the parking lot, just like everyone else. Some people would argue that if they are made to park in normal first come first serve spots and it is raining then they will get wetter then someone who can run, but my argument would be that I have seen people who are much faster in a wheel chair then I am. Now what about individuals who have the automatic chairs that only go so fast? THOSE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO DESERVE THE SPOTS! If you have a hearing difficulty then tough, your going to have to walk and you should be glad that you can. The real problem is that everyone is getting handicap stickers for every little thing, I feel that only in the worst situations should you be allowed to have the handicap sticker. I can’t stand it when people want to call themselves handy-able,,,, until it comes to parking. So save the parking spots for those who can only move as fast as the machine or old age allows. I personally wish we could get a covered, air conditioned/heated trolley in every parking lot for these people, just enough movement in their hand to move the controller on their chair but that’s ok fat guy, she’ll just wait for the spot until you get done WALKING through the store.
Dear Nate,
It's not about whether or not someone "deserves" a space. It's whether or not someone *needs* it.
I agree with you, it's entirely too easy to get a parking permit. Too many doctors hand them out like candy to their elderly patients (contrary to popular belief, age is NOT a disability). Yet, the purpose of this site is not about who gets parking permits or not, but about who parks in the spaces WITHOUT SHOWING A PERMIT.
I use a wheelchair, I'm young(ish), and fit. I can go 'round the block if I need to. Parking near the entrance, for me, for now, is not an issue. Yet, I still would need a different parking space to other people. There are two aspects to mobility parking spaces: first, that they are near the entrance, for those who can't travel far, but also, they have to be wide enough to allow the loading/unloading of a wheelchair, or walking frame, or other mobility equipment. So, fine, send me across the world if you want, but you can't ask me to use any old spot. If you do, well, I'll park across two spaces to make sure I can get out of my car.
As for cutting in lines, etc... Well, that ain't right.
I myself have a handicapped plate on my car and a hangtag for my husband's truck. I may not be in a wheelchair, but I do deserve to use the spaces. I don't cut in line or use my disability in those ways. I park in the farthest spaces so that the closer ones are available for those who need it most. It is hard to tell someone like me apart from someone "stealing" a space. I will show you my walking braces if you show me some support. Some days my cane is for walking some days it is for defending people like myself.
mebejafo, I know many people who have so called "invisible disabilities" who require disability parking and have the parking permits to legitimately use. I well understand the problems you face because of that. Again, I'll stress that Caughtya.org does not judge whether a parking permit is legitimate or not. We can't. We only go by whether or not a permit is displayed.
Don't let them get to you :)
I invite Nate to visit Coolidge or Casa Grande, AZ, get in a wheelchair or on a scooter and try to wheel from the 'back 40' to the front door of the Wal-Marts. I think by the time he reached the door, he would see why the law requires the handicap parking spaces. I have a friend who is on the cart crew at Wal-Mart in Coolidge, who is 6'3" tall, and they wear Intl Orange vests while collecting carts. He says he has gotten bumped numerous times by people speeding, backing suddenly out of parking spaces without looking, or wheeling around the lot like AJ Foyt with a cell phone screwed in their ear. In my scooter, my head is just about four feet off the deck, and a scooter is like a motorcycle in that it provides no protection in case of a collision. I don't feel you are better than me, but I do believe that I should have equal access to public places. You can park your car halfway down the parking lane and walk to the store with no problem, in fact, you could probably jog the distance with no ill effect. I am one of the people with a condition called COPD, which doesn't permit me to walk more than about 20 feet without having to sit down and catch my breath. There are people with heart conditions who have the same problem. As to the person who says doctors hand those placards out like candy. The doctors do not give out the placards, they recommend to the DMV that so and so needs one, and justifies it, explaining why they need it. The DMV has a board that reviews the recommendation, and THEY decide and issue the plate or placard. I guarantee you, it is almost as hard to get a handicap plate as it is to get SSDI. A lot of abuse of handicap parking is by the family of disabled using the plate or placard when the disabled person is not there, keeping the placard or plate after the PWD has passed on, or, like in California, there is a big black market in placards, where a stolen placard can sell for $400, and some 60% of vehicles displaying HP placards have no one in the family that is disabled.
