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

nathanhill69

nitrofunction wrote: »

Also, ever wondered how parents find it so difficult to get their kids to school at 9AM, but can get them into ASDA at 7.30AM on a Saturday morning, little barstewards dipping their fingers into the salad bar!

Note: I DID actually see this happening; 2 kids were with their grandparents who no doubt thought that it was cute!

Definitely not cute - most parents do exercise more control on their children.

I do find this tendency by many posters in demonising children in their use of terminology and over generalised attitudes (however much it's done in "humour") kind of worrying but that's a whole other discussion.

Ebenezer_Screwj

I would never park in a space specifically designated for disabled people, but an ordinary parking space ? Yes I would, everyone has to take their chances on finding somewhere to park.

tara747

nitrofunction wrote: »

BTW, doesn't it annoy you when people park along side the road (unmarked parking) and leave 9/10ths of a cars length gap between each other! It's this kind of inconsiderate parking that really gets my goat!

Oh yes, I hate that!!!!!! It's the most inconsiderate thing. Why do people do it??????????

Where I live, all the parent & child spaces are the same width as ordinary spaces - they're just closer to the door. In any case, why would you be loading your car seat into the car at a supermarket, surely you would do that before you set off? Anyway, I have been known to park in them from time to time, purely because there seem to be thousands of the blimming things in every car park and half of them are empty. If they were wider (to accommodate seats, pushchairs or whatever) then I would not.

Oh and in my original post where I said that I would park in the space but only for a minute, I did also assume that it was an ordinary space next to a disabled space. No way would I ever park in a disabled space. Never. I cannot even imagine how hard it must be to do the things that we all take for granted when one is disabled, so I would never even consider using a space which I am not entitled to.

tara747

I also agree with those who say that the council should lengthen disabled spaces if they are too short. One for the lobbyists here (sharpen your pens!).

I_KeepForgetting_My_name

relaxtwotribes wrote: »

YES.
This is an easy one. All the other driver has to do is to exit the parking space into the roadway, where he will have the space necessary to get the wheelchair in and out of the boot.

OK I give you a disability, and a wheelchair and you spend a month getting in and out of it, with limited access. Leave chair where? get into car, drive into the road, get out of car, move the chair, load your chair whilst traffic is all held up then get back into car. I have to use a hoist for my chair, and I have to sit down ( I have a fold up stool)whilst loading it as it takes time.
try this in the winter... or the pouring rain... By then I am exhausted.
sorry it isn't always as simple as it looks.

relaxtwotribes

If all this thread has achieved is that drivers who need 6 feet of space behind their car to load a wheelchair now know how likely it is that the space will not be there, then good. Sadly, if 6 feet of space is needed, then the driver should ensure it is available rather than rely on others.

jeffcrowe

Sorry but I would not park to block access to a disabled person's vehicle.
Neither would I pay the NCP charges.

I would either give up shopping for now and either return in a few hours hoping that space then was available, or I would go somewhere else.
It would depend on the items I needed to purchase and any urgency associated with them.

nathanhill69

relaxtwotribes wrote: »

....Sadly, if 6 feet of space is needed, then the driver should ensure it is available rather than rely on others.

Is it not necessary for all of us to sometimes rely on the kindness / consideration of others? What kind of society are we creating for ourselves when giving consideration to someone else whose need is obviously greater than ours is not even considered?

gcw84

Like most other people posting here late, I haven't read all the preceeding discussion. But, I can't believe there's so much debate about this. Assuming that:
- the space was a designated parking bay;
- that the space was not marked for disabled parking; and
- there were no other restrictions I'd be in contravention of,
then of course I'd park there - without a moment's hesitation or a second thought.

It is unreasonable of the wheelchair user to have parked in a position where their request for clearance behind their vehicle would render another parking space unuseable.

Disabled spaces exist to help people in this situation. It's quite often the case that I can't find a place to park, despite their being lots of disabled spaces empty. I wouldn't park in one of those, because they are reserved for a specific purpose. The wheelchair user in this case ought to have taken some responsibility for helping themselves and found a disabled bay to park in (or parked at the roadside with their disabled badge on display).

Whilst I appreciate that those of us not in wheelchairs are very fortunate, and agree that we should take reasonable steps to help people with diabilities (e.g. making buildings accessible, etc), people with disabilities also need to realise that they have the responsibility to help themselves.

speedy2056

gcw84 wrote: »

Whilst I appreciate that those of us not in wheelchairs are very fortunate, and agree that we should take reasonable steps to help people with diabilities (e.g. making buildings accessible, etc), people with disabilities also need to realise that they have the responsibility to help themselves.

That seems to be a general rant rather than making a point about the car park spaces.

I'm in a wheelchair and everyone in this thread wouldn't believe how many times EVERY DAY when I see a car parked in a disabled bay without a blue badge. :mad: