LEAF Driver Violates Wheaton's Law

[LeftieBiker]

I walk with a limp. I can walk slowly without one, for short distances, but whenever I use a Handicapped space in my shiny Leaf, I always make sure to make the limp visible. I also don't use a handicapped space if it's a matter of just a few more yards to walk.

 

[RonDawg]

Thanks. I don't recall seeing any signs at this location stating the fine amount, which I believe was mentioned as a marking requirement, but will now re-read the ordinance again to be sure (and I have the non-emergency police number saved on my phone).

Th signage with the fine amount is only needed if the space was marked out on or after 1/1/2008, or if the handicap symbol sign is replaced on or after that date.

The difference between someone who can walk freely and someone who has their mobility limited is pretty obvious, especially for someone like me who's been very near-sighted from about the age of 10 and who's done a lot of walking, hiking and backpacking; before I got my first pair of glasses the only way I could recognize people until they were within 5 feet of me was by their gait, so I unwittingly became something of a student of same. I can still recognize people at distances far greater than their features can be made out that way.

Again my friend the medically-retired cop walks with no visible limp as long as he does not walk too fast. Until recently my father did not walk with any difficulty either. Both met the state's criteria for the issuance of a handicap placard.

When I drove him (he lost his license at 88, and died at 90) I'd generally try to drop him off right in front of the place, find him a place to sit and then go park in a regular spot sans tag, which is how I interpreted the reg. Since my mobility was unimpaired and I was driving, I didn't think I was justified in using the spot. Only if a drop off/pickup wasn't possible did I believe that I was allowed to use a spot.

While your altruism is commendable, legally you had the right to park in those spaces as long as the placard holder was being dropped off from, and/or being picked up in, your car at the time the car was occupying the space. You can even sit in the car and wait for the placard holder to come back.

 

[patrick0101]

let's keep in mind that "hysterical" was a subjective description chosen by the blogger. Completely open to interpretation.

Agreed. Perhaps "indignant" would have been a better choice.

I wouldn't put enough stock in that to start demonizing the person who, after all, was NOT the one being a dick.

+1

And in any case, how vital that ramp area was (or wasn't) to the woman is honestly none of our concern and not appropriate for us to judge. Much less so by someone's choice of wording.

+1

 

[mbender]

If I'm not mistaken, placards can and are granted to people with severe asthma and other "internal" maladies -- none of which are visible in their gait or in any other external way. Which provides yet another reason to avoid hasty and/or superficial judgments.

The difference between someone who can walk freely and someone who has their mobility limited is pretty obvious, especially for someone like me who's been very near-sighted from about the age of 10 and who's done a lot of walking, hiking and backpacking; before I got my first pair of glasses the only way I could recognize people until they were within 5 feet of me was by their gait, so I unwittingly became something of a student of same. I can still recognize people at distances far greater than their features can be made out that way.

Again my friend the medically-retired cop walks with no visible limp as long as he does not walk too fast. Until recently my father did not walk with any difficulty either. Both met the state's criteria for the issuance of a handicap placard.

 

[johnrhansen]

My parents live in a nursing home. When I come to pick up my mom, I park in the handicapped space, and bolt out of my car. I haven't had any dirty looks yet. I think that kind of stuff happens all the time. I need to be there, because I won't be moving so quickly when I come out.

 

[WetEV]

I used to drive a friend around a lot who was wheelchair bound because of a spinal cord fracture.

She would say, "park there".

I'd say "but it says no parking (or loading zone, or handicap plates only, and I didn't have handicap plates)"

She would say "don't worry, I'll talk to the nice officer. And judges are nicer, if it comes to that."

 

[patrick0101]

This Leaf driver was a jerk and should be ticketed. Several people have commented that there are people who are abusing the ADA placards. As johnrhansen said, you don't always know the whole story:

My parents live in a nursing home. When I come to pick up my mom, I park in the handicapped space, and bolt out of my car. I haven't had any dirty looks yet. I think that kind of stuff happens all the time. I need to be there, because I won't be moving so quickly when I come out.

If you were to see him getting out of the car, you might assume he abusing the system. However, when he returns with his parents, he'll need to be parked close.

Similarly, a friend of mine (6'2", athletic, and obviously does not need a wheelchair accessible parking space) was parking in an ADA space when someone confronted him (he had the placard). The part of the story the confronting person did not know was that he was going in to pick up his wheelchair bound son. My friend didn't want to be stopped and didn't want to justify himself to some stranger.

We had a good discussion about this. Was that guy a jerk for confronting him, or was he a good samaritan for trying to defend the ADA access (maybe a little of both).

