23 March 2012

Disputing an Infringement in the Magistrates Court & Disabled Parking in the ACT

| Malteser
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I’m considering going to the Magistrates Court to dispute a parking infringement issued to me. Now before you all blast me and tell me to pay up, don’t waste taxpayers money, don’t be a tightarse etc I want you to know I’m not doing an “Dr Enfield’ or anything needless like that (I pay any other fines etc). However, there are very important principals and issues associated with this fine that are making me want to fight ‘The Man’.

I believe I provided sufficient evidence to the Delegate of the Road Transport Authority to dispute the fine, however a withdrawl of the infringement was not granted (twice). Ok, so there may not be an option for the Delegate to withdraw my claim under the Road Transport Act 1999. I don’t know. I do know I want to take this further, I am just worried about costs (not $loaded$ unfortunately).

This is where you come in dear readers, have others out there not been granted the withdrawal of a certain traffic fine and successfully disputed the case in court? Or perhaps you thought you had a strong case, went to court and were ordered to pay the fine and the additional costs. I’d actually like to hear from those people and if it is worth going to court or in hindsight would you have just paid up?

Also, what do you think about disabled parking in the ACT town centres? Do you think there are sufficient disabled parking spots that are easily accessible for those in wheelchairs? Do you think some spaces should be restricted in terms of time limits to free up availability throughout the day? Do you think there needs to be more signage to direct drivers to other disabled spots that may not be in the immediate vacinity? There have been a number of ACT Government reports on this subject, I’d just like to hear from readers especially those that use disabled parking either for themselves or for disabled family membres, friends etc

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Velveteen Rabbit10:19 pm 19 Apr 12

There’s a crazy woman who works in my building who parks all day in one of the disabled spots outside using her wheelchair-bound mother’s permit. Her mother, of course, does not come to work with her. There’s a huge shortage of parking in that area, granted, but if we have to scrounge around and park 15 minutes away, so should she. I have, however, parked in a parents-with-prams spot when there were no other spots, which is probably just as bad?

In October 2009 I believed I had a good case for withdrawal being forced to park in a loading zone in Phillip due to what was, at the time, a total absence of any parking space anywhere in Woden despite arriving in the area an hour ahead of schedule. The Delegate (who incidentally, declined to give his surname beyond its first initial in the review letter) advised me that there was ‘currently nothing in the guidelines’ that allowed him to withdraw the Infringement Notice as issued. A couple of weeks and $97 later I just paid the damn thing, but it was worth a try. The review letter also advised me of the need to get a Loading Zone permit from the Motor Vehicle Registry in Dickson and that under no circumstances could a vehicle without such a permit park in a loading zone, legal parking spots or no legal parking spots available an hour early. I’m not a lawyer so I would recommend getting independent legal advice before proceeding with any Magistrates Court claim.

There is a lot of short stay parking around woden. A 15 min walk? I could walk from the Curtin shops to most Woden Health Centres in the vicinity of Corinna street within 15 mins. It would take you 6-7 mins max to get from the green carpark near the police station, or the one up Dick Smith, or over near the swimming pool or football park.

If you’re lucky to get a parking spot then great, but i also factor in another 15 mins to get from a carpark to wherever. Did you ask for an 8 am appointment to get the first dibs on getting somewhere early? I always negotiate that where i can.

If you want the problem changed – ie more parking spaces available – then lobby for it. Hell, you might be the first complaint or the 100th on the issue. you still chose to park where you did. Couldn’t you have parked under Big W for 2 hours free and pushed your dad to the appointment? That’s approx 200 metres.

keepitup said :

Sandman said :

. . . then surely they can drop you out the front of where you need to go and then scoot round the corner to park the car and walk back to meet you.

I’m a support worker and if I dropped some of my clients off and ‘scooted round the corner’ they’d be gone. Vamoosed. Call the cops.

‘Scooting off round the corner’ doesn’t work for everyone. Able bodied or people who are not disabled maybe, but Sandman obviously hasn’t been in a situation like us.

I did drop my dad off, and that in itself took me 15-20 minutes which is the reason I got the fine in the first place. I obviously still would have got it if I parked in the Taxi rank out the front of the health centre as it doesn’t take everyone two minutes to drop of family/friends etc. Also, the rank had taxis in it, so no go (plus the abuse taxi drivers give you for parking in their rank is pretty bad).

