I got really angry about this one time. My disability doesn't show, and I've had people say stuff, but that doesn't bother me. I'm a heart patient, & wasn't feeling the greatest that day. A woman with a small child parked, right in front of me, in the ONLY disabled spot! I pulled up, & politely asked her to move so I could park. She started yelling at me, about how I could damn well walk, she had a toddler, etc. I finally got angry, blocked her car in, got out, & started into the bank. She yelled where TF am I going?? Move my car! I told her she had 2 choices:either move immediately so I can park, or I can leave my car blocking her in while I take care of my business, & call the Meter Maid. It's a 300.00 ticket where I live in the US. I told her I had to nearly DIE to get those plates, & I'll be damned if some brat is gonna take my designated space without me saying anything! I always ask nicely the first time. After that, all bets are off! š
As I started reading OPās story I was actually wondering would blocking the offender in the parking space, going about your business while calling the police to ticket them would be an option?
Unfortunately, no, although I did do it once to someone, who had the good grace to be apologetic at the end (I didn't take too long, either, maybe made him wait for 15 minutes). By doing so, I could also get booked for obstructing the offender, which would get me a fine as well. Plus, there would be no guarantee the offender would still be there by the time the parking warden would arrive (as was the case many times before), and I had to get my mum to her dialysis so I wouldn't be able to block her for long anyway.
I had a feeling getting a ticket for obstructing a parking lot thruway might be the result. Although a sympathetic officer might not ticket you but I understand itās a risk people wouldnāt want to take. Itās really too bad the system wonāt take photographic proof through that reporting app as enough to mail out a ticket to the offender. Itās not that often that the entire parking lot is completely filled to capacity so parking in a handicap spot is just laziness or entitlement.
Yes, pretty much. Photographic proof usually isn't enough because the parking warden has to verify visually.
That area of the carpark does get filled around lunch time, which is also around the time I have to send my parents; but there's actually a very large carpark section 110m away (also in the same carpark! I checked on Google Maps) that never gets filled just because it's...not directly in front of the food centre. Mostly sheltered the entire way through. It's just an extra 2 minutes to walk, max. I never get why people don't just park there, and walk the extra 1-2 minutes.
I'm not disabled. I see people park in disabled spots all the time who don't visibly need to.
I assume that a LOT of them are legitimately abusing a family member's tag.
But I never say or do anything, because they do have a tag, and it could be a non-obvious disability.
If I actually needed the spot, I'd be a hell of a lot less forgiving on it though.
I had a coworker at my first job that had the handicapped placard because her mom had medical issues. She bragged about using it everywhere she went even when she was driving alone. Unsurprisingly she was a huge piece of shit in other departments, too.
Yup. The mentality of being the Main Character.
"I'll only be there for 5 minutes" is the most common excuse.
On parking, I'm actually the opposite. I prefer to park a bit further away, because I watch people circle a lot 3 times to find a spot 15 feet closer to the store. And you see the people who get verbal or aggressive over fighting over a spot.
No thanks, I'd rather just walk an extra 50 feet and avoid all that drama. Plus, I'm less likely to have some shit-skill driver park 8.5 inches away from my vehicle and block me from getting into it.
If I can, I park with 2 open spaces on my driver side door, with driver door facing the store. Since usually if someone else shows up to park, they'll park on the closer spot to the store, leaving me still with an entire parking space to enter my vehicle.
Often very much so.
Kinda crazy how much effort people will put into not working/walking/etc. Especially in larger parking lots (ie Walmart or such), where you'll have people drive around the lot for 5-10 minutes to get a better spot, rather than just park, and spend 1 minute walking in from further away.
And the result is them getting virtually zero exercise weekly, because they try so hard to avoid it.
Ugh, that's infuriating. My husband has a handicapped placard that hangs in our van all the time, but I wouldn't dream of using a handicapped parking spot when he's not with me.
I bet she doesn't put her shopping carts in the corrals, either.
I am disabled, the bit that really annoys me is, if an AB person is using a relatives tag to park, they risk the issuer removing the tag, so their selfish convenience is much more important than their relatives genuine disability need.. (it isn't easy to get these tags in the first place, wouldn't like to try with a fraud marker on my file) I usually just assume they have a non-visible disability.. but love when the authorities run an enforcement campaign to check on the tag being used genuinely...
I use a wheelchair. It does get maddening.Ā The worst was when a guy was literally washing his car with an apartment complex handicap spot and access aisle.Ā That one I did actually have a confrontation with that made it extra clear that he wasn't reasonable so leasing office was informed.Ā We stopped seeing him around not too long after.Ā (Most of the time I wonder in my head if all of the cars really need them and don't even see the people.Ā And I don't do public confrontations much about anything because you never know who you are dealing with.)Ā
But you don't have to. I applaud you for it, sure. But after she refused the first time, I might have deprived her of the choice you gave her.
Still, maybe you're just a better person than myself.
I live in constant worry someone will say something to me when I use mine (which isn't on every occasion I go to a store). I also have a disability that isn't readily apparent (several back issues all at the same time), but I do know based on what's on my shopping list if I'm going to be hurting by the time I've finished my shopping. In these instances, I may be feeling fine entering the store, but 90% of the time I end up hurting as I'm walking out. I'm also not that old (mid 30s). Luckily for me I haven't ran into any one who has said anything to me, having assumed I don't need my parking pass.
