"You know, that's handicapped parking spot!"

The BBQ Pit
61

I visited a friend at his university once. The sidewalks WERE the roads. There was the campus core. On the outskirts were the big parking lots. The core consisted of various department buildings, admin buildings, the cafeteria, the library, misc stuff, and small dorms all scattered about. There were even a smattering of handicapped parking spaces here and there in the middle in addition to all the ones in the major parking areas (for the more seriously handicapped folks I guess). Driving and parking on those was expected and allowed.

I just cranked up google earth and there are cars on the walks and parked in places that are not the obvious parking areas.

We caught hell for driving (carefully) on them by some random know it all student once. He realized he was an ass when we pointed to the PARKING sign in from of my friends dorm and we asked him how he thought we were supposed to get there. Of course he just left in a huff rather than apologize.

62

Wow, that has not been my experience at all. There seem to always be empty handicapped spots where I live. In fact sometimes they are the only available spots in the parking lot.

63

It’s probably some variant of Murphy’s law. If you need a handicapped spot, they’re all taken. If you don’t need one, they’re the only spots available. The perversity of the universe is thus preserved.

64

What gets me about the “I’m only staying a few minutes” argument is that, even if someone does only stay a few minutes, a handicapped person driving by the spot during those few minutes sees only an occupied parking space.

They don’t know that you’ll only be there for a few minutes; they only know that the spot is taken, and they need to find a different spot. Their next step will be to keep driving until they find a vacant space, which might be blocks away. From the point of view of the person looking for a spot, you might as well be there for the rest of the day.

The “few minutes” argument is bullshit.

65

Personally, I think handicap spots and a lot of the laws around them are unethical. I even think it’s generally moral to violate laws that one has ethical or moral issues with following them. But even so, I don’t park in those spots because, even though I disagree with forcing private business to have handicap spots, the people that get hurt are the businesses and the handicapped, not the people who made the laws with which I disagree. But that’s not really here nor there with regard to the OP.

What bothers me with the OP is the idea that he is knowingly breaking the law, not for moral or ethical reasons, but for convience, and then getting upset that someone points out that he’s doing something illegal. Just because a cop doesn’t cite you for it doesn’t mean what you’re doing is not illegal. In my experience, it’s either because they don’t think it’s so bad, and thus you don’t really deserve the severity of the citation it would draw, like you’re obviously loading and there’s other spots available, or because it’s just not worth their time for such a minor infraction, like going 58 in a 55.

But the thing is, if you choose to violate a law, you should also realize the consequences that come with it. You will likely draw scorn from people for parking in a handicapped spot, they just usually won’t say anything. And you may not have gotten tickets in the past, but that doesn’t mean the next cop won’t give you one. And, sure, you’re carrying heavy equipment, but, like you said, you could have blocked the cars in and probably not gotten scorned. And if carrying the equipment that extra 10 feet is that impossible, then you probably should have specialized equipment to help you move the stuff anyway.

So, sure, the person you pointing it out is a little bit obnoxious, but you were knowingly in the wrong for a tiny convenience. You simply can’t defend that. If I get pulled over for doing 58 in a 55, saying that I never got pulled over for it before, or that it’s not so bad since everyone else is doing it, or that I was going to be a little late if I wasn’t speeding… none of those deny the fact that I was intentionally breaking the law. Either way, I don’t understand why you were so pissed and felt the need to write a pit thread. You got called out for doing something you admit you did.

66

My father had a band when I was growing up. As the band leader, he owned all the big equipment. It was heavy, bulky, and delicate. I was pressed into service as his roadie at a relatively early age: bringing the stuff up from the basement, loading it into the station wagon, unloading it and wheeling it into the gig venue, then doing the same in reverse. You better believe we used a hand truck. I liked the time spent with my Dad. We never had a problem with moving stuff. I never complained and it never seemed onerous. I do not even get the OP.

