How do you report Handicap Placard Misuse

[jstaylor62]

How do you go about reporting handicap placard misuse? I just witnessed a woman park in a handicap spot using a placard. Then she walked past that building and walked over 250 yards to another building. She did not have or use a cane. She was simply to lazy to find a non-handicap spot to utilize. In my honest, non-medical, but observation based common sense of opinon, she does not need a handicap placard. How do you report this? People complain and about non-handicap people using handicap spots, but what about people with handicap placards that are not obviously handicapped?

[MadMonk]

I know a guy who's wife is handicapped and he uses the card and parks in those spaces even if his wife isn't with him.

[gen70]

This is something that I see happen everyday. What if someone who is truly handicapped really needs the space and the space is filled by the non-careing lazy-capped?

[kevinpate]

If she is not personally eligible, and was alone, she ought not to use the spot.

I can think of one circumstance that would be ok, but no way to know if it applies here.
Perhaps she was bringing & leaving the vehicle for an eligible person, who was already indoors at/near the parking spot, then wandering on her merry way to her own shopping, work, meal etc. some distance away.
I don't see a foul there, but again, no way to know either way from a brief visual observation.

[flintysooner]

Sometimes the handicap condition is not very obvious. I know of several cases where one might conclude there was misuse but certain was not.

[fuzzytoad]

Sometimes the handicap condition is not very obvious. I know of several cases where one might conclude there was misuse but certain was not.

Agreed..

I'm more concerned that there's actually people out there who think they need to "Report" on other citizens..

[jstaylor62]

Agreed..

I'm more concerned that there's actually people out there who think they need to "Report" on other citizens..

The handicap placard application is pretty clear. Unable to Walk 200 Feet without resting, use a cane or have a limb missing. This lady cleary did not fit that criteria. So what is so wrong for wanting to report people that are violating the law?

[PennyQuilts]

Sometimes the handicap condition is not very obvious. I know of several cases where one might conclude there was misuse but certain was not.

True, but to walk to another building other than the one she parked in front of? Sounds suspect.

I have frequently been with people who have handicapped placards, either because they personally had a temporary illness or a family member has one. They ALWAYS want to use them, even if they don't need it anymore or their loved one isn't with them. Pisses me off. I don't understand how good people just don't get it. Probably the same people who cut in line as kids.

[PennyQuilts]

Agreed..

I'm more concerned that there's actually people out there who think they need to "Report" on other citizens..

I'd do it in a heartbeat. It is a slap in the face of everyone else and a distortion of the law. Only makes people resent the handicapped because it causes everyone to wonder if they are faking it. It is not a behavior without negative consequences.

[PennyQuilts]

People sometimes confuse things that are geared to the handicapped (like a bathroom anyone can use) with things like designated parking (that is restricted to those with a verified handicap). I don't think twice about using the handicapped stall but would die before I would take a handicapped parking space just so I could avoid walking a few extra feet. Why should I get that space when I don't need it when there might be other people who do? Or for that matter, more ethical people who could use it but just don't have the placard? People who are that self centered are a pet peeve.

Right up with them are the guys who park right in a crosswalk so their sweetie doesn't have to get wet when it is raining (aren't they darling?) but force everyone else, including moms with kids in strollers, to go the long way around them, getting drenched. (Mind you, when they park there, other traffic has to drive around them and that further blocks pedestrians' access). How self absorbed can you be? Why don't they compromise and park a few feet from the very front? Their sweetie still won't have to walk very far and they won't block other people. When it is raining, EVERYONE wants in. Hogging the doorway is so rude.

[fuzzytoad]

I'd do it in a heartbeat. It is a slap in the face of everyone else and a distortion of the law. Only makes people resent the handicapped because it causes everyone to wonder if they are faking it. It is not a behavior without negative consequences.

I don't resent the handicapped...

I *do* resent tattletales though..

and hall monitors..

[PennyQuilts]

I don't resent the handicapped...

I *do* resent tattletales though..

and hall monitors..

Like I said, if it makes it harder for the handicapped to be respected, what they do is horrible. Let me ask, do you think someone who doesn't report child abuse is a tattle tale? When does reporting wrongdoing go from tattle talling to whistle blowing?