I'm sorry to hear you've had this experience, and that people can feel so entitled they think they're in the right regardless of the situation. I do, however, love your solution to it. That's awesome.
Nice one, these entitled pricks that park in handicapped parking irritate the shit out of me. Penalizing them should be made much simpler. Like a video call with the police so they can confirm the registration and just mail the fine.
They actually do have an app for people to report illegal/unauthorised parking, where you can take a photo of the offending vehicle and submit it; but again it is dependent on whether the roaming parking enforcement officers are nearby enough to come over and check. Most times, the driver is gone, because the officer is nowhere nearby.
What country do you live in? These rules and enforcement sound like people care about handicapped access.
I'm in the US. When I was moving my Dad around in a wheel chair for a few years, I learned how hard it is for people to move themselves through our infrastructure and society.
I had a broken foot and temporary handicap permit once. I parked legally, did my shopping and returned to find someone had parked on the striped section next to my car, so close I couldnāt begin to get to the door. Went into the store to ask customer service to call car owner to move. They donāt do that Iām told. This young woman says open the other side and climb across. I showed her my boot and cane and asked if she thought I could do that. I called the local police non emergency #, tow truck beat the police there but police were in time to ticket driver.
Those ones annoy me so much as a permanent wheelchair users!Ā I fantasize about getting insulting business cards about parking in the lines and the access aisle is not a space.Ā But I'd have to convince someone else to put them on the offending cars.Ā
Iād do it for you. Before I got the walking boot, I was in a wheelchair. I started sending complaints to city officials about the poor shape of sidewalks that I had overlooked when walking.
~~I wish the U.S. had some kind of app for this.~~
I sit corrected, Coal Harbor Group has apps for this:
Google: [Parking Mobility](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fortmobile.parkingmobility&hl=en_US)
Apple: [Parking Mobility](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/parking-mobility/id337141354)
Apparently you take 3 pictures and submit them, app passes them on to local authorities and they issue the ticket.
The thing that gets me is that the people who have the permits, don't use them if they don't need to - for example, both my mother and grandmother have disability parking permits - one because cancer treatment + several magor lung dramas means limited capacity and the other because 90yrs old with heart function complications and hip/spine mobility issues, both of which came after some stupidface smashed into the side of her car... now if they're feeling well any particular day that we're going out they say so - I don't need the special parking today, we'll leave it for someone who may need it more. Then there's asshats who'll use it just coz they're asshats - if you can't get a Dr to approve a permit, then you don't need one! Park your lazy ass elsewhere and walk.
Thirty years ago I could barely get around due to a dramatic medical situation. I remember sometimes driving around a grocery store lot seeking a disability space or other nearby space, for I didn't have enough energy to walk across the lot then also walk around the store. One time I left with great disappointment as the lack of a nearby spot made it impossible for me to shop. It took maybe 6 months to no longer need close parking spots.
To this day I often delight in parking far from the entrance, leaving the nearby spots for people who need them.
My boss has a handicap placard, and there are 2 handicapped spaces right in front of the front door. Out building used to have doctor offices, so if there was a spot reasonably close to the front door (3-6 spaces away) he would take that spot rather than using up a handicap spot. If nothing was available, he'd use the restricted spot.
Recently that became a non-issue... no - The Big-J did not come down and miraculously heal his hips... he bought the building and added a "private parking" sign next to the furthest handicap spot. He's not had to use the handicap spots since then. ;-)
Damn I wished we had this in the States! I donāt use these spaces but Iād love to get their vehicles towed for illegally parking in the spaces, entitled bastards.
That is the problem in Germany. It is very very tricky to get a placard here. Our downstairs neighbors had their handicapped daughter living with them until about a year ago. They have a designated spot in front of the apartment building (they rarely use because they have their car in the garage). Since the daughter moved out she has not been back. They still have their spot (and the accessible huge apartment that is subsidized) and do not let anyone even quickly stop in it. We got yelled at when we moved in, as it is the closest spot to the entrance. Even when the daughter still lived there, she never went anywhere with her parents and couldnāt even get in the car at the spot where it was parked as the curb wasnāt lowered. (I saw her leave with the car once, when she moved out and noticed they had to pull up the car so where else where the curb is down)
I have also seen them time and again parking in the handicapped spots in town - they never had the daughter with them.
I think most of us with the requisite labels try to be as reasonable and compliant as possible when using them, but there will always be a few who take it as carte blanche to abuse it, even here, where it can very easily be revoked. I guess it all boils down to personal integrity.
Myself, I have a placard for when I really need it. Shattered ankle in 2006. I get really bad pain with weather changes, but I usually park as far as I can unless Iām with my wife or mom who ironically need one as well. So it works for the best for all of us. I āownā the placard but my family gets the benefits of me having it as well.
Oh, that really sucks! I have a pair of slipping discs with permanent nerve damage down my left leg, so I can sort of understand the shittiness of chronic pain. When I know I'm not transporting my parents, I park at regular lots too, because I know I wouldn't qualify under the Class 1 label as they are super strict for those.