Hello Allen, you make some very good points regarding the safety of mobility devices users having to get through a parking lot unscathed. It took me about 6 months healing an injury to my hand after I had to hit a car that was backing right into me and didn't hear my yells. Dangerous business that.
Keep in mind that the process you describe to get a disability parking permit varies significantly from location to location and in many cases, the DMV just rubberstamps the form filled out by the doctor. In fact, when I moved to one of the Southern states, I didn't even have to go to a doctor, I showed up at the DMV to ask for the form, and they gave me the parking permit there and then (I use a wheelchair). It saved me some grief, but it makes you question the process.
As for black market for disability placard, this happens everywhere. Not long ago I had a journalist from the UK asking me if I was aware of any such scheme.
I grieve the old life that I once knew before my disorder got the best of me. I just turned 40 and......
I can no longer count on shopping around the holiday season because handicap spaces are limited.
I can no longer go shopping in small gift shops because they are too crouded and can't be managed in a wheel chair or there is a step to get into the store.
I can no longer go to small diners because there is no room for my wheel chair.
I can no longer take my dogs for a walk.
I can no longer play with the kids in my yard because my wheel chair isn't motorized.
I can no longer do the housework that I once was able to do with ease.
I can no longer work because of pain and limitations brought on by my disease.
Having a place to park is important because it allows me to have a small piece of freedom. When a non disabled person parks in a handicap spot they are taking that little bit of freedom away from me. Sure it isn't your fault that I'm disabled but it surely isn't mine either.
The federal government passed the Americans with Disabilities Act in the early 1990's. It is basically a mandate for all cities, towns and cities int he US to designate handicapped parking spaces, among other things. Violations of cities to comply with the rules and regulations can result in the citizens to file a complaint with the Department of Justice. The Department will determine whether or not to file suit against the city or one complaining may agree to mediation in order to get the city to comply with regulations. If the mediation fails then the complainant can file a civil suit for damages. I have heard that if a city is getting any federal money this can be stopped until the city complies. Our little town refuses to install properly marked spaces and the mediator ended the mediation because the Mayor refused to comply. The police department is willing to enforce the regulation but cannot do it until the spaces are marked. So...the moral is to file a complaint with the Dept. of Justice for municipalities and then individual complaints against the individual businesses within the municipality. The placards are also numbered and the state police can furnish the name of the person it is issued to.
Hello Everett, it always fascinates me when the people who are most responsible for complying with the law are the least active about doing it. It isn't a surprise though. I remember well a 5 year fight with a city in the Midwest, whom we had worked with before they did redevelopment of the city center. We had provided them with the regulations, explained to them why it was important to comply, etc. They had agreed to all of it. And after the redevelopment was done, the sidewalks weren't up to par (way too steep), the kerb cuts weren't good, the sidewalks too narrow, etc. Municipalities just seem to not care one whit.
And then, if you *do* have the space, they need to be enforced, which is not part of the ADA (nor of most other accessibility regulations around the world). It says "you'll provide parking spaces". It doesn't say "You'll monitor and enforce those spaces". And so, we are facing problems and have a need for websites such as this one!
Well mebejafo,even disabled as you are, you still need a handicap plate or a placard to use the handicapped parking spaces.Without one or the other you are not entitled to that space.
Webmaster, here is another problem.Here in Florida if you have a DV tag this alone does not entitle you to use the handcapped parking spaces.You still have to have the wheelchair emblem on the tag or a placard.I am a 100% diabled veteran of the Vietnam war and I have a DV tag on my truck but I have a placard to hang from my mirror.I saw two DV tags at Walmart this moring with no wheelchair emblem or placard hanging from the mirror.
this is how i feel about disabled parking....
1. if you are so disabled that a few feet make all the difference in the world whether you can actually make it into a store, than you are obviously so disabled that you should be bed ridden....
2. if you aren't so disabled that you should be bed ridden..... then the extra exercise provided by parking further away is actually good for you (gasp!!)... making you stronger and healthier!! any doctor who tells you that walking 100 more feet a day is bad for you, is a just a bad doctor... i've never seen someone coming out of a store huffing and puffing acting like they just barely made it and the extra 100 foot saved by parking up front was the only reason they could have accomplished their shopping...
3. 95% of the people i see hopping out of a disabled spot with disabled license plates are healthier than i am... doctors give out disabled plates like candy... heck, i'm in reasonable health, and i'm sure if i'ld just ask, i'ld have a disabled parking plate no problem!!... what's the point if 95% of the people legally using the spots now simply shouldn't be using them??