[fuzzytoad]

Like I said, if it makes it harder for the handicapped to be respected, what they do is horrible.

And like I said, I don't have a lack of respect for the handicapped. It's obvious that you do, based on the actions of someone who you claim isn't even handicapped..

Let me ask, do you think someone who doesn't report child abuse is a tattle tale?

I'm assuming you accidentally typed that incorrectly and meant to ask me if I think someone who *does* report child abuse..

If my assumption is correct then no, I don't think someone reporting obvious child abuse is a tattle tale, but if someone who suspects child abuse based on little or no evidence reports it, they're not only a tattle tale, they're misusing the time and resources of authorities who could have been working on legitimate cases..

When does reporting wrongdoing go from tattle talling to whistle blowing?

When people have facts and hard evidence to back up whatever they're accusing someone of..

It's already been pointed out that someone parking in a handicap spot, using a placard, then getting out and walking 250 yards to another building could have parked there because they're picking up a person who legitimately needs the space afforded to a handicap spot... It's not up to you, or me, or jstaylor to prematurely judge that person and pass sentence on them..

Reporting on people just because you "feel" they are doing wrong went out with the Third Reich, McCarthyism and the Soviet Union.. I know the Obama administration wants to bring it back, but why do you all feel the need to help it along?

Here's a tip: MYOB.

[old okie]

If she is not personally eligible, and was alone, she ought not to use the spot.

I can think of one circumstance that would be ok, but no way to know if it applies here.
Perhaps she was bringing & leaving the vehicle for an eligible person, who was already indoors at/near the parking spot, then wandering on her merry way to her own shopping, work, meal etc. some distance away.
I don't see a foul there, but again, no way to know either way from a brief visual observation.

Yes. I often had to drop off my mom (for whom we had the handicap placard) then go try to find a parking place--because, you guessed it, all the nearby handicapped spots were taken. Depending on where we were and how sick she was, sometimes I couldn't leave her stranded and alone while I surfed a parking lot to try to find a regular spot [this was especially true at large medical facilities], so I would park in a handicapped spot and hoof it to my mom as quickly as possible to help her into the building. She does have qualifying medical conditions, but if you "saw" me, you wouldn't have known the whole story.

If I didn't have my mom with me, I NEVER used the handicap placard! EVER! As a followup, we let the placard expire as Mom's health improved a bit, and now, I just pull up and block the drive or whatever, get her out of the car and into the building, and then go park in regular parking. We feel blessed that her situation--although she is very frail and uses a walker--has improved enough to do that.

[PennyQuilts]

And like I said, I don't have a lack of respect for the handicapped. It's obvious that you do, based on the actions of someone who you claim isn't even handicapped..


I'm assuming you accidentally typed that incorrectly and meant to ask me if I think someone who *does* report child abuse..

If my assumption is correct then no, I don't think someone reporting obvious child abuse is a tattle tale, but if someone who suspects child abuse based on little or no evidence reports it, they're not only a tattle tale, they're misusing the time and resources of authorities who could have been working on legitimate cases..




When people have facts and hard evidence to back up whatever they're accusing someone of..

It's already been pointed out that someone parking in a handicap spot, using a placard, then getting out and walking 250 yards to another building could have parked there because they're picking up a person who legitimately needs the space afforded to a handicap spot... It's not up to you, or me, or jstaylor to prematurely judge that person and pass sentence on them..

Reporting on people just because you "feel" they are doing wrong went out with the Third Reich, McCarthyism and the Soviet Union.. I know the Obama administration wants to bring it back, but why do you all feel the need to help it along?

Here's a tip: MYOB.

Are you kidding me? You think I don't have respect for the handicapped because I think people who cheat make it harder for them? You know better than that. I come from the position of advocating for people who can't advocate for themselves. It burns me to see able bodied people (and I know many of them, personally) "cheat" to get a better parking place. As for the notion that you need to have all the goods to report something - since when was it a citizen's responsibility to investigate and provide the police with all the evidence to prove the case? If you see someone that appears to be breaking the law, you report it and let them make the call. The notion that you have to be able to prove it doesn't hold for burglery, robbery, murder, assualt, etc.