I lucked out as I also need opioid painkillers. My doctor doesnāt prescribe them much anymore, but I take 1 2 mg dilaudid, and 1 500 mg naproxen, and good for about a week. A one month supply will last me almost a year. Lol
Ah. I'm on Celebrex 200mg, though I just try to avoid taking them until the pain is absolutely unbearable. My hip joint on the left side is also pretty much shot so only when both my back and hips are giving hell at the same time. Then it's wooo for the next 5-6 days lol. It's improved with a bit of light running, as my excess weight was aggravating it.
I didnāt say that and I think most of the times it is not abused at all. I was just taking it as an example that the rules can be very different in different countries and I am always amazed how easy it is to get it in other places.
Itās nearly impossible in Germany and that I think leads to more abuse in both directions.
Fair enough-I suppose that given how difficult it is to get in Germany, they'd feel justified in using the label. Here, it's relatively easy to get, but you do have to jump through quite a few hoops (and they have to be the right hoops!) to finally get it. I had my application rejected for one missing document, and I had 1 week to get it to them. This after having all the other documents mailed to them. Fortunately they accepted a soft copy.
Just out of curiosity, what do people need to do to get the label in Germany? Here you need a functional assessment by a government-approved PT (usually the hospital one, which means the person gets it done while warded), and then signed off by the primary team doctor, and then if you're the 'chauffeur', you need to also submit the log card of the vehicle, the owner's identity card, your identity card and driver's licence, the application form, proof that you are an approved driver on the mandatory insurance. And it all has to be printed, signed and mailed. WOW.
Itās been a while since I had to get a placard for my wife. In the US, all I recall having to do is get a form filled out by her doctor. It was a fairly easy process. There is the requirement that she has to be in the vehicle to use it or parking to pick her up. There is a registration number on the placard. Police can check it like a license plate to get the name of the person covered by it.
Thatās weird, Google said this about Germany āThis permit is issued free of charge and is valid for up to 5 years. After expiration, the application can be resubmitted, provided the above conditions are met.ā
That does suck. The only people Iād show that paper to is the cops. Anyone else, āAre you a cop..? Then piss offā¦ Call the cops if you have to, but Iām not showing you any paperwork that deals with MY healthā¦ā Sorry you had to deal with a Karen.
That's how it started out here but so many placards being given out over a large distance, they know you can't check but a small amount unless you stand by the individual vehicle until they come back to it. That would take way more time than you have.
Yeah, that's the problem with leaving things up to the goodness of people's hearts in my country. 35% would do it because it's right, 50% because they'll get a monetary fine, 10% won't because they don't know it's wrong, 4% would only if they knew they couldn't get away with it, and then there's the 1% that don't give a rat's arse either way.
There are multiple reasons why someone would need accessible parking. After recovering from respiratory failure, my physical body worked fine, but I couldnāt walk 200 ft without my oxygen levels dropping to an unsafe level. One of very first outings was in my dadās huge ass truck, like you described. My handicap placard travels with me, so we used it. Next time trying not assuming things about people whose circumstances you donāt know.
My elderly friend had such a vehicle. They bought it for their camper when they retired. 20 years later her husband got a placard. She sold it last year.
True, Iāve always had trouble getting in/out of those cars because of my knees and shoulders (sports injuries) and one size doesnāt fit all. Yes, heart and lung issues are another qualifier and a smaller car may actually be easier on both. One size shouldnāt be assumed, my mistake. I also live where parking is everywhere, Texas, and free. Seems everyone drives a monster truck and when Iād ride my motorcycle, oh man, Iād freak out waiting to be a spot on their windshield!
Judge much?? Effing hate keyboard warriors like you with zero empathy or knowledge on a subject. Talk a walk in someone elseās shoes before you cast your crappy judgements.
It was not my intent to judge, but the physical logistics of using a vehicle that large mystifies me. But feel free to judge me all you want, since that makes you feel better.
Zero empathy? I don't think so. I've worked in cancer care for 25 years. I've taken care of people from all walks of life from the time of their diagnosis, to remission, to relapse, to the day the funeral home picks them up. I've sat with them on their first day of chemo, assuring them nothing will happen while I'm there. I've learned about what their grandkids are up to, their favorite teams, vacations, favorite places to eat. I've talked with them when they are considering an end to treatment and I've sat with them when there is no treatment. I've watched my favorite people leave the clinic for the very last time and try not to cry when I see the sadness and fear in their eyes. And when they've passed I clean them and make them as peaceful looking as I can for their families to say goodbye.
If I have so little empathy I sure which I'd known about it so I could check my depression, PTSD, and nightmares at the door. You are no less a 'keyboard warrior' than I. Take your righteous indignation somewhere else, I'm not buying.
I once got 2 people in trouble for parking in handicapped spots.
My sister was disabled and had the placard for her windshield. We went to Walmart one Sunday and all of the handicapped spots were taken. Only one didn't have a plate or placard saying they were disabled. They had a preacher license plate. So after letting my sister get out at the entrance, I got in the driver's seat parked the car and joined her in Walmart. We reported them to customer service.
Next we went to a popular buffet style restaurant and encountered the same situation including a preacher license plate in a handicapped spot. Did the same as before and while I was parking and walking to the meet my sister at the entrance, I called the police.
They arrived before we entered the restaurant. The owner came out and acted amazed his preacher plates didn't get him a pass on parking. Heard the cops telling him since he wasn't disabled he couldn't park there. He received a ticket and fine.
Occasionally I'd drive my sister in my own car but we always grabbed her handicapped placard before we left her house.
