Money Moral Dilemma: Would you park free if it blocked wheelchair access?

pineapple

Probably - depends how pushed for time I am and how long I need to be there. But only if they are displaying a disabled badge,
Why are some people confusing this with parking in a disabled space? And what is this silly talk of 'loopholes'
And how do I know it is not some numpty who simply likes a lot of space around them as they are hopeless at getting in and out of parking spaces?
Frankly this notice would annoy me. I think it's arrogant. It almost makes me feel like going out right now and finding such a notice and parking real close.
We should bear in mind that disabled drivers already have parking concessions (like parking on a yellow line etc) and they also have a reponsibility for their own parking.

SoloBurr

As someone who has a sister with this exact requirement I feel I have a good take on the situation. I would say no and look around, however one thing to think about is that the disabled person is parking in a space that effectively means they are stopping two people parking...

Now if this is a specified disabled parking space then fair enough, but if they are in a 'regular' parking space then they too are being a little selfish as they could have looked around for somewhere else to park that does not inconvenience the space behind them. Being disabled doesn't always mean you need to be parked where it is convenient - my sister could certainly park further away and zip into the shops quicker than me with her electric wheelchair!

However, given that they are disabled I say fair enough and I would look for another space.

elliep_2

Katita wrote: »

Yes... probably. The point is, the owner of the car will have taken their chances just like me. They too could have paid and parked in a space in the NCP, but they chose not to. Therefore they should accept the risk that someone may park in front of/behind them because they do not want to pay.

That's exactly how I feel about it too. The person with that sticker has taken the chance that someone will park behind them and are clearly happy with that risk otherwise they wouldn't have done it.

Nobody has the right to two parking spaces by parking in one and reserving the one behind for any reason. As someone earlier said, if I put a sticker in the back of my car stating that I was about to buy a large piece of furniture and could everyone leave the space behind me clear please, then I'd expect that notice to be ignored. If I NEEDED that space then I'd park somewhere that allowed me to get it, by paying in the car park or waiting for an end space with double yellows behind it or something. The person in the car with the disability sticker is the one at fault here by making others feel guilty for using a perfectly legitimate parking space.

Before anyone attacks me, I am a sometimes wheelchair user and would never rely on other people parking considerately in order for me to be able to access my car, I always park in places where I know I'm not going to get blocked in by people using the proper parking places.

MrsGWoman

Well, if I had have been driving around for 15 minutes, then I'm afraid that I would park there...The wheelchair user can move the car out, and then pop the wheelchair in the back when they've got enough space. The chances are, they will have a carer with them anyway. In my eyes, they shouldn't have parked in such a tricky spot - they should have parked in a specific wheelchair users space.

nathanhill69

Surbybird wrote: »

For the record, I do most of my shopping online. I do, however, pop into Sainsburys occasionally on my way home from work to pick up milk, cat food etc so I stand by my statement that parents DO have a choice, which according to you they don't.

Don't remember saying that parents don't have a choice but the emphasis is on the word "choice". Also, really why do other drivers get so resentful that a small percentage of parking spaces are reserved for parents with children in an effort to help them?

Surbybird wrote: »

Hey, I can only comment on what I see and here in Surrey there is a vast army of Grand Voyager (and similar) drivers, most of whom display appallingly bad standards of driving and parking. I am also a parent but I can at least park my car in the middle of a space without demanding that it is especially widened for me, unlike a lot of others.

If that's all you see then maybe it's a case of you only registering in your mind the bad drivers who are parents. My suspicion is there are many parents who live in Surrey who are rather more able at driving and parking their modest cars but maybe you don't notice them? Personally I'm pretty good at parking and one hopes driving my modestly sized car. However I do appreciate the extra pedestrianised width on either side of the parking bay to get my two children in and out of their car seats which also helps keep them safe from the traffic in the car park. Obviously I shouldn't even be at the supermarket as I have children and therefore I'll limit all my shopping requirements to the internet:rolleyes:

Surbybird wrote: »

Ah, so expressing an opinion on bad parking by other parents is obnoxious, but your comments in post 138 weren't then? I think you said "people who think it's fair game to park in these spaces without having a small child are pig ignorant", you then described them as "numpties" and "ignorant idiots".

