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Pet Peeve #1

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Real Estate Agent with Savvy + Company (704) 491-3310 228209
Pet Peeve #1
Pet Peeve #1

Handicapped PlacardYes, you know we all have our passions about pet peeves in our business but, this is truly my #1 and has been for many years!  I've been meaning to write this for several months but, today I had an experience that MADE me write this now!

As most of you know, Ray spent the week before last in the hospital--now comes the follow-up doctor visits! WooHoo!  He set out and went to his primary care physician appointment on his own, as I had a client appointment that I had to attend.  We then met up for lunch and then headed to another appointment together.  

W
hen we pulled into the restaurant parking lot, we noticed that all of the handicapped parking spaces were taken.  So we parked at the farthest section of the lot to be able to have two parking spots side-by-side (for HIS car alone) so that his ramp could be extended and he could exit his car.  He then had to push uphill from his car all the way to the restaurant.  While we were eating lunch, we watched as incredibly obese women got in each of the cars in the handicapped parking spaces right outside. NONE of them had ANY difficulty walking.

When we arrived at the hospital parking lot, believe it or not, we had the VERY same issue!  As we finally had to enlist security to help us locate a spot for him to park where he could let his ramp down, we saw TWO women nearly jog to their cars and drive--out of their handicapped parking spaces! Again, Ray had to park so far away in order to find a space that allowed his ramp room for him to exit his car, then had to push UPHILL to visit the surgeon--AND we were late due to the parking issue!

Do you have a handicapped placard?  If so, I do hope that you sincerely need it.  If you do have one and DON'T need it,  please keep those in mind who TRULY need that space.  You have no idea what struggles you are causing someone who does not have the capacity to push their wheelchair from the bottom of the parking lot to the building.  Had I not been there to help Ray, he would not have been able to navigate the hills alone--either time TODAY!  And, this is just ONE portion of a day in the life of someone who is handicapped!

Handicapped parking ONLY!I HAVE one of these placards (that is mine above, right) but, the ONLY time (and I MEAN only time) that I use it is when my hubby is with me!  I've been out in horrible rain storms and times when I'm in a terrible rush and would NEVER think to use that placard if Ray is not with me.

Here's what I've found about people who abuse the handicapped placards:

1.  Their elderly parents need a ride to the physician every few months and are truly handicapped and NEED that placard. The adult children then ABUSE their placard and use them even when their handicapped parents are not with them--and they do so on a daily basis!

2.  The driver has gotten a placard from their physician following knee or hip surgery.  Come on, your wound was healed YEARS ago--you don't need that parking space ANYMORE!  We see these EVERYtime we go to the mall--we drive up, there are no spaces, park far away from the mall; when inside, we don't see ONE single person using crutches, canes, walkers, oxygen tanks (lung disease folks need the cards on occasion too) or wheelchairs!  NOT ONE!  

3.  The BIGGEST (pun intended) offenders are lazy, obese people!  Sorry folks, but you didn't become morbidly obese for no reason--you're taking otherwise truly handicapped patients' parking spaces everywhere you go.  Perhaps you DON'T WALK ENOUGH?!  

OH, one more thing--the blocks with the stripes beside the parking space is for the RAMP of an accessible vehicle, not a compact car!  It does handicapped people NO good to have a space when they can't let their ramp down to exit their vehicle. We've been out many times when he got a handicapped ramp spot only to come out of the place of business to find that someone parked their MiniCooper in the ramp area--I have a TERRIBLE time driving his vehicle (hand controls) and I have to back it out and park in the middle of the road while he loads into the car--blocking everyone who needs to drive past--just because someone in a MiniCoop HAD to park as close as they could to the building.
Handicapped Parking Space

How can you help?  Request that your physicians NOT give out handicapped placards unless their patients REALLY need them.  If they do need one for a short period of time, make that expiration date within that short period of time on a TEMPORARY handicapped placard--don't continue to renew those placards for their patients who have healed and no longer need them.