The problem is, there is NO parking in Woden to scoot off too. Imagine leaving someone disabled waiting for half an hour until you are able to find a park, and then you have to walk back to get them, another 15 minutes. I can definitely imagine some people wandering off! Not to mention missing their appointments etc because you have to battle to find a park.Then you are faced with the exact same problem when the appointment is over as you have to find a park close by to get them back in the car….

Sandman said :

. . . then surely they can drop you out the front of where you need to go and then scoot round the corner to park the car and walk back to meet you.

I’m a support worker and if I dropped some of my clients off and ‘scooted round the corner’ they’d be gone. Vamoosed. Call the cops.

I used to work with a bloke who used to drop his wife, who could walk but was disabled and therefore had the sticker, at work in Woden, then drive into Civic and park in one of the premium disabled spaces in Garema Place. The fat b@stard used to argue that he needed the car close by in case he had to rush out to Woden to get his wife. Yes, Alan, you.

I also had a mate who had one leg amputated, spent part of his time on crutches and part of his time with an ill-fitting Medicare leg, and he never used to use disabled spots, because he reckoned there were people who needed them more than him.

I know which bloke I liked better. My one legged mate, when he saw someone being a dickhead, used to say, ‘Makes you glad to be yourself.’. Indeed.

As for you Malteser, I can see your problem, and going to Court would be a lottery, dependent on the mood of the Magistrate. Might be better to get a straw and suck it up.

Community nurses are IME one of the most self-entitled groups in Canberra, and by the looks of it most of them could do with some more exercise. They obviously do that kind of work because they have a great deal of empathy with people such as those in your father’s condition… as long as it doesn’t extend to having to *gasp* walk further than 10 steps from their car to the office.

If it’s not going to cost you anything more than time and energy to go to court, then yes I would dispute it. Ideally your father would also be in attendance in court. Good luck!

pink little birdie3:55 pm 26 Mar 12

Sandman said :

Disabled parking should be for sole use by persons with wheelchairs and that’s it. Make all disabled bays extra wide and any car spotted in those bays without hand controls or some kind of wheelchair loading device gets ticketed. Everyone else can park normally. If you’re too ill or sick to walk 100 metres then I don’t see how you have the physical abilities to be in control of a motor vehicle and if you’re ill or sick and being driven by someone else then surely they can drop you out the front of where you need to go and then scoot round the corner to park the car and walk back to meet you.

Most people with a disability don’t consider themselves ill or sick. I have a disease that flares occasionally but even when it does I don’t consider myself ill or sick. I’m guessing amputees don’t consider themselves ill or sick either.

I’d support the two tiered disability stickers with wide bays for those who need it and regular sized but close bays for those who need the closer bays.

I have an elderly quite frail relo that I take places. No way would I have parked in that spot. If i had to – i’d drop them, dash in and then go and find somewhere to park and come back.

Sorry – its a no from me too. You were not entitled to park there – its as simple as that. however many other disabled spots are available. or not available.

DUB said :

DUB said :

Malteser said :

I parked in a community nurse carpark for 15 minutes while I got my disabled father into a health centre adjacent to the nurse carpark. There were no other carparks so thought this would be somewhat sufficient while I was getting him in there. He needs a wheelchair and oxygen. We have a badge, it was displayed. When I came out to move the car I had a fine. Woden parking is shocking. Especially around those community centre areas.
I’ve provided more information a few comments back. Can anyone offer their opinion if I should go to court or not?

Thank you, you have answered your own question.You should go to court, as parking in any special permit zone (police vehicles only, ambulance only, doctors only, community nurse) – is an offence, disability permit will not help.
Sorry to hear about your problem, but stated above is the reason as to why your requests to withdraw the fine were rejected. Save the costs of court- just pay the fine.

Sorry, was meant to say that you shoul NOT go to court.

Nah, I would go to court, you admit the offence, but have extenuating circumstances that a magistrate may and I say MAY look kindly on. If in fact you can prove that is what happened.

But if you can’t then you get your fine, imposed by the court, and court fees of over a hundred dollars added on to it. That’s what you are facing.