Looks like double standards to me.

Fair point about double standards, but hey it's a forum and we're all pushing our point.

phildunn

Cloudane wrote: »

No...

Parking in a disabled space is illegal, I think? Even if this is a loophole since it's not a designated disable space, no. I'll leave that to the 4x4 and Audi drivers.

What difference does a 4x4 make? I find that remark offensive. I have a 4X4 and would NEVER use a disabled space unless I had a disabled person with me and only then if that person had the appropriate permit.

I would, however, wonder why the disabled car could not park for free in one of the many free dedicated disabled parking spaces.

And as for parking over 2 spaces? I did this recently in a car park that had no available disabled spaces (taken up by cashpoint cripples and people who are "far too busy"). I parked over 2 spaces in a remote and underused part of the car park to allow my friend to be able to get into his wheelchair from the passenger side.

Result? £60 fine, and yes we were displaying a blue badge.

Avoid Ashton Moss Retail Park!

Butch9

NO.
Because I'm a nice person.

But technically, the disabled person has knowingly parked in a space not fit for purpose.
I don't inconvenience others if there's not a suitable space for me, so why should this disabled person.

A.Jones

phildunn wrote: »

And as for parking over 2 spaces? I did this recently in a car park that had no available disabled spaces (taken up by cashpoint cripples and people who are "far too busy"). I parked over 2 spaces in a remote and underused part of the car park to allow my friend to be able to get into his wheelchair from the passenger side.

Result? £60 fine, and yes we were displaying a blue badge.

Avoid Ashton Moss Retail Park!

I think that's good. You should not have parked across two spaces. If that part of the car park was remote and underused, then why not park normally in a single space, and use the empty space next to you for the access. If someone had parked next to you in this remote and underused part of the car park when you returned, then leave your friend in a safe position, move the car to another spot where there is access (there will be a spot since it is underused) and get them in there. Whether or not you were displaying a blue badge is meaningless, you were not parked anywhere near a disabled spot.

If there are people parked in the disabled section not displaying badges, then inform the management - they obviously have people patrolling the car park, since they got you for bad parking. Hopefully they will inform the driver not to do it again.

I'm not sure what a cashpoint cripple is - is it a disabled person using the cashpoint? Why do they have less right to the parking spot (if they have a disabled badge) than someone wanting to use the shop?

unicornstar

Surbybird wrote: »

Yes, they do. Order it online and get it delivered. Spend less, pollute less and no hassles with getting Little Johnny in and out of the car either! It's not rocket science, is it?

Erm, it would be rocket science if you didn't have a debit or credit card, or if you didn't need to order enough shopping to meet the minimum spend!

Also at times, I have been desperate for food shopping but have been waiting for money to go into my account, tried to order the food for the day I get money and because the money isn't in the account the day it is ordered (despite it not needing to be paid on the day of delivery) the transaction has been declined. With a hungry family to feed I can't wait another day to do my shopping hence I will go to the supermarket, with kids in tow if need be, and if possible I will park in a parent and child space because i love my children and don't want to put them at unneccesary additional risk. I like a previous poster usually go as far away from the store as possible to park if there are no family spaces left simply because there are usually more empty spaces. it's not about being close to the store, it's about having more room for buggies, car seats etc!

Zygnoth

If the car park is nearby, surely a responsible person would park there, i.e. the disabled driver, to ensure that the boot space is free. Most car parks that I know of have spaces in a line so behind the boot is always free/part of the walkway.

With regard to being fit and able to walk longer distances, I'm not making money from walking. If I did, I'd park in the car park every time.

The fact of the dilemma is that there are no other spaces available, except to pay money. Why pay though? Imagine if you were on a plane and a disabled person asked you to move to first class so they could get out more easily to the bathroom. I'd do everything I could to help them but I'm not going to pay for their convenience.

Leave your mobile number if you want and explain that there were no other places.

Please don't get angry with me...