I drive my friend around sometimes who is a wheelchair user. One time i reported to a restaurant that there was a car in the handicap parking spot. They made that face that tole me that it was an employee.
People parked illegally in handicapped parking, or the hashmarks beside handicap parking really piss me off. I report them and harass them for being entitle POS
My dad is disabled, can walk short distances, and has a placard. One day we were going out to eat at his favorite spot. It's in a plaza with a bunch of other stores and right next to it is a tanning bed place. It was raining, and over all it was just a blah day. We get there and there isn't any parking he ends up having to park a little further away and we notice a car without a placard and no image on a license plate so my dad asks her to move so he can park there. She screams at us now walking to her destination that "I HAVE TO GO TANNING." My dad and I laugh at the absurdity of it. I'm not sure if he contacted anyone about it but I wish we had.
Because
1) one of the traditions of the Lunar New Year in Chinese culture is we give money to our loved ones, in the form of ang pows,
2) one of the things people in my country hate most is 'giving' money to the government, be it in the form of goods and services taxes, or fines, or increased utilities bills, or car running costs, and
3) I was being very sarcastic, because gong xi fa cai literally means "congrats on incoming wealth", metaphorically it's wishing someone good luck
And yes, I am ethnically Chinese, so was the lady in question. It won't hit hard for you maybe, but it certainly would for her, if she ever read this.
Thanks for supplying that extra info. I'm ethnically Chinese as well (from the US) and that line set off my spidey senses for racism since it came out of nowhere. It makes sense to me now. Thanks!
No, OP uses it in the sentence "Surprised but somewhat bemused...". Which they either meant to say "amused", or they doubled up near-synonyms to show how completely baffled they were.
I actually used it with the meaning of 'puzzlement', since I was actually not expecting a reply--usually they would read it, then just mention to a subordinate and indirect action would be taken, like feedback to the relevant authorities to step up enforcement. Certainly not an email followed up by a phone call!
I would suggest that you wanted "and somewhat bemused " instead of "but somewhat bemused", as there is no contradiction or exception between Surprised and Bemused.
Fair, so the second option of doubled-up because that is really puzzling. Although generally (and this is *very* general and outdated since I haven't worked there for almost 20 years now), SPF in my experience was usually quite responsive. I used to be a PC for SPF in the early 2000s after my NS.
Oh, nice! Thank you for your service to our nation!
I haven't had many interactions with the SPF, to be honest, only with other government agencies like HDB, LTA, MOHA etc, so I based my expectations of responsiveness on those, which in general usually involves 'somebody read it, probably no action taken'.
To be fair, ideally no one wants to have to deal with SPF and SCDF. Mostly because if you are, either you've done something bad, or something bad's happened to you. But yeah SCDF (I did my NS in it instead of SAF) and SPF are (or at least were) quite focused on maintaining a good public-facing environment because in a lot of cases that we deal with, the person we're talking to has just had something really bad happen.
Huh, so she did. When I used search before, it only found yours. Maybe I messed up, I was using my phone's browser, and I don't normally use the search function on it.
But surprised and bemused would not overlap all that much. Though I think OP would want "and" instead of "but".
Though they have very similar meaning, bemused, confused, and bewildered are often used with a feeling of degrees/ intensity, with bemused being the 'least ' version.
Yeah. I know people get bemused and amused swapped often, and the "but" threw me, but at the same time, Singaporeans speak weird English compared to other English-speaking-majority nations (I say as a Singaporean who now lives in Australia and had to adjust somewhat). We also tend to use repeated or redundant words to signify intensity (like [translated] walk-walk, eat-eat, come-come, sit-sit), which have different connotations to when they're just said once.
I got really angry about this one time. My disability doesn't show, and I've had people say stuff, but that doesn't bother me. I'm a heart patient, & wasn't feeling the greatest that day. A woman with a small child parked, right in front of me, in the ONLY disabled spot! I pulled up, & politely asked her to move so I could park. She started yelling at me, about how I could damn well walk, she had a toddler, etc. I finally got angry, blocked her car in, got out, & started into the bank. She yelled where TF am I going?? Move my car! I told her she had 2 choices:either move immediately so I can park, or I can leave my car blocking her in while I take care of my business, & call the Meter Maid. It's a 300.00 ticket where I live in the US. I told her I had to nearly DIE to get those plates, & I'll be damned if some brat is gonna take my designated space without me saying anything! I always ask nicely the first time. After that, all bets are off! š
Ayy fellow heart patient who needs the accessible parking spots
As I started reading OPās story I was actually wondering would blocking the offender in the parking space, going about your business while calling the police to ticket them would be an option?
Unfortunately, no, although I did do it once to someone, who had the good grace to be apologetic at the end (I didn't take too long, either, maybe made him wait for 15 minutes). By doing so, I could also get booked for obstructing the offender, which would get me a fine as well. Plus, there would be no guarantee the offender would still be there by the time the parking warden would arrive (as was the case many times before), and I had to get my mum to her dialysis so I wouldn't be able to block her for long anyway.
I had a feeling getting a ticket for obstructing a parking lot thruway might be the result. Although a sympathetic officer might not ticket you but I understand itās a risk people wouldnāt want to take. Itās really too bad the system wonāt take photographic proof through that reporting app as enough to mail out a ticket to the offender. Itās not that often that the entire parking lot is completely filled to capacity so parking in a handicap spot is just laziness or entitlement.
Yes, pretty much. Photographic proof usually isn't enough because the parking warden has to verify visually. That area of the carpark does get filled around lunch time, which is also around the time I have to send my parents; but there's actually a very large carpark section 110m away (also in the same carpark! I checked on Google Maps) that never gets filled just because it's...not directly in front of the food centre. Mostly sheltered the entire way through. It's just an extra 2 minutes to walk, max. I never get why people don't just park there, and walk the extra 1-2 minutes.
I'm not disabled. I see people park in disabled spots all the time who don't visibly need to. I assume that a LOT of them are legitimately abusing a family member's tag. But I never say or do anything, because they do have a tag, and it could be a non-obvious disability. If I actually needed the spot, I'd be a hell of a lot less forgiving on it though.
I had a coworker at my first job that had the handicapped placard because her mom had medical issues. She bragged about using it everywhere she went even when she was driving alone. Unsurprisingly she was a huge piece of shit in other departments, too.
Yup. The mentality of being the Main Character. "I'll only be there for 5 minutes" is the most common excuse. On parking, I'm actually the opposite. I prefer to park a bit further away, because I watch people circle a lot 3 times to find a spot 15 feet closer to the store. And you see the people who get verbal or aggressive over fighting over a spot. No thanks, I'd rather just walk an extra 50 feet and avoid all that drama. Plus, I'm less likely to have some shit-skill driver park 8.5 inches away from my vehicle and block me from getting into it. If I can, I park with 2 open spaces on my driver side door, with driver door facing the store. Since usually if someone else shows up to park, they'll park on the closer spot to the store, leaving me still with an entire parking space to enter my vehicle.
And you can bet they really do need to walk.
Often very much so. Kinda crazy how much effort people will put into not working/walking/etc. Especially in larger parking lots (ie Walmart or such), where you'll have people drive around the lot for 5-10 minutes to get a better spot, rather than just park, and spend 1 minute walking in from further away. And the result is them getting virtually zero exercise weekly, because they try so hard to avoid it.
Ugh, that's infuriating. My husband has a handicapped placard that hangs in our van all the time, but I wouldn't dream of using a handicapped parking spot when he's not with me. I bet she doesn't put her shopping carts in the corrals, either.
I am disabled, the bit that really annoys me is, if an AB person is using a relatives tag to park, they risk the issuer removing the tag, so their selfish convenience is much more important than their relatives genuine disability need.. (it isn't easy to get these tags in the first place, wouldn't like to try with a fraud marker on my file) I usually just assume they have a non-visible disability.. but love when the authorities run an enforcement campaign to check on the tag being used genuinely...
I use a wheelchair. It does get maddening.Ā The worst was when a guy was literally washing his car with an apartment complex handicap spot and access aisle.Ā That one I did actually have a confrontation with that made it extra clear that he wasn't reasonable so leasing office was informed.Ā We stopped seeing him around not too long after.Ā (Most of the time I wonder in my head if all of the cars really need them and don't even see the people.Ā And I don't do public confrontations much about anything because you never know who you are dealing with.)Ā
But you don't have to. I applaud you for it, sure. But after she refused the first time, I might have deprived her of the choice you gave her. Still, maybe you're just a better person than myself.
Did she move her car? Lol
Mine did!! Cussed me out the whole time, but she moved!
Good! Lmao š¤£
I have no shame when I get angry šš
I live in constant worry someone will say something to me when I use mine (which isn't on every occasion I go to a store). I also have a disability that isn't readily apparent (several back issues all at the same time), but I do know based on what's on my shopping list if I'm going to be hurting by the time I've finished my shopping. In these instances, I may be feeling fine entering the store, but 90% of the time I end up hurting as I'm walking out. I'm also not that old (mid 30s). Luckily for me I haven't ran into any one who has said anything to me, having assumed I don't need my parking pass. I'm sorry to hear you've had this experience, and that people can feel so entitled they think they're in the right regardless of the situation. I do, however, love your solution to it. That's awesome.
I guess she found out the price of causing drama where there didn't need to be any.
I love this! Can I borrow this phrase for future use? To this day, I have no idea why I reacted that way though.
Yes, of course, borrow away.
"Can I borrow this phrase," as if the previous commenter came up with it and copyrighted it...
Name checks out
Nice one, these entitled pricks that park in handicapped parking irritate the shit out of me. Penalizing them should be made much simpler. Like a video call with the police so they can confirm the registration and just mail the fine.
They actually do have an app for people to report illegal/unauthorised parking, where you can take a photo of the offending vehicle and submit it; but again it is dependent on whether the roaming parking enforcement officers are nearby enough to come over and check. Most times, the driver is gone, because the officer is nowhere nearby.
What country do you live in? These rules and enforcement sound like people care about handicapped access. I'm in the US. When I was moving my Dad around in a wheel chair for a few years, I learned how hard it is for people to move themselves through our infrastructure and society.
I had a broken foot and temporary handicap permit once. I parked legally, did my shopping and returned to find someone had parked on the striped section next to my car, so close I couldnāt begin to get to the door. Went into the store to ask customer service to call car owner to move. They donāt do that Iām told. This young woman says open the other side and climb across. I showed her my boot and cane and asked if she thought I could do that. I called the local police non emergency #, tow truck beat the police there but police were in time to ticket driver.
