Parking in Handicap Spots When You Are Not Handicapped
See, I told you I had a rant for this, but it would have to wait for another day, well it is now “another day”.
One of the things that probably irks me the most is the abuse of handicapped parking spots. I see it just about every single day. It’s not just those rude “I’m better than you” people, who are not in any way shape, or form handicapped but still park in those spots, but it is also the Government-sponsored abuse of those spots. What? Government-sponsored abuse. Yep, that is what I said, Government-sponsored abuse.
Think about it. How many times have you seen a person get out of their car parked in a handicapped spot and walk to the store without the aid of a cane, walker, or even a simple limp? I see it all the time. In fact, coming into work this morning, this lady parks there, then digs through the glove compartment box and locates her trusty “get out of jail free” pass, a.k.a. handicapped parking permit, and hangs it on her rearview mirror. Then she gets out of the car, walks into the building, and climbs two flights of stairs without a problem.
Yes, I know she might legally be handicapped in the eyes of her doctor, and in the eyes of the ADA, but does she require a parking permit? If she can walk without any aid or assistance, then maybe she does not need to park there. I’m not hating on handicapped people, in fact just the opposite. I think that if some people who do not need it are not parking there, then there will be more parking for those that do need it.
How do they get these permits? Why do they have them? Do they still need them? Those are all great questions and they should be answered. To get a permit, all you need is a note from your doctor and a trip to the DMV. Your doctor can give you one if he/she feels you meet the requirements. Did you know that breaking your leg could get you one? Do they expire, well yes, they do, but they can be altered and no one really checks anyway? Our fine police officers have much more important things to do than check for parking violations.
Hey, we brought this on ourselves. We do not want to vote for an increase in our taxes, which will get us more law enforcement, which we can use. I am actually for more law enforcement. I see that if you are following the laws set forth by the Government (which we voted for), then you should have no fear of the police, but that is an entirely different soapbox for a later time.
As a true story, when my mother-in-law was using a walker to get around and she couldn’t walk a few steps without being out of breath and had triple bypass surgery, she didn’t rate a parking permit. Her doctor would not write her a prescription for one. Yet all people who do not need them have them.
I know people that have these permits and they take them with them on vacation and such, they can walk a mall just fine but have to get the up-front parking spot, after all, they deserve it in their eyes.
I also understand that not every handicap is visible. Trust me I know, I have several that are not, but then again, not every handicap warrants a parking placard, nor should they. These spots are for those people that are impaired in their mobility. They were designed to help these people, so they do not have to park a half-mile away just to go to the mall.
It really is just sad that people abuse this.
