12 January 2007

Disabled Parking

| bighead
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I wanted to write about disabled parking.

Now having someone in my family with a major disability can be challenging. But to be honest, there is nothing more annoying for me personally than pulling up to CISAC to take him swimming only to find all the disabled car parks out the front taken by others who do not have the passes. Canberra seems to be a greedy place when it comes to car parking, particularly P plate drivers and younger drivers in general park in disabled spots for convenience.

I rarely see parking officials out now, but when they are they never seem to worry about disabled parking.

Another thing that gets me about it is how many old people have the passes, it is incredible. I understand for the people in our community that are at a point of being unable to walk. But I see quite a few older people just park in these spaces and then walk around the shopping centre for ages. Now that to me is just being lazy.

Also, one more thing that annoys me about them, parents that have the passes for the disabled person and then use the pass anywhere, even if the disabled person is not with them. I believe the law is still in place that you can have a disabled pass on your car and park anywhere and not be fined. I could be wrong on this.

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i thought that the photos on NSW permits are only on the inside of the sticker?

“#

rosso69, no, they do not have photos, just a few simple details, such as expiry date and registration number, I’m sure there is more, but it’s been a long long time since I have actually read whats on the from of it.

Comment by bighead — 14 January, 2007 @ 3:32 am”

It should also be noted that the current ACT Disabled Parking permit has been changed to show the Canberra Crest in Gold so as to redly identify forgeries that show up every now and then. They don’t display the vehicle registration anymore as they are issued to the person only. So that person may be transported in different vehicles.

Thanx for that bighead. In the last couple of years we’ve gone from a piece of laminated paper to a license looking card with your photo on one side and the Expiry on the other, though for privacy reason’s you can’t show the Photo side when on the windscreen.

rosso69, no, they do not have photos, just a few simple details, such as expiry date and registration number, I’m sure there is more, but it’s been a long long time since I have actually read whats on the from of it.

Its a symptom of the lessening respect for the law, brought about by, perversely, those we entrust to administer it!

You didn’t happen to see if any of the unlawfully parked cars had been driven by a certain well-known young lady, did you?

Do the permits in Canberra have the disabled person’s photo on it like the NSW ones?

I agree. there’s nothing worse than seeing someone park in a Parents with Prams spot when they obviously have kids who can walk or have no kids at all. If i can see a car seat in the car i have no prob’s but if a kids big enough to go without a car seat their big enough to walk. Having a Injured partner (with a permit) and a young kid with another on the way the whole time i’ve been driving i’ve never once got the chance to park in these 2 designated spots because of a few slack people.

I wish I could have got a disabled permit when I was 8 or 9 months pregnant. I sure felt disabled. Some days walking to the front door was a struggle. Thankfully the condition passed. Now if only there were more parents with prams spots …

First-time poster here! Speaking from the point of view of a person with a disability, I have to say that it is pretty ignorant to judge someone based on the fact that they can walk away from their car seemingly ‘well’. I don’t use my permit all the time but a requirement to get a pass is the inability to walk 100 metres. That may not seem like much but it is not always easy to do for people who have a disability (even if one’s illness may not always be easily perceptible to others).
I am all for smashing the crap outta people who park in places who do not have disabled permits but, for those who do, it could be a little harsh to judge the person without knowing the specifics. Maybe just go up to them and ask about their situation (hoping that this may, in some way, guilt them if they are improperly using the permit). I know I wouldn’t mind explaining why I have a permit to someone who asked me (it is much better than having to put up with being stared down or having to read very abusive material on my windscreen – both of which I have had to do on numerous occasions). I have a genetic illness affecting my lungs btw. Oh, also, this isn’t trying to be a sob-story or anything hehe

Disabled people shouldn’t be allowed out at all anyway: they just get in the way of us ‘normal’ folk. 🙂

Andy: if you have one in a pram, odds on there’s another at foot. Dragging a young one across a car park is hazardous if you are pushing a pram at the same time. Only takes a second. You’d only knock them if you’ve never had to use them.

i hate the parents with prams parking more.
I won’t use a disabled spot, but i have used parents with prams before.

Is it just me, or has Mr. Evil’s long-lost brother shown up under the name Hasdrubhal? Gold.

barking toad1:49 pm 12 Jan 07

and my spelling sucks today!

barking toad1:47 pm 12 Jan 07

5.00pm may be a better time ferrety one

the temp is risng meaning more time is needed for fluid replacement

Illegal parkers = law flouters – see http://www-staff.lboro.ac.uk/~ssgf/KP/1999_DisabledParkingBays.pdf which shows that those who do so tend to do lots of other bad stuff! Food for thought.

Part of the problem at CISAC is the abyssmal parking situation.
Yes there is a stack of parking up the back, but it is unsealed (don’t want my car sprayed with gravel thanks), unlit, no cameras, and no easy/quick way down and into the building.
So I won’t park up there and neither will most other people. Which leaves everyone to squeeze in to areas that aren’t actual car spaces (which I do) or the disabled spaces (which I don’t and don’t condone).
All of this is exacerbated by gym and swim class timetables that have classes following hard on the heels of each other, causing parking spikes.
And made even worse by the fact that the people who have been gifted the management rights to that incredible complex couldn’t give a shit about customer service!
Now what’s it going to be like in a month when they have double the gym and fitness class areas I ask?
I for one am glad a new gym is opening next week closer to home…

Wait behind their car with a baseball bat, then break one of their legs when they return. That way, they can leave with a clear conscience and everyone is happy.

When she sees people parked in a disabled spot with out a sticker she just gently wheels past, running her key along the length of their car.

I wouldn’t be dissapointed to see this happen.

My Pop never uses the spots if my Gran (who the pass is intended for) is not in the car.

A friend’s mother is in a wheel chair, so well and truly needs the disabled park. When she sees people parked in a disabled spot with out a sticker she just gently wheels past, running her key along the length of their car.

I think that is fair enough, as she can’t actually get out of the car in a normal spot (the wheel chair is on the roof of the car, and won’t fit between two cars in normal spots).

Woody Mann-Caruso11:22 am 12 Jan 07

Look them up and down, then have an “a ha!” moment and grin widely. “What the fuck are you looking at?” they say. “I was just trying to figure out why you’re parked there. Then I realised that if I was as fucking ugly as you, I’d claim I was disabled as well.”

Other faves:

“I think it’s great that mentally retarded people are allowed to drive like everybody else.”

“I didn’t know “bogan” was a disability.”

“If that’s the straightest you can park, I guess you really are disabled.”

“It’s the haircut, right? I knew it!”

“Well, I guess being fat and stupid is a disability.”

Maybe we could make it a new weeky feature on The RiotACT. Take pictures of people without permits entering or eaving their vehicles, get their plate details, and stick the fuckers on teh internets for everybody to see.

I was offered a disabled pass too, when my heart went (I was only 31 at the time). I didn’t accept it, because I didn’t think I really needed it. It was good that they offered, but for me I didn’t think I was quite “disabled” enough to warrant one.

I think it can be a bit easy to get a pass (don’t flame me, I just mean for minor things, most people who have the passes need them, I didn’t) and I did wonder how many people in my position would have just thought “Hey! Free parking and right up the front, for 6 months”.

I also felt that when people saw a healthy looking 31 year old woman get out of a car at a disabled park they’d have a go, I mean, I didn’t LOOK disabled, my heart just wasn’t working! And that was one more pressure I just didn’t need.

Personally I get the shits royally when people without passes park in those spots, and have been known to leave notes on the windshield saying I have photographed their car and passed it on to the police. Of course, I never do (I figure the police have other things to do), but I hope that it makes them think before they do it next time.

Growling Ferret11:02 am 12 Jan 07

Toad

I reckon I might join you in your quest for temporary paralysis. Smokehouse?

barking toad10:48 am 12 Jan 07

just in time to get on ya couch and try and watch the cricket thumping one

barking toad10:28 am 12 Jan 07

I am going to get disabled this evening starting about 5.30 – can I get a sticker?

RG: Nice 🙂

Also, one more thing that annoys me about them, parents that have the passes for the disabled person and then use the pass anywhere, even if the disabled person is not with them. I believe the law is still in place that you can have a disabled pass on your car and park anywhere and not be fined. I could be wrong on this.

The problem would be for a parking inspector to prove it.

an older friend of mine has a false foot and thus cannot walk long distnces and has a disabled pass. she walks well over short distances.
likewise lots of oldies have heart trouble, making walking a real effort.

I have a Disable Parking label and use it sparingly as I don’t always need to use it on my “good” days. If there is another space nearby that is not Disable parking Ill use it. Yes you can park almost any where free of charge and at the double posted times except in loading and Commonwealth spaces. This is why I don’t always use the Disable Parking spaces. Another reason I leave these spaces alone is you will note that Disable Spaces are a little bit wider than your normal space, This is so Wheelchair Drivers have more room to manipulate their chairs.

http://www.ratetheplate.com.au/ – heres a nice sort of passive aggressive way around the whole thing.

old people often have them because their husband/wife are disabled

And if they do not have said husband/wife with them, they should park where everyone else parks, rather than abusing the system. Then, as they’re walking the extra distance from the regular spot — probably somewhere distant and not undercover — they’ll have a perfect view of the squadron of pigs flying over.

I have, on occasion, snotted more than one non pass holding parker. Petty Justice but it felt good all the same.

old people often have them because their husband/wife are disabled

darkladywolf8:55 am 12 Jan 07

I’m wondering if photos showing the disabled spot and their windscreen with lack of pass would be enough to get them fined?

blingblingbears8:08 am 12 Jan 07

a former friend of mine got a pass for her grandfather and used the pass to park right out the front of her work every day… she never took her grandfather anywhere!!

I have no need to use the diabled spots, however I find all of the above quite annoying too

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