DUB said :

Malteser said :

I parked in a community nurse carpark for 15 minutes while I got my disabled father into a health centre adjacent to the nurse carpark. There were no other carparks so thought this would be somewhat sufficient while I was getting him in there. He needs a wheelchair and oxygen. We have a badge, it was displayed. When I came out to move the car I had a fine. Woden parking is shocking. Especially around those community centre areas.
I’ve provided more information a few comments back. Can anyone offer their opinion if I should go to court or not?

Thank you, you have answered your own question.You should go to court, as parking in any special permit zone (police vehicles only, ambulance only, doctors only, community nurse) – is an offence, disability permit will not help.
Sorry to hear about your problem, but stated above is the reason as to why your requests to withdraw the fine were rejected. Save the costs of court- just pay the fine.

Sorry, was meant to say that you shoul NOT go to court.

Malteser said :

I parked in a community nurse carpark for 15 minutes while I got my disabled father into a health centre adjacent to the nurse carpark. There were no other carparks so thought this would be somewhat sufficient while I was getting him in there. He needs a wheelchair and oxygen. We have a badge, it was displayed. When I came out to move the car I had a fine. Woden parking is shocking. Especially around those community centre areas.
I’ve provided more information a few comments back. Can anyone offer their opinion if I should go to court or not?

Thank you, you have answered your own question.You should go to court, as parking in any special permit zone (police vehicles only, ambulance only, doctors only, community nurse) – is an offence, disability permit will not help.
Sorry to hear about your problem, but stated above is the reason as to why your requests to withdraw the fine were rejected. Save the costs of court- just pay the fine.

I’ve provided more information a few comments back. Can anyone offer their opinion if I should go to court or not?

Snapperjack, maybe you can eat your words too

ahappychappy7:57 pm 25 Mar 12

HenryBG said :

ThatUniStudent said :

Sandman said :

Disabled parking should be for sole use by persons with wheelchairs and that’s it. Make all disabled bays extra wide and any car spotted in those bays without hand controls or some kind of wheelchair loading device gets ticketed. Everyone else can park normally. If you’re too ill or sick to walk 100 metres then I don’t see how you have the physical abilities to be in control of a motor vehicle and if you’re ill or sick and being driven by someone else then surely they can drop you out the front of where you need to go and then scoot round the corner to park the car and walk back to meet you.

It is attitudes like this that are one of the reasons why disabled people are considered to be amount the most discriminated against people in the world. 🙁

I agree 100% with Sandman.
Some mobility disability is so severe that specially wide and convenient car parks are required.
Other disabilities just don’t warrant that sort of treatment.
So you have a walking stick, or asthma, or – most frequently – an elderly relative who’s lent you her pass? You *could* park same as everybody else, but no, you nab the easy park and when somebody *really* disabled needs it, it isn’t there because of your selfishness.

Are both of you full quid?

I agree the passes get abused by people who use their relative’s passes, and I agree that some require the spots more, however basing it purely on whether someone has a wheelchair or not is ridiculous. Take this into consideration:

My father has a permit, he’s battled cancer for five years and in the past 12 months had three seperate operations removing a large amount of his internal organs. Luckily, he’s a battler and come through it relatively okay, at least enough to be able to conduct himself like he would’ve before these horrible things occured. He looks skinny and frail (like nearly all cancer sufferers) but can drive, walk (for all be it short amounts of time and then he’s got to rest) and was back at work part-time until his last issue.

In the case of shopping centres, the closer he can get the easier and safer it is for him – he literally takes hours to recover from going to the shops for some bread. To argue he’s not in a wheelchair and therefore doesn’t need the permit is ridiculous – if there was a spot someone in a wheelchair could easily disembark from their vehicle further away it wouldn’t affect them as much as him.

Shit, he feels bad about using the permit as is – he feels he’s fine enough to do it because he’s stubborn and feels there are others which need it more – he even parks in short stay parks and moves his car when his time is up like a normal person to his own detriment. I’ll happily swap around and let you deal with all that’s gone on for the sake of a permit, and if someone in the family could look after him all day driving him about we definitely would.

Everyone in this world knows someone who’s been struck with illness or a disability, whether permanent or just a blip on the radar, and whilst people abuse the system there are arsehats everywhere in all shapes or forms – just look around one day! If a doctor has decided someone needs a permit, that’s fair enough by me – you can’t always judge a book by looking at it’s cover, my old man you probably would think is a relative abusing a permit!

bigfeet said :

HenryBG said :

I agree 100% .

