Community Forums

DDDonkey · 05-04-2014, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stink

Sorry about that!!!! going off topic and stealing thread!!!!
The other day I saw a plumbers van loaded with tools, supplies and helpers with handicaped plates? Makes you want to say hummmmm!

Commercial vehicles should not have them in my eyes, only POVs.

UncleRich · 05-06-2014, 01:54 PM

Sorry, I am so late to the discussion, but I want to get my two cents worth included. I agree with about two posters who talked about being eligible, but getting tags or plates. I had a severe break in my hip that needed surgery and an inplant, not a replacement over thirty years ago. I was eligible then. Now I am about twelve years past when I former doctor said I HAD to get a replacement. Note: former. I have not been willing to live with the restrictions that my particular situation would require.

That said, I have no tags, I park my Coach or Van near or at the end of the parking crowd, not the end of the lot. I usually need more than one space, so I look for the cart returns as an extra space next door. I need to open wide the door to get in or out. I barely make the entrance of some stores, at take a break inside. I use a cane, and have at times used two. I plan shopping for twenty minutes only, so I can get it done and out the door, before I start having serious problems. If I have been out and about for a day, I don't even think about going shopping. I don't go places where I would need to walk a block or more, I don't take long walks at sunset, or climb mountains, I don't ride my bike into the sunset, etc, etc.

What bothers me most are those who have the placards, but could park a little ways away without a problem. Mom with two kids, carpenter at Home Depot, you know the ones. Even those who cheat on their senior status at the grocery store to use the senior parking drive me nuts. I don't even try and compete with them. It says a lot about our decline as a society when we have a community standard to help those with limited physical ability, but see it as a way cheat and get close to the door, totally forgetting about those that the service was intended for.

Last Fall, I stopped at a thrift store in an abandoned strip mall with about five or six cars in a two hundred car lot. I was driving my coach, and parked in front of a vacant store two doors down from the thrift store. I was there to drop off packing material they could use for customers. I did not see the few remaining flakes of paint on the ground for a handicapped space, but the shrew two spaces down sure did. It took her two seconds to leave her car and start screaming at me for taking up the space and as much vitriol as she could spew. She threatened to call the cops, and I asked her if she wanted to use my phone. I was still in the drivers seat. That set her off and she raised the volume 20 Db and started drawing an audience. I let the crowd grow a little and get her fully cranked up when I opened the door took out my two canes and crept towards the store. The silence was profound.

When I got the clerk to help me unload the foam packing, the hag was gone.

So, who is right? I really like the senior/disabled patrol we have here. You get a ticket and have to go to court to prove you are right. They ask the right questions and require the placard owner to appear. If you are in violation, you lose your card, and pay a fine. If you are using it fraudulently. it gets real serious real quick.

Do I need a placard, maybe, do I want one, NO.

RClifton · 05-06-2014, 09:30 PM

I'm a bit late to the party also but feel I need to chime in as well, simply because it seems the general consensus is that you have to have an issue that impairs your ability to walk to have a plate or placard and that is not necessarily the case in all states.

I'm a 100% Disabled Vet currently living in California. I am also completely paralyzed in one arm. In California a Veteran that has a service connected loss or loss of use of an upper extremity is entitled to a Disabled Veteran license plate as well as a placard. Do I look disabled? Not really, and certainly not if you're looking for a mobility issue. I've also been accosted before and can tell you that it is not a fun experience, in fact it can be quite humiliating. That said I do not feel that I am cheating the system or taking advantage etc. I would gladly trade the placard and the pain I live with every minute of every day for my arm back.

Textronics · 08-08-2014, 05:14 PM

It sounds like many states still have a system that can easily be abused. Oklahoma did away with the lifetime tag because Aunt Suzy died, but I'll use her tag anyway. The tags must be applied for in person. You can only get 5 replacements in a lifetime, and the form must be completed by a doctor. They have 6 month & 5 yr tags. A hang tag lets me us it in any of our 3 vehicles. An advocacy group out here made up cards to go under the windshield wiper that look like a ticket for those w/o a tag. I use them liberally.

Have you seen this? http://melbourneer.com/2014/07/12/tw...l-be-quick-oo/

elliott-maine · 08-09-2014, 01:49 PM

Went to the bank one day. It has 8 spaces, two handicapped. 4 of the seven spaces had cars with handicapped plates, the designated spaces were empty. Had to leave as the lot is small and no spaces available.

mrt_1111 · 08-09-2014, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elliott-maine

Went to the bank one day. It has 8 spaces, two handicapped. 4 of the seven spaces had cars with handicapped plates, the designated spaces were empty. Had to leave as the lot is small and no spaces available.

I have handicap plates. If my wife is not with me, I am required by law to park in a normal parking spot.

BpK9Miami · 08-09-2014, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elliott-maine

Went to the bank one day. It has 8 spaces, two handicapped. 4 of the seven spaces had cars with handicapped plates, the designated spaces were empty. Had to leave as the lot is small and no spaces available.

I have my handicap placard, and I have a mobility issue. But I have to say, and I doubt I'm alone in this, that if there are limited spaces for disabled parking, and I feel as if I can make the distance, I will use a regular parking space and leave the disabled parking for someone who may need that closer spot more than myself. I hope you weren't suggesting that someone with a disability was purposely putting you out by perhaps doing what I've just described.

