I would probably be parking further away anyway, because I’d be looking for a pull-through spot and those are usually further out. But generally I respect “reserved” signs, whoever the spots are reserved for.
The only veterans spots I know about are at Lowes. I park there. I would judge someone who parked there without being a veteran but I would have no idea if they were. I’m certainly not going to ask. There are a couple of places I know that have reserves spaces for Purple Heart recipients. I would certainly not park there.
I generally respect “reserved” signs, too. I don’t especially see why someone having been a soldier years ago means they ought to get reserved parking at some random mall today. But if the business owner wants to give something to veterans, that’s their call.
In the UK it is inconceivable that there would be spaces reserved for veterans. While we respect their service surely those currently in service should be respected just as much. We have spaces reserved for the disabled (whether they got their disability in military service or not), and sometimes spaces for families with children (I am not cinviced they are required). Only space I have seen reserved for Vets in outside a Veterinarians.
I do tend to obey signs however, in the posters scenario I would park somewhere a distance away, probably outside a different store!
I wouldn’t park in the veteran’s space, but I generally don’t like to park close to the building in any case. There’s often too much foot and car traffic there making it harder to get the car in and out of the parking space. But in this case, 40 feet? It takes like 5 seconds to walk that far. I would consider those two parking spaces essentially identical in terms of closeness to the building.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen “reserved for veterans” spots before. But on a similar note, my office is on the site of a former Air Force base. While the base closed over 20 years ago, the commissary is still open. By definition everyone who shops at a military commissary is either a veteran or active duty, but their parking lot has spaces reserved for particular ranks, like “reserved for Majors” or “reserved for Master Sergeant”. I always wondered how they enforced that, like if they had stickers on their cars indicating their ranks, or if it was just on the honor system? What would happen if I, a civilian, parked there? (I did sometimes have reason to go there; pre-COVID they had a food court that was open to the general public, and they have an ATM I occasionally use.)
We have a mix in Massachusetts - municipalities require a veteran’s plate to park, and I certainly wouldn’t park there, but if I were at Lowe’s and there were six unoccupied spaces, I might take one and feel a little (little) guilty. But it’s the guilt of potentially being caught out, more than anything.
I’d guess that, in many places, it’s on the honor system, as, unlike handicap plates/placards, there probably aren’t official ways to consistently designate a car as belonging to an active-duty person, much less a veteran.
I would honor the sign, not because I think veterans should get special parking but because I generally honor signs.
I have a similar parking scenario that I will post a poll about.
mmm
I’m assuming some folks here actually have handicapped parking placards.
My husband once picked up a $100 ticket for “parking in a handicapped spot” because he pulled into it to let a feeble old lady out of the car. She didn’t drive, and he used to take her to the grocery store and then run his own errands before picking her up again. He never left the car.
He contested it, and lost, basically because there isn’t really a way to contest the ticket.
So hell no, I’m not parking in the handicapped spot.
If the same thing were honor-system, like “veteran” parking, yeah, if I’m literally the only one there, I’d park in the veteran spot.
Then they would select this option:
Yes, because I have handicapped parking privileges
mmm
When my mother stopped driving, we got a handicap plaque for my car (in my state, it is a card that hangs from your rear-view mirror). So when I took her on errands, we could park close to the door.
I don’t ever want to park close to the door. Those people are the worst drivers on the planet. If you are at all able to walk, it is a lot safer to park far away from the handicap spaces.
How embarassing 
Yes, you should be mortified! Shame, shame!
mmm
I guess people have more crowded parking lots in their area than we do around here. Other than a grocery store on New Years Eve, I’ve never had any problem finding parking at any establishment since I moved to this area 23 years ago. It might be a few feet further away, but I am able to walk without difficulty. I am not a veteran, and it wouldn’t even occur to me to park in a spot “reserved” for one.
I have not seen spots reserved for veterans, but I have seen spots for expecting mothers.
I would not park in either.
I don’t park in any spaces that are designated for specific groups of people (if I’m not in the group). I will, however, cheerfully park in a spots in a strip mall that’s labeled for a business next door to the one I’m patronizing.
Without more information, i have no idea what I’d think of the people arguing.
Ditto.