But luckily your opinion doesn’t count. This is an issue related to the law.

You gave up any right to have an opinion on the law, or any legal matter, when you told us all that you were too rich to participate in the legal system or to fulfill your responsibilities as part of society.

Specially as he is a self-confessed drunk driver.

HenryBG said :

I agree 100% .

But luckily your opinion doesn’t count. This is an issue related to the law.

You gave up any right to have an opinion on the law, or any legal matter, when you told us all that you were too rich to participate in the legal system or to fulfill your responsibilities as part of society.

ThatUniStudent said :

Sandman said :

Disabled parking should be for sole use by persons with wheelchairs and that’s it. Make all disabled bays extra wide and any car spotted in those bays without hand controls or some kind of wheelchair loading device gets ticketed. Everyone else can park normally. If you’re too ill or sick to walk 100 metres then I don’t see how you have the physical abilities to be in control of a motor vehicle and if you’re ill or sick and being driven by someone else then surely they can drop you out the front of where you need to go and then scoot round the corner to park the car and walk back to meet you.

It is attitudes like this that are one of the reasons why disabled people are considered to be amount the most discriminated against people in the world. 🙁

I agree 100% with Sandman.
Some mobility disability is so severe that specially wide and convenient car parks are required.
Other disabilities just don’t warrant that sort of treatment.
So you have a walking stick, or asthma, or – most frequently – an elderly relative who’s lent you her pass? You *could* park same as everybody else, but no, you nab the easy park and when somebody *really* disabled needs it, it isn’t there because of your selfishness.

ThatUniStudent11:23 am 25 Mar 12

Sandman said :

Disabled parking should be for sole use by persons with wheelchairs and that’s it. Make all disabled bays extra wide and any car spotted in those bays without hand controls or some kind of wheelchair loading device gets ticketed. Everyone else can park normally. If you’re too ill or sick to walk 100 metres then I don’t see how you have the physical abilities to be in control of a motor vehicle and if you’re ill or sick and being driven by someone else then surely they can drop you out the front of where you need to go and then scoot round the corner to park the car and walk back to meet you.

It is attitudes like this that are one of the reasons why disabled people are considered to be amount the most discriminated against people in the world. 🙁

I parked in a community nurse carpark for 15 minutes while I got my disabled father into a health centre adjacent to the nurse carpark. There were no other carparks so thought this would be somewhat sufficient while I was getting him in there. He needs a wheelchair and oxygen. We have a badge, it was displayed. When I came out to move the car I had a fine. Woden parking is shocking. Especially around those community centre areas.

This is a difficult one. I have a pass and somedays you would be given to think that one the surface that I am fine. Appearing disabled doesn’t make you disabled. Here are some of the reasons that you can be issued with a mobility access pass

Severe asthma
heart conditions
Cancer
MS

Personally, I will give my pass up to anyone that wants it if you take my degenerative muscle disease, and walking stick. If not, then my opinion is be slow to judge what is not always apparent on the surface. It is a very small comfort to the life that I lead. I park in 2 hr car parks for the day. This is because I am not, yet, in a wheel chair and I think that I can walk the extra 20 m and leave the disabled parking for those who need wide car park spaces.

Also, I would be very much in favour of a queensland type system that allocates a specific category of parking for wheelchairs and alternative ones for those of us who can walk just not for very long.

If you are disabled and found yourself parking in a loading zone or something then it is worth fighting but if you parked in a mobility spot and shouldn’t then shame on you.

Disabled parking should be for sole use by persons with wheelchairs and that’s it. Make all disabled bays extra wide and any car spotted in those bays without hand controls or some kind of wheelchair loading device gets ticketed. Everyone else can park normally. If you’re too ill or sick to walk 100 metres then I don’t see how you have the physical abilities to be in control of a motor vehicle and if you’re ill or sick and being driven by someone else then surely they can drop you out the front of where you need to go and then scoot round the corner to park the car and walk back to meet you.

