Just about every time I go to the grocery store I see a very common misuse of the parking tag: an elderly person waiting in the vehicle, parked in a disabled slot, while a perfectly healthy youngster (granddaughter?) hops out of the driver seat and jogs into the store.

My wife had both knees replaced. Each time we got a very limited temporary placard.
There was a problem. My wife didn’t want to use it. She had me unload at the entrance, then I’d go park in regular parking.
Even now, she depends on my luck at finding a close in parking space and refuses to get a permanent placard.
She’s a nurse, what can I say?

There is a memory care facility across the drive from my work. Workers and visitors for that facility frequently park in our lot. I had to shake my head one day when a guy parked in one of our handicapped spots near our building and walked across our near empty lot to enter the facility across the drive. Yes, he had a placard hanging off his mirror.

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Just about every time I go to the grocery store I see a very common misuse of the parking tag: an elderly person waiting in the vehicle, parked in a disabled slot, while a perfectly healthy youngster (granddaughter?) hops out of the driver seat and jogs into the store.

I see this all the time, and I also see the spry young lady using the handicapped spot without the old fart riding along.

My wife is multi chemical sensitive. Just a small amount of exhaust fumes can put her into a severe asthma type attack. And in the summer the the hot asphalt fumes are really hard on her.
But she doesn't "look" disabled.

Sorry to hear that gigalligan. I had never heard of that before. Does a mask help? (this might be a case where a mask does actually work)

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Originally posted by V-Tail:
Just about every time I go to the grocery store I see a very common misuse of the parking tag: an elderly person waiting in the vehicle, parked in a disabled slot, while a perfectly healthy youngster (granddaughter?) hops out of the driver seat and jogs into the store.

Well, at least they're not parking in the Fire Lane...

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Originally posted by Flash-LB:

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Originally posted by 1s1k:
I wish it was a big enough fine to actually dissuade people. The problem I see is that most people who wrongly use them have a placard from either the car owner or someone else in the family so what can you really do about it.

I remember years ago (pre Hippa) a reporter in St.Louis asked everyone who used a placard what their disability was and the vast majority got all embarrassed and said it was someone else’s in the family and they didn’t think it was a big deal because they wouldn’t be long. Pathetic.

Since we've got a handicapped plate on the Bronco and a handicapped hang tag for the truck and also for use on rental cars when we travel, I've got an honest question for you.

When you see someone park and walk into a store how do you know they're not handicapped?

I don’t know and that’s exactly why I would never say anything and exactly my point on why it’s hard to enforce.

It is a bit ridiculous for most when they seemingly can’t walk another 20 feet out in the parking lot but then spend 2 hours walking through a mall that’s two football fields in length.

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Originally posted by nhracecraft:

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Originally posted by V-Tail:

Just about every time I go to the grocery store I see a very common misuse of the parking tag: an elderly person waiting in the vehicle, parked in a disabled slot, while a perfectly healthy youngster (granddaughter?) hops out of the driver seat and jogs into the store.

Well, at least they're not parking in the Fire Lane...

That's a whole other rant. For twenty-five years or so, I have defeated Porch Pirates, and satisfied "signature required" deliveries, by keeping an account at The UPS Store (originally named "Mail Boxes Etc.").

At the location that I use, there is a strip of grass and plants between the sidewalk and the curb, with a paved walkway leading through the planted area to the curb in front of each business in the strip mall.

I park in the parking lot, in a disabled slot if there is one available (legit, I have a bunch of hardware in my hip and thigh, and I have balance problems).

Most days, there is a car in the Fire Lane in front of the store, totally blocking access to the paved walkway, while the perfectly healthy fucking lazy moron driver is in the store, waiting on line to to ask the cost of every possible method of shipping some crap to West Wagon Wheel or East Bum Fuck, and then try to figure out the cost vs. transit time matrix, blocking access to the store the whole time.

