I ran into a situation a few days ago where a woman who had a handicap placard was parked in the blue hash marks that were part of the handicap spot my van was in . Luckily she was still in her car, since I would have been stranded waiting for her to return if she had gone inside. I asked her to move her car and she pointed to her placard and said because of it she had the right to be there. She wasn't correct.
The hash marks (striped area) next to a handicap spot are illegal to park in, whether you have a handicap placard or not. They exist for the purpose of loading and unloading wheelchairs. Unfortunately, it is not common practice when distributing placards to people to emphasize this to them, nor are these spots marked with a sign. As a result, I see many violations by those with placards as well as the run of the mill violation by those who have no placard.
I've needed the hashmarks for years now. When I had my Saturn, I had to open the extra long door very wide to get my wheelchair out and would get stranded when someone parked in the hash marks. Same with the van. When someone parks in the hash marks, it turns the handicap spot into a single space. This undoes the entire purpose of having extra room to load or unload a wheelchair and folks can't get in or out of their vehicles.
It's a very common violation. At one of the local store lots, I've begun to park in a regular spot at the end of the row because I've come out so many times and been unable to get into my van. I do report the violations, but don't have the time to wait around for others to do their shopping before I can get back to work, so until there's more education or enforcement of the handicap parking laws, we all need to pass the word to those with placards that they, too, can get a hefty fine if they use the hash marks as a free space.
21 comments:
This is indeed a common problem. At supermarkets the blue hash marked area also appears to be the favorite place to leave shopping carts. I have gotten into the habit of moving these carts left by shoppers to another area--directly between two parked cars in non handicapped spots being sure they are inconveniently placed next to a driver door. My obscure and little act of civil unrest.
Bill - I see carts left in the hash marks frequently, too. Another mistaken "oh this is what that space is for" moment for some!
Amen! Amen! Amen! Fortunately for us I can simply back the van out and lower our ramp elsewhere for Patti. However as you well point out when the driver is disabled you are denied access to your vehicle. ... This happens soooo much that we like yourself have simply taken to parking on the end of a row, whether an accessible space or not.
It absolutely baffles me what the other accessible drivers are thinking. How do they think a rampvan works?
Caregivingly Yours, Patrick
http://caregivinglyyours.blogspot.com/
Patrick,
I'm not sure whether folks just think there aren't many ramp vans around or haven't seen one and don't understand . One man who emailed me said he felt justified in parking illegally in the hash marks because there "aren't enough spots" and he can't walk far, but I can roll. Of course if someone can't get out of the van, he or she is not rolling anywhere.
Yes, my comment to the emailer is that when someone parks in the wheelchair access aisle (the hash marks) I absolutely can't get back into my vehicle or out of it--it makes the disabled place useless or requires me to get help from others, if anyone's even around! I have to sit on the seat sideways with the door open and then turn myself in. I'm sorry there aren't enough close spaces--I ran into that when I was walking. There are a lot of people using heritage/borrowed tags or who are doing okay and shouldn't be using them. I didn't use mine when I didn't need it because of this problem.
Our state drivers' handbook actually does say not to park there. But the worst offenders are other disabled drivers and you're right that they need to be instructed not to park there. My husband and I are all for some kind of education campaign.
Another pet peeve is people who don't need the van space who park in it even when another disabled place is available (and often closer!). Someone did this at the doctor's office recently and hopped out of his car and went in. I couldn't use the one remaining disabled space because there was a curb to the right of the space and I couldn't use my rear lift because the curb blocks it. It's just rude and thoughtless. Sometimes I can use a nonvan space myself (as when there's not a curb there and there's not a lot or it's not a high traffic area where the next car is going to back over me--has almost happened more than one would think) and I do so.
Frida- I agree - I'm sorry there aren't enough close spaces too. At least where I live, we need more spaces as baby boomers age and more placards (obviously) are out there.
Using nonvan spaces is a great suggestion as a courtesy to those who need the hash marks. I see some courtesy when I repeatedly go to a place and others realize I need the van access, which is why I think education is important.
In the end, there's an etiquette to using handicap placards, that I learned from others while traveling with wheelchair sports. The vans got first priority in hotel lots, those of us with sedans who could manage in regular spots took those. Since we were in a group, there were never enough spots.
And as the years go by, what I see happening is that the number of spots are just not adequate for the increased demand. More disabilities are covered with varying needs and there's been no changes to address that issue.
No, parking in those blue lines isn't illegal if you have a handicap placard. There's no sign on that area saying you can't and I never got a ticket for it. I do it all the time. I don't understand why I have to walk further for you to park one of those big gas guzzling vans.
Anonymous -
Since you question this, take a look over on the expert law site
http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?p=299715
where someone had to pay over 400 dollars for parking on the cross lines with a handicap plate.
I do agree that putting a sign up indicating parking in the cross lines/hash marks is illegal would be helpful to all of us.