This is a response to gt80rdider:
First of all, unless you're disabled yourself or know someone who is disabled, you're certainly in no position to judge regarding disabled parking. Have you heard of invisible disabilities, such as COPD or rheumatoid arthritis?
Secondly, regular parking spots aren't as big as disabled parking spots, so disabled people who use wheelchairs, walkers, scooters, etc. have a much harder time getting out of their cars. I myself don't use these devices but my sister does. She uses both a manual and electric wheelchair. We don't have our own vehicle but we rent from time to time, and she has a legal disabled parking permit. She doesn't use the disabled parking spots all the time but she's certainly entitled to use one. She has spina bifida and is unable to walk. A disabled parking spot gives her much more room to get into her wheelchair from the passenger seat. Try doing that in a regular parking spot, when another car's parked beside you. It's quite impossible to do that. Put yourself in someone else's position before even trying to judge any further.
This has happened to me on more than one occasion; the most recent incident was only a week and a half ago. My office is in a building that has several office suites for a number of nonprofit agencies. The attached parking lot has no specified parking spots dedicated to those with disabled parking permits. This ordinarily isn't a big problem because there is another parking area that does have the spots and the spaces in the attached lot are quite wide. I don't park in the dedicated spots because I work there and am parked all day. I want to leave the spaces for other people who need them. But a few days ago the attached lot was unusually full. I parked there anyway because the spaces are generally wide enough that nobody parks too close to me. I had to visit several schools on this particular day (I drive a lot for my job), but when I came out to my car I saw that somebody had parked too close to it. I am a paraplegic and use a relatively small manual wheelchair. I could get close enough to unlock my door, but couldn't open the door wide enough to get into my car, let alone to flip my chair over and take off the wheels. I had no idea who had parked beside me, or what agency they were visiting, so I couldn't ask them to move.
****Please note that the car parked next to mine was NOT illegally parked! I am only using the example to illustrate the problem.****
What to do? The only thing I've ever been able to do in a situation like this is to rely on the kindness of strangers. I asked a man who was in a nearby parking lot to take my car keys, get into my car and back it out of my parking spot. this requires a great deal of trust; he could have stolen my car! At best it is a HUGE inconvenience; at worst...well, a lot of things could happen in worst-case scenarios.
I do sometimes put my placard up in my driver's side window in the chance that the person who might park to my left will look over and see it and understand that I need a wider area for breaking down or setting up my wheelchair.
gt80drider provides a great example of the ignorance in the greater population about the actual need for disabled parking spots. I don't mind parking far away from an entrance; for me, the issue is clearance and the actual size of a parking spot. I do know that the permits are handed out much too readily (in my opinion). Please don't assume you understand the situation, though, unless you are in it. gt80drider and Nate, maybe you should ask a couple of questions before you make any judgments. It's a good way to avoid looking stupid and uninformed, and a better way to be taken seriously.
After spending about 12 hours in an emergency room recently, I was told I have Progressive COPD. About ten years ago I noticed I was having shortness of breath issues when walking very far and doing some household chores. Now, some days it's all I can do to make from the car to a seat just inside the store. I catch my breath and move on. Do my shopping holding on to a cart and huff it back to the car where most often I just sit there a while and try to breathe before driving home. I feel embaressed most times at how I must look gasping for air. I drive home and strugle to finish unpacking the car. Put things away if I can and then just flop down and rest for a long while. I used to be very healthy and independent. Thank goodness I have a loving and understanding husband. When he is with me he drops me off at the door then parks where he can. When finished shopping I wait at the front of the store for him to bring the car to me. I was thinking about applying for a handicap parking permit but, after reading some of the comments here I'm having second thoughts. There are just some days that would be made just a little bit easier if I had that permit to use. I'm just not sure how I would react if someone confronted me about parking where they think I shouldn't because they can't see anything wrong.
hello Kooldaze,
You are one of the reasons caughtya.org *insists* on focusing only on whether or not a parking permit is displayed. We well realise that there is no way to tell if someone has a disability just by looking at them.
If you need one, then get one. And if someone approaches you and gives you crap, give them your doctor's phone number :)
Seriously, people must understand that disability parking spaces are not just for people who are using wheelchairs.