All of this when there are dozens, maybe a hundred or more, perfectly legitimate empty places in the parking lot, all of sixty or ninety seconds from the store. Fargin' Iceholes.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I can tell you what happens when there is a fire and you are parked in front of the hydrant. Firefighters have great tools. They break both back windows and run the hose through. If you are parked in the fire lane a simple push will move your vehicle out of the way.

The online food pickup people almost universally park in the fire lanes. Drives me nuts.

Unfortunately we don’t have enough time to enforce that or the handicapped parking unless we get really really miffed about it, but it’s rare. Just too many morons trying to shoot each other.

While I think they should enforce this, it's not like Illinois doesn't have bigger unsolved crime problems for the police to deal with.



https://www.lakemchenryscanner...rime-up-in-illinois/

^^^^^^^^^^^^
It is a quality of life issue. As noted earlier they are not pulling homicide detectives from Lawndale to write these tickets.

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Originally posted by Flash-LB:

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Originally posted by Vanwall:
I have a handicapped tag and use it on occasion. It is needed when the walk is a long one (Costco, sporting event parking, etc). Since getting the tag I have observed handicapped parking behavior. I have watched many people (with handicapped tag) pull into a handicapped spot when an empty non-handicapped spot beside is empty. logic to me is to leave the handicapped spot free for a handicapped person.

Me too. When I go somewhere without Mrs. Flash, I never park in a handicapped spot because she's not with me even though I've got a handicapped tag on the car.

I've even had people tell me to go ahead and use the handicapped spot but I won't without her.

Pretty sure you can be ticketed if the handicapped person is not with you . In Louisiana we have a photo ID that goes along with the Handicapped plate .

My dad was prideful to the "Seven Deadly Sins" level. He never got a handicap plate or placard his entire life, when he darn sure should have. Makes me shake my head just thinking about him.

One of the news shows did an investigation at a government office and found that a shit ton of employees had handicapped tags so they could park on the street for free. Statistically, it is an impossibility to have that many people in a given office. Of course, when asked what their disability was, the response was not a reasonable explanation it was "you don't know me, you don't know what I have..." and on and on without answering the question.

Seems most were afflicted with a combination of big mouth disease and fat ass syndrome.

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Originally posted by selogic:
Pretty sure you can be ticketed if the handicapped person is not with you . In Louisiana we have a photo ID that goes along with the Handicapped plate .

In Arizona, you don't have anything showing you're handicapped so I guess if I were to park in the handicap spot and some cop came up and asked if I was handicapped, I'd just have to say yes and be on my way.

Same thing when I'm traveling and using the handicapped hang tag, I'd just tell them I was handicapped and have no proof and that would be that.

But I don't do that and so I don't have to worry about it. I'm merely pointing out how easy it is to get away with.

I am disabled and usually park quite a ways from the front door of any business.
I figure when it gets to where a little walking is not possible, then I'll park closer.
If I make it to where I need to park handicap then maybe I shouldn't be driving.
It's the lazy fat people that could lose a couple of hundred pounds or the obvious placard abusers that frost my ass.

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Originally posted by Flash-LB:

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Originally posted by selogic:
Pretty sure you can be ticketed if the handicapped person is not with you . In Louisiana we have a photo ID that goes along with the Handicapped plate .

In Arizona, you don't have anything showing you're handicapped so I guess if I were to park in the handicap spot and some cop came up and asked if I was handicapped, I'd just have to say yes and be on my way.

Same thing when I'm traveling and using the handicapped hang tag, I'd just tell them I was handicapped and have no proof and that would be that.

But I don't do that and so I don't have to worry about it. I'm merely pointing out how easy it is to get away with.

I get it . I never heard of any LEO checking the ID . Hell , they rarely enforce the parking at all .

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Originally posted by Graniteguy:
Sorry to hear that gigalligan. I had never heard of that before. Does a mask help? (this might be a case where a mask does actually work)

I guess a mask with a clean supply of air, kinda like scuba gear, might help.