My point, don't just assume that anyone you see walking away from an ADA spot without an obvious impediment is abusing the system. And if you think they are, call parking enforcement, don't take it on yourself to be a vigilantly parking enforcer (worst comic book hero ever).

 

[Slow1]

My point, don't just assume that anyone you see walking away from an ADA spot without an obvious impediment is abusing the system. And if you think they are, call parking enforcement, don't take it on yourself to be a vigilantly parking enforcer (worst comic book hero ever).

Indeed quite true. Abuse of the placard/space is very much one of those things that likely only the person driving the car really knows if it is happening. However there have been cases where I have personally known the abuser and understood the situation clearly. Perhaps having to listen to stories of when I had to drive a friend who needed the spot and couldn't find one open is a punishment in itself

 

[donald]

This Leaf driver was a jerk and should be ticketed..... As johnrhansen said, you don't always know the whole story:

The irony of that is intriguing. What if the Leaf driver had been a doctor attending a report of someone unconscious and not breathing? Should they have gone to park somewhere nicely?

There's something else quite odd about the photo too - I'd not have managed to extricate myself from that Leaf from the LH driver's side with the gap that is apparent in the photo. Maybe the driver of the Leaf is disabled and was parking in a space next to an able-bodied abuser of the slot who left, and the Caravan came in second? Disabled spaces are usually much wider, so did the Caravan park right over to the RHS of that slot? Was it deliberate to block the Leaf driver getting into their car?

That doesn't fit the reported story, but nor does a hysterical woman. It seems many of us have disabled people to care for, and having a seriously disabled family member tends to train you to have a much calmer approach to taking life's challenges in your stride.

I don't think this story is as it is reported.

 

[mbender]

This Leaf driver was a jerk and should be ticketed..... As johnrhansen said, you don't always know the whole story:

The irony of that is intriguing. What if the Leaf driver had been a doctor attending a report of someone unconscious and not breathing? Should they have gone to park somewhere nicely?

There's something else quite odd about the photo too - I'd not have managed to extricate myself from that Leaf from the LH driver's side with the gap that is apparent in the photo. Maybe the driver of the Leaf is disabled and was parking in a space next to an able-bodied abuser of the slot who left, and the Caravan came in second? Disabled spaces are usually much wider, so did the Caravan park right over to the RHS of that slot? Was it deliberate to block the Leaf driver getting into their car?

That doesn't fit the reported story, but nor does a hysterical woman. It seems many of us have disabled people to care for, and having a seriously disabled family member tends to train you to have a much calmer approach to taking life's challenges in your stride.

I don't think this story is as it is reported.

You're right, and indeed abuses, prejudgments and bad behavior go in both directions. Years ago, a disabled friend of mine bought a new car and, before they received the "disabled license plates" for it, parked out of habit in a handicapped spot. Only to find upon returning to the (brand new) car that someone had firmed keyed a long track extending from the driver-side door to the rear quarter panel. Who that someone was remained a mystery, but odds are it was a disabled person or a "associate" of theirs who was upset about the space being taken by a (presumably) non-handicapped individual.

So it turns out that this picture is a bit of a Rorschach test! The observations and hypotheticals above made me realize that I brought a few judgments of my own to the picture... :shock: Now I want to know what the real story is!

 

[GRA]

The difference between someone who can walk freely and someone who has their mobility limited is pretty obvious, especially for someone like me who's been very near-sighted from about the age of 10 and who's done a lot of walking, hiking and backpacking; before I got my first pair of glasses the only way I could recognize people until they were within 5 feet of me was by their gait, so I unwittingly became something of a student of same. I can still recognize people at distances far greater than their features can be made out that way.

Again my friend the medically-retired cop walks with no visible limp as long as he does not walk too fast. Until recently my father did not walk with any difficulty either. Both met the state's criteria for the issuance of a handicap placard.

If I'm not mistaken, placards can and are granted to people with severe asthma and other "internal" maladies -- none of which are visible in their gait or in any other external way. Which provides yet another reason to avoid hasty and/or superficial judgments.

People suffering from asthma aren't breathing well, and neither they or people with internal problems or slight limps are likely to be striding briskly and with no signs of discomfort, which is my criterion for judging them. That, and the fact that I see such people both arriving and departing, and they are solo both times, often an hour or more apart at this mall, usually carrying shopping bags on the return. As abused as the handicap tags are I'm still not going to confront someone with one, unless it's patently obvious they're gaming the system. The people without tags who meet the above criteria are a different matter, and I confess I fantasize about walking up to one of them and smashing them across both knees with a pipe, saying "Now you've got a legitimate reason to park there. I'm sure you'll _really_ value and appreciate that space now, for the rest of your life."