Let's be candid. You see this as something minor. Just say so. Don't try to create a higher level of proof required to report something like this than would be required for anything else. This has nothing to do with Third Reich. Jeeze. Way over the top. It has to do with people caring enough to make the effort. If you don't think it is a big deal, don't worry about it. But to all but call someone who DOES think it a big deal a nazi or communist or someone who who disrespects the handicapped is out there.

[PennyQuilts]

Yes. I often had to drop off my mom (for whom we had the handicap placard) then go try to find a parking place--because, you guessed it, all the nearby handicapped spots were taken. Depending on where we were and how sick she was, sometimes I couldn't leave her stranded and alone while I surfed a parking lot to try to find a regular spot [this was especially true at large medical facilities], so I would park in a handicapped spot and hoof it to my mom as quickly as possible to help her into the building. She does have qualifying medical conditions, but if you "saw" me, you wouldn't have known the whole story.

If I didn't have my mom with me, I NEVER used the handicap placard! EVER! As a followup, we let the placard expire as Mom's health improved a bit, and now, I just pull up and block the drive or whatever, get her out of the car and into the building, and then go park in regular parking. We feel blessed that her situation--although she is very frail and uses a walker--has improved enough to do that.

Well, in the first place, you're at a hospital. I think most people can figure out what is going on.

In the second - when I had to take my own mother in for tests and to see the doctor when she was dying of cancer and couldn't walk and we didn't have a placard because I'd just moved her to Virginia - I parked the car, walked to the door to make sure there was a place for her to sit (sometimes getting a chair from a nearby office), went back to the parking lot to start the car and take her to the door - walked her inside to sit down, raced back to park the car in the regular parking place, hoofed it back in to take her to her tests of doctor or whatever -and do the reverse on the way out. And that is with an actually handicapped person. If I can do that, why can't the able bodied park in a regular parking place in the Super Target?

I glad your mom is better. You sound like a wonderful son and she is lucky to have you.

[fuzzytoad]

Only makes people resent the handicapped because it causes everyone to wonder if they are faking it.

Like I said, if it makes it harder for the handicapped to be respected, what they do is horrible.

You're the one who made these statements.. Since you didn't provide any evidence supporting this, I had to assume you were speaking from personal experience.

I *do* think it's something minor and "reporting" people for it is asinine, especially when you don't have anywhere near the whole story...

However, you decided to equate Parking in a Handicap Spot with Child Abuse... I just went along with the 'Going over the Top' theme that you set..

[PennyQuilts]

You're the one who made these statements.. Since you didn't provide any evidence supporting this, I had to assume you were speaking from personal experience.

I *do* think it's something minor and "reporting" people for it is asinine, especially when you don't have anywhere near the whole story...

However, you decided to equate Parking in a Handicap Spot with Child Abuse... I just went along with the 'Going over the Top' theme that you set..

All I can figure is that you have never had the misfortune to have a seriously handicapped person you care about not be able to get a handicapped spot. I am incredibly grateful that I can walk and don't need to park close to a building. For many, being able to park close makes the difference between being independent and having to be homebound and rely on others to run errands. Maybe you haven't dealt with many sick or handicapped people and just don't "get" that their lives are a constant struggle. Not hogging close spaces where they can get in and out of their cars is not too much to expect, IMO. I know several relatively young adults (thirties) who are wheelchair bound. Not only is the distance an issue, they can't get out of their cars if there aren't wide enough spaces. They can park way over yonder but then have to navigate a parking lot and you know how some people drive. Until you have seen a thirty-two year old car accident victim come home in tears because she couldn't get out of her car and in her wheelchair because the handicapped spaces were all taken (a woman who barely cried when she first lost her mobility because she is strong and didn't want to seem weak), you might not appreciate what a difference that makes in some people's lives. It IS a big deal to me and one of those small things we can do that don't cost much and can make a huge difference in the lives of people who are truly less fortunate through no fault of their own.

[old okie]

Well, in the first place, you're at a hospital. I think most people can figure out what is going on.

I glad your mom is better. You sound like a wonderful son and she is lucky to have you.

Did the original poster say what type of store, building, etc.? I must have missed that it was like a Super Target or similar.

Thank you about my mom....and it's daughter, but thank you! I try to be.

[PennyQuilts]

Did the original poster say what type of store, building, etc.? I must have missed that it was like a Super Target or similar.