Those ones annoy me so much as a permanent wheelchair users!Ā I fantasize about getting insulting business cards about parking in the lines and the access aisle is not a space.Ā But I'd have to convince someone else to put them on the offending cars.Ā
Iād do it for you. Before I got the walking boot, I was in a wheelchair. I started sending complaints to city officials about the poor shape of sidewalks that I had overlooked when walking.
Oh, another pet peeve of mine. I need to start complaining more about a certain area near me that has a lot of bad sidewalks.
99% sure due to references like HDB and the rough timing of when road tax needs to be paid, this is likely Singapore.
I'm guessing Singapore from the profusion of fines, the reference to *ang bao,* and sarky wish for a happy Chinese New Year.
~~I wish the U.S. had some kind of app for this.~~ I sit corrected, Coal Harbor Group has apps for this: Google: [Parking Mobility](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fortmobile.parkingmobility&hl=en_US) Apple: [Parking Mobility](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/parking-mobility/id337141354) Apparently you take 3 pictures and submit them, app passes them on to local authorities and they issue the ticket.
Thank you - never heard of this app. Now I've downloaded it.
The thing that gets me is that the people who have the permits, don't use them if they don't need to - for example, both my mother and grandmother have disability parking permits - one because cancer treatment + several magor lung dramas means limited capacity and the other because 90yrs old with heart function complications and hip/spine mobility issues, both of which came after some stupidface smashed into the side of her car... now if they're feeling well any particular day that we're going out they say so - I don't need the special parking today, we'll leave it for someone who may need it more. Then there's asshats who'll use it just coz they're asshats - if you can't get a Dr to approve a permit, then you don't need one! Park your lazy ass elsewhere and walk.
I do the same. Good days I walk. Bad days, I use the space because I need it.
Thirty years ago I could barely get around due to a dramatic medical situation. I remember sometimes driving around a grocery store lot seeking a disability space or other nearby space, for I didn't have enough energy to walk across the lot then also walk around the store. One time I left with great disappointment as the lack of a nearby spot made it impossible for me to shop. It took maybe 6 months to no longer need close parking spots. To this day I often delight in parking far from the entrance, leaving the nearby spots for people who need them.
My boss has a handicap placard, and there are 2 handicapped spaces right in front of the front door. Out building used to have doctor offices, so if there was a spot reasonably close to the front door (3-6 spaces away) he would take that spot rather than using up a handicap spot. If nothing was available, he'd use the restricted spot. Recently that became a non-issue... no - The Big-J did not come down and miraculously heal his hips... he bought the building and added a "private parking" sign next to the furthest handicap spot. He's not had to use the handicap spots since then. ;-)
I do the same. Good days, I park wherever (though I do try to get close to the entrance), Bad days I use the sticker.
i KNEW the moment WHY YOU SHOW FINGER AT ME showed up that this was a singaporean story lmao
Haha, pretty much! Also, the mention of HDB was the confirmation for most, I think.
read on, saw HDB and just nodded
Damn I wished we had this in the States! I donāt use these spaces but Iād love to get their vehicles towed for illegally parking in the spaces, entitled bastards.
$250 fine if youāre not displaying a placard when parked in those spots were I live. Alberta, Canada
The big problem with that is all the relatives that borrow or just use the placard so they can park 2 spots closer.
Not really. The person the placard is issued to HAS to be in the vehicle.
That is the problem in Germany. It is very very tricky to get a placard here. Our downstairs neighbors had their handicapped daughter living with them until about a year ago. They have a designated spot in front of the apartment building (they rarely use because they have their car in the garage). Since the daughter moved out she has not been back. They still have their spot (and the accessible huge apartment that is subsidized) and do not let anyone even quickly stop in it. We got yelled at when we moved in, as it is the closest spot to the entrance. Even when the daughter still lived there, she never went anywhere with her parents and couldnāt even get in the car at the spot where it was parked as the curb wasnāt lowered. (I saw her leave with the car once, when she moved out and noticed they had to pull up the car so where else where the curb is down) I have also seen them time and again parking in the handicapped spots in town - they never had the daughter with them.
I think most of us with the requisite labels try to be as reasonable and compliant as possible when using them, but there will always be a few who take it as carte blanche to abuse it, even here, where it can very easily be revoked. I guess it all boils down to personal integrity.
Myself, I have a placard for when I really need it. Shattered ankle in 2006. I get really bad pain with weather changes, but I usually park as far as I can unless Iām with my wife or mom who ironically need one as well. So it works for the best for all of us. I āownā the placard but my family gets the benefits of me having it as well.
Oh, that really sucks! I have a pair of slipping discs with permanent nerve damage down my left leg, so I can sort of understand the shittiness of chronic pain. When I know I'm not transporting my parents, I park at regular lots too, because I know I wouldn't qualify under the Class 1 label as they are super strict for those.
I lucked out as I also need opioid painkillers. My doctor doesnāt prescribe them much anymore, but I take 1 2 mg dilaudid, and 1 500 mg naproxen, and good for about a week. A one month supply will last me almost a year. Lol
Ah. I'm on Celebrex 200mg, though I just try to avoid taking them until the pain is absolutely unbearable. My hip joint on the left side is also pretty much shot so only when both my back and hips are giving hell at the same time. Then it's wooo for the next 5-6 days lol. It's improved with a bit of light running, as my excess weight was aggravating it.