Rawhide Kid Part32:08 pm 24 Mar 12

keepitup said :

There’s a maroon Mitsubishi Magna that parks all day every day in one of the four disabled parking spots behind the ACT Govt Shopfront at Woden. Disability or not, I reckon if you can hold down a full time job you can pay for your parking like everybody else.

That’s ok if you don’t have a wheelchair to contend with. Standard pay parking bays are not wide enough to use if you have a wheelchair.

Rawhide Kid Part32:04 pm 24 Mar 12

Pork Hunt said :

And then there’s the female security guard who parks her car with a disabled sticker in the disabled spot behind Penrhyn House in Woden and quite ably walks to her work place somewhere amongst the skyscrapers….

She may have a bad back.

vg said :

Parking matters are heard in another list, and definitely not near DV matters. You’ve clearly spent little time in an ACT courtroom.

Then things have changed since I contested (once) a parking fine.

I think you should look up the relevant laws on parking with a disabled sticker. The last paragraph will have no interest to a judge IMO. I’m not sure an emotional argument will win in court.

ThatUniStudent said :

I’ve noticed Maltezer that you’ve failed to describe the details of the inciodent, but there is mention of fines, and complaints about disabled parking. Can you just confirm that you were not fined for parking in a disabled parking space?

That’s exactly what I thought. Why would you begin by saying that you don’t want to be abused by Rioters for contesting a parking fine in court and then complain about disabled car spaces in the same breath?

No need to join the dots here, folks.

My mother has a disable sticker, and will only park in an actual disabled car park once in a blue moon. She’s not in a wheel chair so she doesn’t need to extra space to get in and our of her car.. Only the shorter distance to walk.

I personally think too many people have disabled stickers and they need to be separated. To ACTUAL disabled people, eg those in wheelchairs, on crutches, have a disability etc. These are the people who need the larger car parks. Then they need another sticker for the elderly and the “less disabled” (eg people like my mother who can get in and out of her car with ease should she be in a normal spot)

Also the time limit needs to be withdrawn. It’s so stupid that anyone with a disabled sticker can park in a 30minute or more time zone ALL DAY ! We have roughly 7 1 hour meter spots out the front of my work and at least 3 are taken up with people parking there with a disabled sticker. There is an all day car park around the corner with disabled car parks. Given that I watched a gentleman RUN to his black lancer the other day. I doubt he needs his disabled sticker.

A childcare centre should be opening near by my work soon.. parking is going to suck when it does if the only on street parking is used up by lazy people.

I-filed said :

No matter what the reason, if you were parked in a disabled park without a sticker, or with a sticker for longer than the time allowed, and your requests for review have been dismissed, you won’t win.

The court will make damn sure you don’t ever dispute a fine again, too. Court HATES parking fine disputers, they’re time-wasters because they always lose.

You will be deliberately put last on the list, and be forced to sit with druggies, thieves and general low-lives all day, in a hard seat. You may be treated to some remand prisoners shuffling in in handcuffs. There may be a domestic violence case that will make you sad. It is a truly depressing experience and may affect your mood for days afterwards.

The beak will ask, after your spiel, very simply: “were you parked in a disabled spot without a sticker” or “were you parked in the disabled spot for longer than the time allowed”? Your answer from the sound of it will be “yes”. That will be the end of the story as far as the court is concerned.

The original fine was presumably in the region of $160? It’s not worth that to sit in court.

Just pay it – and don’t do it again!

Massive fail

Parking matters are heard in another list, and definitely not near DV matters. You’ve clearly spent little time in an ACT courtroom.

I have a disability sticker and I only use the dis-spot if I have to. Yes, I work full time. Yes, if you saw me get out of the car you would probably think there’s nothing wrong with me. I use the dis-spot when I do the grocery shopping because I know that when I’m finished, I am going to be in a significant amount of pain.
When I go to work, I don’t park in the spots but I do see another person I know who parks in the dis-spots on a regular basis. I have to admit, that pisses me off because I know she does a lot of walking in her daily duties but she continues to use the dis-spot.

If you had a valid excuse, they would have let you off – obviously you didn’t have a valid excuse.

ThatUniStudent7:31 pm 23 Mar 12

I’ve noticed Maltezer that you’ve failed to describe the details of the inciodent, but there is mention of fines, and complaints about disabled parking. Can you just confirm that you were not fined for parking in a disabled parking space?