If you're not confrontational, gently remind people with a note on their car that they've kept someone who is truly handicapped from being able to enjoy that facility because they could not navigate the parking lot from the bottom of the hill.  They would like to participate in the same functions and don't always have someone with them to help them out.

If you're obese, I'm truly sorry if I insulted you because that was NOT my intent--but, my suggestion:  put that handicapped placard away and WALK--it's great aerobic exercise and I promise you'll see the pounds start to fall off if YOU park at the bottom of the hill everywhere you go!

Okay, I'm through now!  Sorry for the rant but, I just HAD to!  It's better than running through the parking lot screaming at people who abuse those handicapped placards!!  

Debe in Charlotte

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Comments (21)

Pat Whitehouse
RE/MAX 1st Olympic Lynchburg Va - Lynchburg, VA
Broker/Owner

Hi Debe-I would be using a megaphone in the parking lot and then in the store or restaurant to get someones attention. I'll guarantee those folks would think twice before they ever did it again. You and Ray understand better than anybody how important and valuable those handicapped spots are. There should be a real strict law about that and it should be strictly enforced. I'm glad you wrote this post.  If there are places you frequent together or separately maybe you can talk to mangement or whoever has the power to do something about it.  Sometimes being too nice isn't worth it. So, rant when you have to. It needed to be said. Got to go back to my homework, but saw this when I was supposed to be typing my paper that is due tomorrow. No sleep for me tonite. I hope the getting it out helped.  Talk to you again.

Nov 17, 2008 02:24 PM
Celeste "SALLY" Cheeseman
Liberty Homes - Mililani, HI
(RA) AHWD CRS ePRO OAHU HAWAII REAL ESTATE

I would qualify for a handicapped parking permit....although I am saving that privilege for when I really need it. There are many others who legitimately need those parking spaces and need it more than I and many others do.

Funny you should write about this...I watched from my office window today...two young adults jump out of their car and literally bounce up the sidewalk to the taco place next door.

Nov 17, 2008 03:16 PM
LS Rogers Realty
LS Rogers Realty - Richardson, TX

Debe Tell us how you really feel. lol I get annoyed with people parking in the handicapped spaces as well. It's rare that I see someone using them that appear to actually need it.

Nov 17, 2008 03:23 PM
Janna Scharf
Keller Williams Realty Coeur d'Alene - Coeur d'Alene, ID
Coeur d'Alene Idaho Real Estate Expert

I honestly have the opposite problem.  I'm not handicapped and don't have a placard, but I have arthritis and every step I take hurts.  I usually have a hard time finding convenient NON handicapped parking places, while there are numerous unused handicapped places everywhere I go. 

Nov 17, 2008 05:01 PM
Linda Scanlan
A Consumer's View - Burleson, TX

Debe - I see handicapped parking abused all the time here in Texas. Here in Texas they put your license tag number on them and they'd better match! That's stopped a lot of people from just grabbing a friends or family members to get convenient parking.

Anyone who has had to live with a handicap knows that the transfer in and out of areas is one of the hardest issues they face. We should all be responsible and make life easier!

Nov 17, 2008 08:55 PM
Lisa Schlitz
Home Run Real Estate, Inc. - Wellington, FL
Realtor - Wellington, Florida Homes 561-214-3216

Debe-We have the same thing here with the license tag on the handicap placard. My 78 year old mother has one in her car for her significant other (who had knee surgery) and she is adamant about not using it unless he is in the car with her. Don't the Golden Rules fall into play somewhere here???

Nov 17, 2008 09:59 PM
Missy Caulk
Missy Caulk TEAM - Ann Arbor, MI
Savvy Realtor - Ann Arbor Real Estate

Debe, that is terrible. We had one when Allyssa had her wreck and was in a wheel chair, but it had an experation date on it, so only had it for 3 months. I guess I don't see it abused up here as much as you do as there is usually a bunch of them available.