Who was it, Pere Ubu, I think, who said “Rock music is all about moving big black boxes from one side of town to the other and back in your car”

67

I saw this with diplomatic plates on a jaguar convertible and the security guard even told the guy not to park there. A tow truck was there in about 10 minutes and the car was gone in 11 minutes as the guy came running out of the store. I’ve never really liked tow truck guys when they play gotcha but in this case, the jaguar driver was screaming “my father is the ambassador of X country and blah blah blah” The tow truck driver’s response was “I drive a tow truck, I got nothing to lose, if you don’t have a gun, I am taking your car”

68

Here I was all ready to take the OP’s side and bash the inconsiderate pantload who illegally parked in the handicapped spot. Buy a f’ing cart or wagon to use when unloading and quit being an ass.

69

Eonwe, let me make something unequivocally clear: you are indeed the worst person in the world for unloading heavy equipment from handicapped parking spot for two minutes.

Not really. My brother has been disabled since 2004, and not once has he had to wheel himself through potholes in the rain, while strapping, able-bodied youngsters gleefully idled about and he grimaced his way into the building entrance. Even if he’d ever come across a lot whose handicapped spaces were being utilized for loading purposes, as much cynicism that I have about humankind, I have a hard time believing he would have to do anything other than politely ask them to vacate the spot, and they would have happily accomodated this request. “Screw you, cripple. Can’t you see I’m unloading my drum kit?” No.

70

It depends. I’d be careful about taking the last available handicap spot and I would skedaddle if the last one was taken but I don’t see parking in handicap spots as being much worse than double parking or parking in front of a hydrant.

I’ve sat in handicap spots waiting for my wife, as long as I am in the car ready to leave when the alst handicap spot gets taken, I don’t see the problem.

71

Does your answer change if there are 10 other empty handicap spots?

72

I thank you, but I nominate **Czarcasm **for this one.

I didn’t mention in my earlier post - the woman I dated would finally yell “They don’t mean people with mental handicaps” when they would predictably brush past her and treat her like a self-righteous bitch.

73

You kinda come across as an entitled ass, in this. And I agree that being able bodied and taking use of the handicap space is courting Karma in a way that would make me most uncomfortable.

As an entitled ass you’re revealing a somewhat thin skin over a comment as pale as, ‘You know that’s a handicapped spot!’. Hardly gritty, in your face confrontation.

This reaction tells me that it only made it through your tough ‘entitled ass’ exterior, because, inside, like even a five year old, you know you’re in the wrong. If you truly believe it was ok, it wouldn’t have bothered you enough to compose this post.

Also I’m tempted to call bullshit. If it’s a bar, there’s a load in dock at the back or side, no way are the beer kegs and empties coming and going through the front door. Of course, that doesn’t really fulfill the average bar performer’s desperate need for attention, like coming in through the front door does. I’m just saying, I ain’t new to bars, is all.

74

I speak as someone who has had to carry a 105-lb disabled person in and out of buildings, up and down stairs, and in many another awkward situation (escalators). 105 > 70. It’s one thing to have to get a person in and out of a car in a disabled space. It’s another thing to have to carry a person while manoeuvering through narrow spaces and around obstacles.

I’m sticking to lazy, but I can replace “bad person” with “inconsiderate entitled lazy ignoramus” if you prefer.

75

I’m betting those knickers feel like they are tightening around your neck by now.

76
77

…how could he ask them to vacate the spot if he was in the car driving, looking for a park and the guys delivering stuff were inside the building?

78

That’s all dickish, as far as I’m concerned (along with parking in the fire lane and parking where there are no spots in the parking lot because the real spots are full). It says, “The rules don’t apply to me because I’m more special than any of you bastards.”

I do agree that the police play a role in our current environment of, “whatever you can get away with, goes” because they don’t enforce nearly enough. If assholes knew they were going to get a ticket every time they acted like an asshole, they’d probably stop (eventually).

79

The OP made quite a show of how he was clearly unloading, with his trunk full of stuff that was open, and the hazard lights, etc. Now he may have been exaggerating this to seem like less of a dick, but if this were the case, I’d say it should be clear to someone driving by that the car in the spot does not intend to park there long, in which case you’d wait for him to come back and tell him to move his car.

80

…how long should they wait? And where do they park the car in order to tell them to move when they come out of the building?