Thank you about my mom....and it's daughter, but thank you! I try to be.

Okay, then you are a good "kid!" Your mom is lucky to have you, clearly. If you are an Old Okie, your mom must be ancient! <vbg>

The first post didn't have where this was seen but I personally have seen it happen in a number of places - hardware store, Wal Mart, Target and the mall come to mind.

[stick47]

I bet we've all went to the store, post office or library at sometime or other and found twice as many disabled spots open as unrestricted spaces. So IMO in some instances, it helps more than hurts if a semi-handicapped individual parks in a restricted space.

[PennyQuilts]

I bet we've all went to the store, post office or library at sometime or other and found twice as many disabled spots open as unrestricted spaces. So IMO in some instances, it helps more than hurts if a semi-handicapped individual parks in a restricted space.

Okay, I absolutely agree with you that they have too many handcapped spaces in some businesses that just stand there, empty. And it is very irritating. That being said, I think it makes better sense to get a waiver from some businesses than to just ignore the law. When there are forty parking places and three handicapped at a batting cage, that is one thing. If there are two or three in a Wal Mart parking lot (I just made up those numbers, I admit) then hogging one you don't need is much more likely to cause trouble. And anyone wrongfully taking a space they aren't entitled to, to me, is self centered. What if everyone did that? The ones hogging those spaces are counting on everyone else playing by the rules so they can get a better deal. That is amoral.

[gen70]

FT is a flamer and will argue with a fence post.

[flintysooner]

Well, in the first place, you're at a hospital. I think most people can figure out what is going on.

In the second - when I had to take my own mother in for tests and to see the doctor when she was dying of cancer and couldn't walk and we didn't have a placard because I'd just moved her to Virginia - I parked the car, walked to the door to make sure there was a place for her to sit (sometimes getting a chair from a nearby office), went back to the parking lot to start the car and take her to the door - walked her inside to sit down, raced back to park the car in the regular parking place, hoofed it back in to take her to her tests of doctor or whatever -and do the reverse on the way out. And that is with an actually handicapped person. If I can do that, why can't the able bodied park in a regular parking place in the Super Target?

I glad your mom is better. You sound like a wonderful son and she is lucky to have you.

Go back in time about 10 years when people understood much less about dementia than now -- and what they understand now is next to nothing.

Then just observe the kind of prejudice that is displayed towards people who are physically sound but suffering with dementia and their caregivers.

I'm certain there is abuse of handicapped placards and spaces but I'm just as certain there is a lot more intolerance towards people who really do need the consideration regardless of appearance.

And hospitals in my experience were the worst places to have your dementia patient.

[PennyQuilts]

Go back in time about 10 years when people understood much less about dementia than now -- and what they understand now is next to nothing.

Then just observe the kind of prejudice that is displayed towards people who are physically sound but suffering with dementia and their caregivers.

I'm certain there is abuse of handicapped placards and spaces but I'm just as certain there is a lot more intolerance towards people who really do need the consideration regardless of appearance.

And hospitals in my experience were the worst places to have your dementia patient.

I used to represent the department of mental health and substance abuse services so my "consciousness was raised" on this issue a long time ago. It never ceases to amaze me how people still make fun of people who are mentally ill and who are afraid of them or treat them as subhuman - but I do think it has gotten a little better so at least it is going in the right direction. But while discrimination against the mentally ill, including those with dementia or alzheimers, is widespread, I don't think the parking spaces are really intended to be directed towards those folks. The spaces appear to be aimed at the ones who have a problem walking. Having a mother suffering from cancer, I learned that someone can look okay but really not be. Mom would be able to walk a little bit and then that was it - she just couldn't get enough oxygen to be able to fuel her body to support her body and it would happen very quickly. So a close up parking space was essential for her, especially if she didn't have a wheelchair. She could walk about 30 feet and look almost spry, then hit a wall.

We really aren't talking about people like that, though. You can't always tell but most of the time, you CAN tell when someone is robust with mud on their cowboy boots. And I have personally had a LOT of experience with otherwise good people who think nothing of nabbing a handicapped place just because they have a card, somehow. I have a hard time believing that I have had a significantly different experience than the general population regarding knowing people who abuse the right to use those places.