I had a go around on this Tuesday as well - a tiny Smart Car was parked in the hash marks, and apparently it's owned by someone with a placard who thinks she's doing everyone else a favor by not taking the actual permit space. I imagine her little car would be squashed if someone actually tried to deploy a ramp over it.
Katja,
::nodding:::
When I was googling this, I saw where that happened to a few motorcycles parked in the hash marks.
The parking attendants at the Washington (Pa.) Wild Things baseball stadium routinely let people park in the hash marks. Of course if they'd allocated enough handicap spaces in the first place they wouldn't have to do this. However, to their credit they have in the past, at my request, marked off the "hash marks" area with cones so that I don't get blocked in by the time the game is over. If all the spots are taken, I'll park in a non-handicap spot at the end of a row farther out.
Also, I should note that even though I don't drive a van, I still use the spots with loading zones on the left side when available; the farther I can open the door of my Chevrolet Cobalt for loading/unloading my chair, the easier it is. Unfortunately when I have an appointment at Ruby Hospital I often find that the handicap spaces with loading zones have filled up first, leaving only the regular-width handicap spaces. (This happened to me on Monday, and I had to park in a "regular-width" spot. By the time I got out of my appointment, someone had parked next to me and it was a tight squeeze to load my chair.) They really should post signs asking the people who can to use the "narrower" spaces.
Edward,
Thanks for your great description of what wheelchair users in sedans need. (I used to use a Saturn Ion with those cockpit doors and also needed the hash marks to open them wide.)
I like your suggestion about posting signs asking people who can use the narrower spaces to do that.
I should also mention that I have my own designated handicap space at my apartment complex with a "loading zone" to one side (which also has a wheelchair ramp going up to the sidewalk). On more than one occasion someone has parked in the loading zone, blocking not only my loading/unloading but also getting up the curb. God bless the apartment management though - the last time this happened, I alerted them and they put a note on the offending car threatening to have it towed away. I think the car's owner got the message. :)
Ruth,
Just a quick comment on your Saturn Ion - I actually considered buying one at one point, and even went down to the dealership in Clarksburg (which is about 45-60 minutes from my home) to take a look at 'em. But the dealership was unresponsive to my requests for information on hand control suppliers in the area. Eventually I bought my Chevy Cobalt at University Motors here in Morgantown, W.VA., where I had purchased my previous two cars. UM was awesome - they took my new Cobalt all the way to Columbus, Ohio to have hand controls put on, just so I could have it in time for a ski trip! (The car I was trading in had a bad oil leak, and I didn't want to get stranded in Pocahontas County if it got worse.)
Edward-
Great to know about car dealers who are responsive like that in offering services pwd need.
Motorcycles park in hash marks or on the sidewalks here all the time! That forces me into the street or keeps me from getting into a building at all. I guess they think they're being polite by not using up a full parking space in very crowded lots.
My state drivers' handbook definitely says parking there is illegal, as does the ADA. It's over a $300 fine plus $100 in court fees for a first offense here.
PS, I actually loved it when people left carts next to cars when my kids were babies, William. They hurt my spine to carry them far at all but I couldn't leave them to get a cart and bring it back.
Also, anonymous, I never drived a gas guzzling van until I had to get a scooter--it's 160 pounds so a lift is required. An interior lift wouldn't fit our Saturn or CR-V and 2 kids. My job didn't give me the luxury of staying home when it rained (ruins scooters and wheelchairs), thus an interior lift.
But my minivan gets better mileage than SUVs and a lot of cars. I also can't get in and out of a car independently versus a higher minivan or SUV seat. Please don't judge others. I would prefer driving a much smaller vehicle, but even if I did, I would still need room to get out of my car. Parking in the hash lines prevents that since it's not the same size as a full parking space.
Anyone can end up using a wheelchair and facing the same challenges.
I'm a different anon. I am not disabled, but as a mom I need space to get my child (soon to be children) safely in and out of our car. So many drivers park poorly. (think taking up multiple spots or parking in one spot in such an angle as to endanger vehicles parked along the side of it)Since I have the ability to do so, I routinely park far away or at least on ends near curbs so that at least one side of my car is accessible for "loading" my toddler who can be uncooperative.
Anonymous: thanks very much for your comment. (And congratulations on the new addition!)
Could you maybe help come up with a card to leave on the window of the idiots who invent a parking space
It it illegal to park in handicapped parking space if you do not have a placard or handicapped license plate even if you are handicapped. It is illegal to park on the hashmarks. PERIOD!!!! Do not park in handicapped parking spaces if your vehicle is not marked for handicapped parking even if you are just picking up your 100 year old great great grandma. It is illegal!!!!!!!! If all of us could experience one day in the life of those who are handicapped we would have a better understanding. I do not wish that on anyone but please obey the law so you can help those who legally can use the handicapped parking to enable them access to buildings, businesses, homes, schools without having to struggle more than they already have to. In memory of my daughter, Tami who died fron ALS.
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