# What happens if I park in a Expecting Mothers space? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 18, 2017, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-i-park-in-a-expecting-mothers-space/777436 "2017-01-18T00:18:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-i-park-in-a-expecting-mothers-space/777436/41 "2017-01-18T19:39:17Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Trust me, this is not a good idea. :o I didn’t mean _you_, :rolleyes:, I was elaborating on your point! Although did you ever see that Bloom County where the gang takes the transmission off of Steve Dallas’ car after he illegally parks in a handicapped space? 😃 (I’m also not saying that blocking someone into their spot is a good idea. Pregnant, hormonal, irate me was not necessarily a _smart_ person, if you get me.) > [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > \ > > ETA: And about that private lot thing, a lot of strip mall type places have little signs in front of a certain number of spaces that say, for instance, THIS SPACE FOR NAIL SALON PARKING ONLY. Now, if instead you went into the dog groomer next door, could they give you a ticket? I think so. On the other hand, could they call up some parking official and get your car ticketed before you get in and out with your clean dog? I’m guessing no, and empirical evidence indicates a lot of other people guess the same. I think it’s mainly this in most jurisdictions, although I think you’ll get towed, not ticketed. Failure to follow posted parking instructions on private property normally gives the owner the right to have you towed. Will it happen in this case, probably not, unless you happen to get a very hormonal pregnant lady complaining to management. It could. There MAY BE some jurisdictions out there that would actually issue a ticket, depending on zoning, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-i-park-in-a-expecting-mothers-space/777436/42 "2017-01-18T23:28:35Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > I didn’t mean _you_, :rolleyes:, I was elaborating on your point! Although did you ever see that Bloom County where the gang takes the transmission off of Steve Dallas’ car after he illegally parks in a handicapped space? 😃 Um, what in the world about my post made you think I meant _me_? All I said was it wasn’t a good idea. For anyone. Nice eye roll tho. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-i-park-in-a-expecting-mothers-space/777436/43 "2017-01-18T23:32:43Z")
I think the rampant abuse of handicap parking shows that no one is going to give two fucks about “the honor system” when it comes to parking where they want to park. I mean, if even the threat of legal action doesn’t deter you (albeit theoretical legal action) then a meaningless sign surely will not. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-i-park-in-a-expecting-mothers-space/777436/44 "2017-01-19T01:35:13Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Um, what in the world about my post made you think I meant _me_? All I said was it wasn’t a good idea. For anyone. Nice eye roll tho. The phrase “Trust me” on a message board is usually a tongue-in-cheek way to saying “Trust me because I know this from personal experience.” ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-i-park-in-a-expecting-mothers-space/777436/45 "2017-01-19T01:37:44Z")
> [@slash2k](#): > > Universities certainly can; pretty much every college/university I’ve ever been to in the U.S. has its own parking rules with spaces designated for students, faculty, visitors, service vehicles, etc. And, as in the cite you quoted, permits issued in advance based on objective status with the university are required, so it is not arbitrary. If a woman parks in a space for expectant mothers, who is going to require her to show proof of pregnancy? ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-i-park-in-a-expecting-mothers-space/777436/46 "2017-01-19T01:51:41Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Um, what in the world about my post made you think I meant _me_? All I said was it wasn’t a good idea. For anyone. Nice eye roll tho. Well, this. > [@CookingWithGas](#): > > The phrase “Trust me” on a message board is usually a tongue-in-cheek way to saying “Trust me because I know this from personal experience.” But also, this kind of thing following along right behind reinforced the idea. > [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > Hah! Good on ya, Ambi. > [@Derleth](#): > > Yeah, pregnant versus handicapped. > > As they say in Mortal Kombat: ROUND ONE. _FIGHT._ I thought you misunderstood me. Apparently, I misunderstood you. Yes, parking behind someone is a bad idea. I acknowledged that, twice now in this thread, while also admitting that I might very well have done it anyway when I was pregnant. Pregnant me was stoopid. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-i-park-in-a-expecting-mothers-space/777436/47 "2017-01-19T02:02:05Z")
> [@yanceylebeef](#): > > You get pregnant. Duh. This will keep the men-folk from parking there … ---
**Author:** ![purplehearingaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@purplehearingaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehearingaid)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-i-park-in-a-expecting-mothers-space/777436/48 "2017-01-19T02:12:08Z")
Really you have Expecting Mothers parking spaces ?? I never heard of that before . Any women can say she is a pregnant so how does the store know if a woman is lying about this ? Do women have to be showing they’re pregnant ? I walked everywhere when I was pregnant so this really crazy to me. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-i-park-in-a-expecting-mothers-space/777436/49 "2017-01-19T02:47:20Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > I read the story once about one of the prominent Silicon Valley billionaires who was a bit abrasive and was habitually using his company’s handicapped space (privileges of owner). One of his partners said “I didn’t realize that included the mentally handicapped…” Those [stories](http://www.cultofmac.com/2613/steve-jobs-still-parking-in-handicapped-spaces-the-pictures/) were told about Steve Jobs. And the article says that Jobs was called either “emotionally handicapped” or “morally handicapped.” On the other hand, Jobs did have cancer for a good while, so he might well have legitimately qualified for a parking placard. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-i-park-in-a-expecting-mothers-space/777436/50 "2017-01-19T03:08:08Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Um, what in the world about my post made you think I meant _me_? All I said was it wasn’t a good idea. For anyone. Nice eye roll tho. Well just for another data point, as soon as I read your post I assumed you were referring to your little…saga. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-i-park-in-a-expecting-mothers-space/777436/51 "2017-01-19T03:31:59Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > Well just for another data point, as soon as I read your post I assumed you were referring to your little…saga. Well of course. But I never directly referenced myself. He/she ( **SunnyDaze** ) said, “Well I didn’t mean _you_” :rolleyes:…I cannot comprehend how that response makes sense. Her original remark was commenting on their desire to block in an inappropriately parked car in a parking lot. Then, assuming most people were familiar with my story, I came in and said (in jest, mostly) that it wasn’t a good idea. In what interpretation could her “well I didn’t mean _you_” makes sense as a response? ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-i-park-in-a-expecting-mothers-space/777436/52 "2017-01-19T03:33:05Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > The phrase “Trust me” on a message board is usually a tongue-in-cheek way to saying “Trust me because I know this from personal experience.” Right. As did I. ETA: Look, I was just trying to be funny. That’s all. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-i-park-in-a-expecting-mothers-space/777436/53 "2017-01-19T03:35:22Z")
double post ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-i-park-in-a-expecting-mothers-space/777436/54 "2017-01-19T04:19:38Z")
Wouldn’t it be against the law for public LEOs to enforce a “For only” when that warning refers to privately-established regulations within a private parking lot? ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-i-park-in-a-expecting-mothers-space/777436/55 "2017-01-19T11:08:05Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Right. As did I. > ETA: Look, I was just trying to be funny. That’s all. I thought it was funny and it showed that you could poke fun at yourself. ---
**Author:** ![eclectic\_wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-i-park-in-a-expecting-mothers-space/777436/56 "2017-01-19T11:43:02Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > To answer the OP’s question: Probably not much beyond hostility, as others have suggested. Most (all?) such spots are in private lots, and exist principally to create goodwill by encouraging & catering to pregnant women’s sense of entitlement. I don’t think it’s about entitlement. I think it’s about society going ‘We get that some people are having a harder time than others with ordinary life tasks, so basic human decency says we try and make it a bit easier for them.’ It’s the same reason I give up a bus seat for someone who’s old or who has a cast on his leg, without going into a mental rant about whether he feels entitled or whether the broken leg was his own fault: because trying to smooth other people’s lives a bit, when they’re having a rough time, is basic decency and makes for a better society to live in. And I don’t think those spots are for women who are only a couple of months pregnant. I would definitely never have used one at that stage. They’re for women who are so big that an extra few minutes of walking would be a genuine burden. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-i-park-in-a-expecting-mothers-space/777436/57 "2017-01-19T16:22:49Z")
I was in a private lot and got a ticket for parking in a “mini van only” spot, I shit you not. It was in a rental car and I wasn’t in town long enough to try and fight it. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-i-park-in-a-expecting-mothers-space/777436/59 "2017-01-19T17:53:30Z")
> [@purplehearingaid](#): > > Really you have Expecting Mothers parking spaces ?? I never heard of that before . > Any women can say she is a pregnant so how does the store know if a woman is lying about this ? Do women have to be showing they’re pregnant ? “How long have you been pregnant?” “Fifteen minutes. And, man, am I _exhausted_.” ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2017, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-i-park-in-a-expecting-mothers-space/777436/60 "2017-01-19T18:34:27Z")
> [@purplehearingaid](#): > > Really you have Expecting Mothers parking spaces ?? I never heard of that before . > Any women can say she is a pregnant so how does the store know if a woman is lying about this ? Do women have to be showing they’re pregnant ? I walked everywhere when I was pregnant so this really crazy to me. Busybody: “How long have you been pregnant?” Parker: “Hopefully not much longer, the pharmacy here carries the morning after pill.” ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-i-park-in-a-expecting-mothers-space/777436/61 "2017-01-20T03:35:59Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Yes, I was ticketed once in a private parking lot for parking along a yellow curb. (It had been snowing and you couldn’t see the curb was yellow and there were no signs; I fought the ticket and won.) However, I have never heard of a law that allows only a certain class of people to park in a spot, except for those with handicap permits. > > I do not know if commercial businesses open to the public can request police enforcement of arbitrary parking rules, but I doubt it. Well, around here, Police very rarely enfore parking restrictions: it’s handled by uniformed city employees, not gun-wielding state employees. But given that, yes: I know of commercial businesses open to the public which have parking restrictions on private land, enforced by city parking officers. Business owners vote and pay taxes too. The world is a big place. I know of no constitutional restriction on police enforcing parking restrictions. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-i-park-in-a-expecting-mothers-space/777436.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-if-i-park-in-a-expecting-mothers-space/777436.md?page=4)