HD4Mark · 08-10-2014, 08:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BpK9Miami

I have my handicap placard, and I have a mobility issue. But I have to say, and I doubt I'm alone in this, that if there are limited spaces for disabled parking, and I feel as if I can make the distance, I will use a regular parking space and leave the disabled parking for someone who may need that closer spot more than myself. I hope you weren't suggesting that someone with a disability was purposely putting you out by perhaps doing what I've just described.

The reason I started this thread was the actions of a friend of a friend that is the exact opposite of your noble behavior. She had rotator cuff surgery and somehow this qualified her for a handicap tag. She always parks in the handicap spots but can scuba dive, parasail , bike for miles...you get the picture. Obviously mobility is not a problem. Last week we went to the grocery and guess who was in the closest handicap space to the door? Disgusting.

Chalkie · 08-10-2014, 08:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HD4Mark

The reason I started this thread was the actions of a friend of a friend that is the exact opposite of your noble behavior. She had rotator cuff surgery and somehow this qualified her for a handicap tag. She always parks in the handicap spots but can scuba dive, parasail , bike for miles...you get the picture. Obviously mobility is not a problem. Last week we went to the grocery and guess who was in the closest handicap space to the door? Disgusting.

[Moderator Edit]

I have a handicap tag and it is for severe arthritis. I'll admit it, there are days when I just bounce out of the car and probably make [Moderator Edit] you wonder if I qualify. Thing is, I might get halfway through my shopping and something will trigger it and I will be hobbling out of the store. I swim as much as I am able as that is therapeutic. Bicycling causes less stress on my feet than walking and if I don't walk, despite the pain, I would be giving up to life in a wheel chair. Parasail, hmmm, now that sounds like fun and would not cause stress to my feet, at least while I would be in the air.

I see someone else saying a commercial vehicle should not have handicap plates. [moderator edit] I guess if you are disabled you are not supposed to work?

If you were to approach me about whether or not I was legitimate, I would tell you to call the police and then ignore you. So, if you see someone parking in a disabled parking space with no plates or hang tag, then please, report that to the police. [moderator edit]

BpK9Miami · 08-10-2014, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HD4Mark

The reason I started this thread was the actions of a friend of a friend that is the exact opposite of your noble behavior. She had rotator cuff surgery and somehow this qualified her for a handicap tag. She always parks in the handicap spots but can scuba dive, parasail , bike for miles...you get the picture. Obviously mobility is not a problem. Last week we went to the grocery and guess who was in the closest handicap space to the door? Disgusting.

In your example I agree. If I has a friend who was guilty of that behavior it would be difficult for me to keep quiet.

One other observation about calling the police, of which I served for many years. Most police departments will not respond to a call out for that, you'd almost be better off calling parking enforcement, even though the offender is usually gone by the time the officer could get there. It's a terrible catch 22, but whatcha gonna do?

beamisl · 08-10-2014, 05:25 PM

My Mother had the tag that hangs in a window because she did not have a car and when she road with someone she needed the spot for her and her wheelchair. When she passed I took it to the SOS and turned it in. They were shocked!

My son is handicapped with Chronic Inflammatory Demyleating Polyneuropathy. Nasty stuff that. He was unable to work and walk for 8 years. He worked very hard to get back to work which he did 2 years ago. When he went in to cancel his disability checks they didn't know how to do it. Had to make a few calls. He never had a handicap sticker.

There are people who do not look handicap but are. Others who are and work through it in their own way. The honor system works when honorable people use it and not for the others.

I have two spinal fusions and am still working. Still have 5 buldging discs but work.
I do get aggravated when I see someone hop out of a handicap licensed car and run into the store because I wonder if it is someone else's sticker or their's. I had a guy once who was parked in the area next to the door because I had the handicap spot for my Mom who was with me. I took the items we purchased out to the car and went back in to get her. He had a lot to say and not in a very nice way until I went in and came back out with her. I asked if she was handicapped enough for him and since he was in a no parking space maybe he needed to move.

It will always be a frustrating subject because a lot of it depends on the users character.

Hope you all never need one and if you do that you always find a safe spot. Lynne

terry735001 · 08-10-2014, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alsdas88

This forum is really sad. I think we all realize that with the decline of individual responsibility and accountability in this country, everyone suffers. No one is punished for their actions when they defraud others or the system and they continue to do what they feel is best for themselves. We have morphed into a "me me me" society and many just don't care what is correct and honest any longer.

sorry i feel the same way

post/forum like this are just for the trolls and should not even be on here

there is nothing good that well come from a post like this

and if i said how i feel on some of this i am sure i would sound like every one else

Wdebarmore · 08-10-2014, 09:24 PM

I have diabetic neuropathy in my feet. If I'm on my feet more than about 15 minutes the pain gets intense. I have to find a place to sit for a while. It's a real issue. I can make it into a store just fine, but returning to the car is a challenge. Going to a county fair or other event with a large parking lot is out of the question. I've fallen many times. But, guess what, my doctor says I don't meet California's requirements for a placard. Guess I'll have to gain 100 pounds or so...

RovinOn · 08-11-2014, 09:45 AM

Just got mine, my Dr. had to sign for it to approve. Due to heart and breathing issues is the reason I have it. Some days I need it some days I don't. I use it accordingly and will not abuse it, I do still like to walk. Anyone questioning it's use while parking will be given one answer,,,,,mind your own business!
Just my thoughts on the subject.
Regards,
RovinOn