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd6:38 pm 23 Mar 12

Yep. Sense of entitlement that the bogan element in this town seem to have. I have a sticker so i can park here, even if it makes life hard on other people in greater need of this parking spot.

No matter what the reason, if you were parked in a disabled park without a sticker, or with a sticker for longer than the time allowed, and your requests for review have been dismissed, you won’t win.

The court will make damn sure you don’t ever dispute a fine again, too. Court HATES parking fine disputers, they’re time-wasters because they always lose.

You will be deliberately put last on the list, and be forced to sit with druggies, thieves and general low-lives all day, in a hard seat. You may be treated to some remand prisoners shuffling in in handcuffs. There may be a domestic violence case that will make you sad. It is a truly depressing experience and may affect your mood for days afterwards.

The beak will ask, after your spiel, very simply: “were you parked in a disabled spot without a sticker” or “were you parked in the disabled spot for longer than the time allowed”? Your answer from the sound of it will be “yes”. That will be the end of the story as far as the court is concerned.

The original fine was presumably in the region of $160? It’s not worth that to sit in court.

Just pay it – and don’t do it again!

pink little birdie said :

It really annoys me that people who aren’t disabled park in disabled spots even with a sticker thingy. I know when I have an episode I can’t walk super far but then I’ll do the bare minimum or arrange to be driven as close as possible to where I’m going. I don’t have a sticker yet but I know someday I’ll need to get one as my condition deteriorates.

don’t the w@nkers who park in the disabled spots realise that if abled bodied people are parking in them now they won’t be available for when they themselves or family or friends need them eventually.

I used to be a volunteer driver for wheelchair bound people, and the disabled parking thing used to be a real issue. There are different levels of disability, and it used to be really annoying to see a semi-disabled person who could walk reasonably well take the last spot, so that I was forced to park in a regular spot, which made it incredibly difficult to get the wheelchair out of the car and the disabled person into the wheelchair.

In QLD they used to (not sure if they still do) issue blue stickers and red stickers, which signified whether or not the disabled person was wheelchair bound. People displaying either sticker were able to park in disabled spots, so I’m not sure what the point of the different colours was. However, it does raise the possibility that we could have a system with different coloured stickers, and some spots reserved solely for those with the highest levels of physical impairment.

As for able-bodied people who park in disabled spots, I consider you amongst the lowest of the low.

When I see apparently able-bodied people using disabled parking, I think to myself “poor bastard, obviously mentally retarded”.

pink little birdie4:56 pm 23 Mar 12

It really annoys me that people who aren’t disabled park in disabled spots even with a sticker thingy. I know when I have an episode I can’t walk super far but then I’ll do the bare minimum or arrange to be driven as close as possible to where I’m going. I don’t have a sticker yet but I know someday I’ll need to get one as my condition deteriorates.

don’t the w@nkers who park in the disabled spots realise that if abled bodied people are parking in them now they won’t be available for when they themselves or family or friends need them eventually.

HenryBG said :

keepitup said :

There’s a maroon Mitsubishi Magna that parks all day every day in one of the four disabled parking spots behind the ACT Govt Shopfront at Woden. Disability or not, I reckon if you can hold down a full time job you can pay for your parking like everybody else.

Yeah – I was in Woden the other morning and while I waited, I saw two drivers pull into the disabled carparks before sauntering into the building for their day’s work. Free parking for them, and no parking at all for anybody wheelchair bound who might have needed to attend an appointment or meeting.

I think disabled spots should be time-limited.
I also think they should stop handing out disabled cards to every malingering Tom, Dick and Harry and reserve them for people who have significant mobility issues, ie, wheelchair users.

You’d think, at the very least, if you decide to use the disabled badge and are quite able to walk more than 200 metres, you’d just use a regular carpark. You can still park for free, but at least you are not taking up a disabled spot for people with severely limited mobility that really, really need them.

And also, while I’m on the topic about parking. People who must always have pole position in a carpark, including sometimes disabled (as these are always pole position) please think. You are going shopping (probably for hours), trapsing around each shop and lugging bags – do you really need to be in the closest car park to ensure you only have to walk 10 metres the shopping centre entry? When in actual fact you’ll probably be walking a couple of kilometres inside anyway. What’s a few extra metres….?