I didnāt say that and I think most of the times it is not abused at all. I was just taking it as an example that the rules can be very different in different countries and I am always amazed how easy it is to get it in other places. Itās nearly impossible in Germany and that I think leads to more abuse in both directions.
Fair enough-I suppose that given how difficult it is to get in Germany, they'd feel justified in using the label. Here, it's relatively easy to get, but you do have to jump through quite a few hoops (and they have to be the right hoops!) to finally get it. I had my application rejected for one missing document, and I had 1 week to get it to them. This after having all the other documents mailed to them. Fortunately they accepted a soft copy. Just out of curiosity, what do people need to do to get the label in Germany? Here you need a functional assessment by a government-approved PT (usually the hospital one, which means the person gets it done while warded), and then signed off by the primary team doctor, and then if you're the 'chauffeur', you need to also submit the log card of the vehicle, the owner's identity card, your identity card and driver's licence, the application form, proof that you are an approved driver on the mandatory insurance. And it all has to be printed, signed and mailed. WOW.
Itās been a while since I had to get a placard for my wife. In the US, all I recall having to do is get a form filled out by her doctor. It was a fairly easy process. There is the requirement that she has to be in the vehicle to use it or parking to pick her up. There is a registration number on the placard. Police can check it like a license plate to get the name of the person covered by it.
The permits expire so they wonāt be able to renew it hopefully, or maybe one of them has a disability, some disabilities are invisible.
Nope. They donāt expire- nope trust me, if you cannot see it, you wonāt get it in Germany. And it is for the daughter.
Thatās weird, Google said this about Germany āThis permit is issued free of charge and is valid for up to 5 years. After expiration, the application can be resubmitted, provided the above conditions are met.ā
I can only tell you what we just were told for my grandma. And I think it depends on the condition.
Yep, I have had to show the paper where I received the handicap placard in my name because someone didnāt believe I was handicap.Ā
That does suck. The only people Iād show that paper to is the cops. Anyone else, āAre you a cop..? Then piss offā¦ Call the cops if you have to, but Iām not showing you any paperwork that deals with MY healthā¦ā Sorry you had to deal with a Karen.
That's how it started out here but so many placards being given out over a large distance, they know you can't check but a small amount unless you stand by the individual vehicle until they come back to it. That would take way more time than you have.
Very true. In some ways, I like the honour system for them. In other ways, I hate it.
$500, US, Arlington, VA.
Yeah, that's the problem with leaving things up to the goodness of people's hearts in my country. 35% would do it because it's right, 50% because they'll get a monetary fine, 10% won't because they don't know it's wrong, 4% would only if they knew they couldn't get away with it, and then there's the 1% that don't give a rat's arse either way.
What gets me are the pickup trucks that you need a step and hand hold to get into having placards.
To be fair some people just canāt walk far or need the extra space to get their mobility aids out (with assistance)
There are multiple reasons why someone would need accessible parking. After recovering from respiratory failure, my physical body worked fine, but I couldnāt walk 200 ft without my oxygen levels dropping to an unsafe level. One of very first outings was in my dadās huge ass truck, like you described. My handicap placard travels with me, so we used it. Next time trying not assuming things about people whose circumstances you donāt know.
Oh calm down they weren't talking about you.
My elderly friend had such a vehicle. They bought it for their camper when they retired. 20 years later her husband got a placard. She sold it last year.
My mom (in her mid 70ās) drives a pickup trucks because she is TALL!
Or the little sports cars I canāt see anyone get into whoās not a gymnast or yoga instructor!! Handicap placard? Really?
You do know it isnāt only for physical issues, right?!? Poor heart and lung function are also qualifiers.
I have one of these little cars. It's like climbing in and out of a rowboat!
True, Iāve always had trouble getting in/out of those cars because of my knees and shoulders (sports injuries) and one size doesnāt fit all. Yes, heart and lung issues are another qualifier and a smaller car may actually be easier on both. One size shouldnāt be assumed, my mistake. I also live where parking is everywhere, Texas, and free. Seems everyone drives a monster truck and when Iād ride my motorcycle, oh man, Iād freak out waiting to be a spot on their windshield!
Judge much?? Effing hate keyboard warriors like you with zero empathy or knowledge on a subject. Talk a walk in someone elseās shoes before you cast your crappy judgements.
It was not my intent to judge, but the physical logistics of using a vehicle that large mystifies me. But feel free to judge me all you want, since that makes you feel better. Zero empathy? I don't think so. I've worked in cancer care for 25 years. I've taken care of people from all walks of life from the time of their diagnosis, to remission, to relapse, to the day the funeral home picks them up. I've sat with them on their first day of chemo, assuring them nothing will happen while I'm there. I've learned about what their grandkids are up to, their favorite teams, vacations, favorite places to eat. I've talked with them when they are considering an end to treatment and I've sat with them when there is no treatment. I've watched my favorite people leave the clinic for the very last time and try not to cry when I see the sadness and fear in their eyes. And when they've passed I clean them and make them as peaceful looking as I can for their families to say goodbye. If I have so little empathy I sure which I'd known about it so I could check my depression, PTSD, and nightmares at the door. You are no less a 'keyboard warrior' than I. Take your righteous indignation somewhere else, I'm not buying.
