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

GOLDSTAR_2

In my view this is not a straight forward query to answer and various facts have to be taken into account. I have seen people return to vehicles which have had such signs in them but the person(s) didn't show any signs of being disabled. No doubt the disabled person who uses the vehicle wasnt travelling in it on that particular occassion. Therefore i would suggest that the person who is in charge of the vehicle, when no disabled person is being carried round, should remove the sign for this occassion. Provided that it is possible to remove and replace the sign later.
I believe some councils operate a system whereby one can be fined if their vehicle is overlapping two parking bay areas and i wonder whether a traffic warden could fine the driver of a disabled vehicle if they realised that the bay behind their vehicle had been kept clear due to the sign. In other words could it be claimed that the vehicle was taking up two spaces. Knowing the reputation of traffic wardens they will issue a ticket wherever possible.
No doubt the driver of the vehicle with a disabled passenger on board has a disabled badges for placing on the dashboard. Another suggestion would be for that vehicle to park in an area (e.g., on yellow lines) where vehicles without disabled badges cannot park behind them. This would be more convenient for themselves plus other drivers.
If you aren't going to be parked for a very long time behind a disabled vehicle, say to go to a shop or a bank, i don't see any problem in this case.
Some would also argue that they pay their tax and insurance and have a right to park behind. Plus some would say you shouldn't drive on to find another space as you will be contributing to spoiling the environment.
Finally please do not get me wrong as i have a lot of sympathy for disabled people in general.

Headieboy

Yes I would.

Let be clear here: YOU are not parking in a disabled space. The car in front IS (I assume) and has a sign on the back of it asking you for the courtesy of leaving space. You don't have to. On most of the cars which have these stickers it's not the driver who is disabled it's a passenger.

Rlscann

BigSky wrote: »

Why should people that decide to bring their screaming, fat, badly-behaved kids round the supermarket get special parking bays?

Hey!! I bring my quiet,healthy weight,well-behaved chidren to the supermarket so that they are not home alone,and they learn how to budget-and I appreciate the fact that the supermarkets allow me a safe place to park so that I don't have to negotiate the car park where not everyone driving cares who's on foot.Please don't judge everyone by the standards you seem to think are the norm.
And no-we shouldn't block people in.We should feel fortunate that we're able to walk a little further to the shop-and if it's busy...we probably should have just got up a little earlier.

redpandabear

Not all disabled drivers are considerate of other disabled drivers. I used to live opposite a hospital about 900 yards down a hill from the main entrance and my neighbor had a disabled space out side his house as his wife could only manage to walk with help down the steps to the car. A lot of times you would see a person park in that disabled space then walk the 5 ish minutes to the wards in the hospital. So if the person needed space they could be sure that no one would park behind why did they not use the car park.

wildthing01

oh my god, this forum doesn't half bring the bigots out of the woodwork.

1. regardless of any legal situation, you should never deliberately inconvenience someone else, disabled or not, just to make your own life easier. that's why the world is in the state it's in.

2. to the patronising so and so who said disabled people in general had his sympathy - disabled people do not need your sympathy - they, like everyone, just need people to be a bit considerate and think of others rather than just themselves.

3. to the person who complained about people bringing their fat lazy etc kids to the supermarket, and him thinking it is okay to use parent and child spaces, i'm guessing he's never tried to manoeuvre a wriggly toddler, who can't be left at home alone, out of car, whilst 6 mths pregnant. that's why we need the extra wide spaces. how incredibly selfish can you get?

Bluecaster

There are two main types of disabled drivers - one is like me where I can get in and out of the driving seat. I don't have a notice for that reason because I can pull the car forward and then stow my scooter in the boot.
The ones who have a real problem with getting into the car and therefore have a 'Please leave x feet' notice are those who cannot leave the wheelchair. They can now get vehicles adapted with a rear ramp and can drive their chair up the ramp and into the space where the driving seat was, if you see what I mean. This ability to drive from a wheelchair has come with modern electronic controls and means that previously house-bound disabled people can be much more independent. But it does need co-operation so the ramp can be extended to allow the disabled person to get to the driving seat by not parking behind them.
Sadly, the 'I'm only going to be a minute' excuse, used by blue badge space thieves, is irrelevant. If you arrive at a car park and there is an unbadged car in the only disabled space what do you do? Wait and hope they will come back? Or give up and go home. Are they ging to be two minutes or an hour? How do you know?
The one thing every blue badge holder dreams of is being able to give up their blue badge because they no longer need it. Sadly, for most of us this moment never comes.
Bluecaster.

accidentalspender

I’d park in a “family” parking bay though even if I was on my own. Why should people that decide to bring their screaming, fat, badly-behaved kids round the supermarket get special parking bays?[/QUOTE]

Couldn't put it better myself! :beer:

I know this is off-topic, but, begin rant:

Don't even get me started on disabled people parking on double yellows. If parking there creates a hazard then NOBODY should park there; if not then there shouldn't be double yellows at that location. Simple.

End rant.

P.s. Bleeding heart brigade, please spare me. I get off my backside and do the shopping and general errands for a less able person, do you? :rolleyes:

unicornstar

accidentalspender wrote: »

I get off my backside and do the shopping and general errands for a less able person, do you? :rolleyes:

Yes, i do! Every day for my "screaming, fat, badly-behaved kids"!!!!

dopolous

BigSky wrote: »

Absolutely NOT! Only the most ignorant lazy !!!!!! would do that.

I’d park in a “family” parking bay though even if I was on my own. Why should people that decide to bring their screaming, fat, badly-behaved kids round the supermarket get special parking bays?

I do not habe the luxury of shopping without my 20 month old son. The bays are wider so that you can lift the child out of the car, into the trolley alongside the car. You are obviously not a parent!!!

kath2901

People don't seem to be reading the question, it is NOT a disabled space, it's an ordinary space on the road which anyone and everyone has a right to use. If this driver is genuinely disabled then they will be in possession of a parking permit which allows them to park in designated disabled spaces which they should have used.And before anyone asks- yes i do know people in possession of blue badges, I also know of 'disabled' people who abuse the system too.