I’ve always thought that really odd, and lazy.

BD84 – I don’t know if I’d ever say [i]massive[i] over supply, but there are some locations with free disabled parks the majority of the time.

But then places in Woden, like around the Philip Health Centre, Library and the Gov Shopfront, never have car parks free and I’ve noticed these are taken up for the entire working day by people who work in Woden, rather than the people who need to visit these places during business hours. Disabled people need to work, but disabled people also need to get to appointments etc. Tough call.

Cross – Good advice. Thank you. I’ll go along to one of the court sessions. If I achieve nothing, at least I might come away with an interesting story from the hearings.

Chop71 haha yes, I’ve already imagined my Denis Danuto-esque spiel.

keepitup said :

There’s a maroon Mitsubishi Magna that parks all day every day in one of the four disabled parking spots behind the ACT Govt Shopfront at Woden. Disability or not, I reckon if you can hold down a full time job you can pay for your parking like everybody else.

Yeah – I was in Woden the other morning and while I waited, I saw two drivers pull into the disabled carparks before sauntering into the building for their day’s work. Free parking for them, and no parking at all for anybody wheelchair bound who might have needed to attend an appointment or meeting.

I think disabled spots should be time-limited.
I also think they should stop handing out disabled cards to every malingering Tom, Dick and Harry and reserve them for people who have significant mobility issues, ie, wheelchair users.

And then there’s the female security guard who parks her car with a disabled sticker in the disabled spot behind Penrhyn House in Woden and quite ably walks to her work place somewhere amongst the skyscrapers….

I think all you can do is turn up to court on the nominated day with or without a solicitor and plead your case to the judge.Go along one day and sit in to see how it works ,ask the court staff for advice on procedures etc.
I,ve seen one guy get off going through a stop sign and others have had an offense proved but no conviction recorded.
If you think you have a good case go well prepared and well documented but I think the figures for a successful result in these matters is less than 2% of cases going to court.
Personally I would like to see more people defending themselves on some issues that would ordinary not see the light of day because of the huge expense involved and I believe some officials that had out infringements know this very well.

is it just the ‘vibe’ or have you nutted this out in ‘the pool room’. I mean what would ‘Mabo’ do?

There’s a maroon Mitsubishi Magna that parks all day every day in one of the four disabled parking spots behind the ACT Govt Shopfront at Woden. Disability or not, I reckon if you can hold down a full time job you can pay for your parking like everybody else.

Disabled parks are often clogged up with able-bodied drivers mis-using an elderly family member’s disabled card.

It’s a bit of a mix. Some wheelchair spots should be made shorter stay, but then people will argue that they shouldn’t rush out to move their car. There are people who incorrectly use their permits, mostly I think using permits from relatives when they are not using it. There are locations with too few disabled spots, and other places with a massive over supply where they are never used and have been put in just because there’s a guideline somewhere saying they should be there..

EvanJames said :

I am always puzzled that the conveniently-located disabled spots are allowed to be occupied, for free, all day. What about teh other disabled who need convenient accessible spots to transact business or attend appointments etc?

I agree. Everytime I’ve required a disabled park to take my father to a certain appointment at a health centre the disabled parks are taken up for the entire day. I think this is great for the disabled people who work in the town centres, but not so good for disabled people who need to go to the town centres for only for business, shopping or appointments. It’s a nightmare. They perhaps should make some of them only 2 hour or so limits.

I don’t use disabled parking myself, but a friend of mine spent considerably more on getting her car fitted with a wheelchair lift at the back than she would have if she would’ve chosen the more standard side opening option because she said disability parks were usually all taken around malls and other popular destinations. So she had to be prepared to park in standard spots where she would not have the space to get a wheelcair out on the side.

Sgt.Bungers said :

Are you able to provide a bit more information regarding what happened?

“Excuse me Ma’am, just the fact’s”

Sgt.Bungers said :

Are you able to provide a bit more information regarding what happened?

I’m a bit reluctant to (just for privacy reasons), but if you think it would help with receiving advice I guess I could.

I am always puzzled that the conveniently-located disabled spots are allowed to be occupied, for free, all day. What about teh other disabled who need convenient accessible spots to transact business or attend appointments etc?

Are you able to provide a bit more information regarding what happened?

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