 

[GRA]

My parents live in a nursing home. When I come to pick up my mom, I park in the handicapped space, and bolt out of my car. I haven't had any dirty looks yet. I think that kind of stuff happens all the time. I need to be there, because I won't be moving so quickly when I come out.

The last 18 months of his life my dad was in a wheelchair in a nursing home too, and I never worried about leaving the car in a handicapped space with a hang tag when picking up/dropping off, because the situation was obvious. I think most people who see a car with a tag parked at/near a care facility, hospital, drugstore etc. and who are likely to care about keeping the handicapped spots accessible recognize the probable situation at a glance, and give a mobile person the benefit of the doubt. Chances are they've been in the same situation.

 

[RonDawg]

People suffering from asthma aren't breathing well, and neither they or people with internal problems or slight limps are likely to be striding briskly and with no signs of discomfort, which is my criterion for judging them.

Not everybody walks everywhere briskly, even if they don't have any physical ailments.

 

[RonDawg]

There's something else quite odd about the photo too - I'd not have managed to extricate myself from that Leaf from the LH driver's side with the gap that is apparent in the photo.

It wouldn't be convenient, but I could get myself back into my Leaf (and have done so a few times) if another car were parked that close. And I'm hardly skinny.

 

[GRA]

People suffering from asthma aren't breathing well, and neither they or people with internal problems or slight limps are likely to be striding briskly and with no signs of discomfort, which is my criterion for judging them.

Not everybody walks everywhere briskly, even if they don't have any physical ailments.

No, but they are going to walk easily, and I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt in any case, compared to the apparently fit person who parks in a handicapped spot sans tag/plate and sets off into a retail business at a pace and gait that looks like they are prepping for Olympic race walking trials.

 

[mbender]

If I'm not mistaken, placards can and are granted to people with severe asthma and other "internal" maladies -- none of which are visible in their gait or in any other external way. Which provides yet another reason to avoid hasty and/or superficial judgments.

[...]
The people without tags who meet the above criteria are a different matter, and I confess I fantasize about walking up to one of them and smashing them across both knees with a pipe, saying "Now you've got a legitimate reason to park there. I'm sure you'll _really_ value and appreciate that space now, for the rest of your life."

LOL? I try to stick with non-violence though, even in my imagination.

Maybe imagining yourself keying their car would be a good compromise? ;-)

 

[Reddy]

So just back up a bit, block the parking driveway, and get done what needs to be.
Tell any that disagree to leave a note on the LEAF.

+1

In this case, not the end of the world. However if the driver required the ramp, then a whole different ballgame. That's why it should never be done, but the "hysterical mother" was just being stupid. Put it in reverse, load, drive away. Or after loading, then call the parking enforcement and have the leaf ticketed/towed for illegal parking. No need to panic. Why can't people use common sense?!

While that may be the case here, it is not always so. I have a friend with MS who is confined to a wheelchair but still drives a van with a ramp. In this case, it would be a no go. Illegal, not cool, and not right. I have been reminded of this several times when I park "near" the edge of the stripped area, but still inside the legal, neighboring non-handicap parking spot. Remember, the stripped area is for the ramp AND the person using the ramp still needs to maneuver a wheel chair off the ramp and around. Leave some room it's there for a reason.

 

[davewill]

... There's something else quite odd about the photo too - I'd not have managed to extricate myself from that Leaf from the LH driver's side with the gap that is apparent in the photo. Maybe the driver of the Leaf is disabled and was parking in a space next to an able-bodied abuser of the slot who left, and the Caravan came in second? Disabled spaces are usually much wider, so did the Caravan park right over to the RHS of that slot? Was it deliberate to block the Leaf driver getting into their car?
...
I don't think this story is as it is reported.

So the driver of the van unloaded her son with the LEAF already parked there? Talk about bending over backwards.

I mean I hate to think a LEAF driver would be like that, but there's no magic fairy dust that keeps jerks from driving electric. The LEAF driver should have gotten a ticket and tow...period.

 

[donald]

So the driver of the van unloaded her son with the LEAF already parked there? Talk about bending over backwards.

Could've arrived to collect her son, and pulled up in anticipation the Leaf would foff in the meantime but didn't.

Dunno. Don't care that much either, as the detail seem to be missing in the story.

 

[Nubo]

So the driver of the van unloaded her son with the LEAF already parked there? Talk about bending over backwards.

Could've arrived to collect her son, and pulled up in anticipation the Leaf would foff in the meantime but didn't.

Dunno. Don't care that much either, as the detail seem to be missing in the story.

Lol donald, I gotta say you take absolutely nothing at face value. Don't ever change.