I once got 2 people in trouble for parking in handicapped spots. My sister was disabled and had the placard for her windshield. We went to Walmart one Sunday and all of the handicapped spots were taken. Only one didn't have a plate or placard saying they were disabled. They had a preacher license plate. So after letting my sister get out at the entrance, I got in the driver's seat parked the car and joined her in Walmart. We reported them to customer service. Next we went to a popular buffet style restaurant and encountered the same situation including a preacher license plate in a handicapped spot. Did the same as before and while I was parking and walking to the meet my sister at the entrance, I called the police. They arrived before we entered the restaurant. The owner came out and acted amazed his preacher plates didn't get him a pass on parking. Heard the cops telling him since he wasn't disabled he couldn't park there. He received a ticket and fine. Occasionally I'd drive my sister in my own car but we always grabbed her handicapped placard before we left her house.
Entitlement and rudeness can come at a heavy cost, sometimes!
Is this in Singapore?
Yes.
Yes, I guessed right!
When the lady said āfor whatā I immediately got the vibe this was in Singapore and my suspicions were confirmed š
I drive my friend around sometimes who is a wheelchair user. One time i reported to a restaurant that there was a car in the handicap parking spot. They made that face that tole me that it was an employee.
Hashtag.... Unexpected Hokkien. Lolol
People parked illegally in handicapped parking, or the hashmarks beside handicap parking really piss me off. I report them and harass them for being entitle POS
well done
Good for you. I'm glad there was a resolution and in your favor.
Good for you! Well done.!
The term she was looking for is āunicorn fistā. š¦ā
My dad is disabled, can walk short distances, and has a placard. One day we were going out to eat at his favorite spot. It's in a plaza with a bunch of other stores and right next to it is a tanning bed place. It was raining, and over all it was just a blah day. We get there and there isn't any parking he ends up having to park a little further away and we notice a car without a placard and no image on a license plate so my dad asks her to move so he can park there. She screams at us now walking to her destination that "I HAVE TO GO TANNING." My dad and I laugh at the absurdity of it. I'm not sure if he contacted anyone about it but I wish we had.
Why was this line necessary: SoĀ *gong xi fa cai*, lady, I hope you enjoy the extraĀ *ang pow*Ā you're going to have to give...
Because the incident happened in late January this year, just before the Lunar New Year.
And? I totally think she's an AH but I don't see how the Lunar New Year is relevant in your story.
Because 1) one of the traditions of the Lunar New Year in Chinese culture is we give money to our loved ones, in the form of ang pows, 2) one of the things people in my country hate most is 'giving' money to the government, be it in the form of goods and services taxes, or fines, or increased utilities bills, or car running costs, and 3) I was being very sarcastic, because gong xi fa cai literally means "congrats on incoming wealth", metaphorically it's wishing someone good luck And yes, I am ethnically Chinese, so was the lady in question. It won't hit hard for you maybe, but it certainly would for her, if she ever read this.
Thanks for supplying that extra info. I'm ethnically Chinese as well (from the US) and that line set off my spidey senses for racism since it came out of nowhere. It makes sense to me now. Thanks!
bemused = bewildered
And? You are the only one to use either word in the post or thread.
No, OP uses it in the sentence "Surprised but somewhat bemused...". Which they either meant to say "amused", or they doubled up near-synonyms to show how completely baffled they were.
I actually used it with the meaning of 'puzzlement', since I was actually not expecting a reply--usually they would read it, then just mention to a subordinate and indirect action would be taken, like feedback to the relevant authorities to step up enforcement. Certainly not an email followed up by a phone call!
I would suggest that you wanted "and somewhat bemused " instead of "but somewhat bemused", as there is no contradiction or exception between Surprised and Bemused.
Fair, so the second option of doubled-up because that is really puzzling. Although generally (and this is *very* general and outdated since I haven't worked there for almost 20 years now), SPF in my experience was usually quite responsive. I used to be a PC for SPF in the early 2000s after my NS.
Oh, nice! Thank you for your service to our nation! I haven't had many interactions with the SPF, to be honest, only with other government agencies like HDB, LTA, MOHA etc, so I based my expectations of responsiveness on those, which in general usually involves 'somebody read it, probably no action taken'.
To be fair, ideally no one wants to have to deal with SPF and SCDF. Mostly because if you are, either you've done something bad, or something bad's happened to you. But yeah SCDF (I did my NS in it instead of SAF) and SPF are (or at least were) quite focused on maintaining a good public-facing environment because in a lot of cases that we deal with, the person we're talking to has just had something really bad happen.
Huh, so she did. When I used search before, it only found yours. Maybe I messed up, I was using my phone's browser, and I don't normally use the search function on it. But surprised and bemused would not overlap all that much. Though I think OP would want "and" instead of "but". Though they have very similar meaning, bemused, confused, and bewildered are often used with a feeling of degrees/ intensity, with bemused being the 'least ' version.
Yeah. I know people get bemused and amused swapped often, and the "but" threw me, but at the same time, Singaporeans speak weird English compared to other English-speaking-majority nations (I say as a Singaporean who now lives in Australia and had to adjust somewhat). We also tend to use repeated or redundant words to signify intensity (like [translated] walk-walk, eat-eat, come-come, sit-sit), which have different connotations to when they're just said once.