Nov 17, 2008 10:36 PM
Sharon Paxson
Sharon Paxson, Realtor® EQTY Forbes Global Properties - Newport Beach, CA
Newport Beach Real Estate

Debe - some people are clueless when it comes to the needs of others, and to park in a place reserved for handicapped is just insensitive. People get tickets here for parking in those spots, and I think the fine is pretty high (as well it should be).

Nov 18, 2008 01:13 AM
Tanya Venable
Orlando, FL
SEO, Mobile SEO, and Internet Marketing Consultant

Debe - I TOTALLY AGREE! It so sad when people really have disabilities and can't park where they should. When I use to take my dad to the doctor's or just out anywhere, and you see people who have no apparent disability parked in the handicapped spaces, it makes you mad. My dad was on oxygen and could not walk very far lots of times I would have to drop him off and then go find a parking space. People should know and do better.

Nov 18, 2008 07:49 AM
Kelly Sibilsky
Licensed Through Referral Connection, LTD. - Lake Zurich, IL

I'll rant right along with you on this one. To use the handicapped placard when you don't need it is just plain WRONG!

Nov 18, 2008 10:50 AM
Debbie Small
Long & Foster Realtors - Martinsburg, WV
REALTOR

I see it all the time...Attention Wal-Mart shoppers.

Nov 18, 2008 11:11 AM
Elizabeth Cooper-Golden
Huntsville Alabama Real Estate, (@ Homes Realty Group) - Huntsville, AL
Huntsville AL MLS

Debe-Wow, that stinks.  I would call the police, right there on the spot. (If there is no handicap pass).  I too, despise the lazy people that refuse to walk an extra 100 feet. How selfish!  it infuriates me. 

My parents followed me to the mall last year, when my Dad was still alive.  I parked, while they drove around and drove around, searching for a handicap spot to open up.  My mother had just gotten out of Rehab for a broken hip, and my father could barely walk, so they NEEDED to park there.  FINALLY, a spot opens up. As I patiently stand on the sidewalk waiting, my father has on his blinker, and I'll be darned if some idiot didn't CUT them off, pop into the Handicapped spot, hop out and ATTEMPT to run into the mall.  I quickly told the kid what a jerk he was and let him have it. I also told him I had just called the police and they were going to tow his car....poor kid hopped back in and left.  I was shaking, I was so mad.  How rude, to cut off 2 elderly people and not even have a handicapped sticker.  Little jerk, lol.  Wow,  I feel better now. Whew!

Maybe we could start a new "handicapped parking police" society. I'm in!

Nov 18, 2008 12:25 PM
Debe Maxwell, CRS
Savvy + Company (704) 491-3310 - Charlotte, NC
The RIGHT CHARLOTTE REALTOR!

Hi Chastity!  I don't rant very often but, after having seen, once again, what he goes through, it just made me crazy!  I see the same thing in the grocery store--I guess there are lazy folks all over the nation, huh?!  I don't like my car dinged and I automatically go the the far end of parking lots and Ray has to remind me too, when he's with me!

Hi Pat!   I feel like it sometimes!  I wish our law was enforced here but, so many times people say that they have a 'health issue' and just keep going if one of us ever say anything.  Management generally doesn't really care and oftentimes there are different people 'in charge' when we return to our favorite restaurants, etc.

Hi Sally--That sounds like you--not using it when you really do need it!  I applaud you for your generosity and for waiting until you feel that you really do need it.  I too, think that alot of young people abuse the placards as they don't seem to have the respect as teens that their older generations have!

Trunda--Sorry!  I just HAD to get that off my chest yesterday!  I was livid as we were going all over the lot to find two spaces together and becoming later and later to his appointment!  When you watch people get out of their cars and jog somewhere, you KNOW they don't need them!

Janna--Imagine that!  We would love to have an overabundance of those spots here in Charlotte!  Ray later told me that when he went to the DOCTOR'S office, he had to sit and wait for someone to come out so he could park as he was alone and could not POSSIBLY push himself up the hill into his office--also at a HOSPITAL! 

Hi Linda--I guess it's all over the nation, huh?!  I wish they would enforce the laws here more and hopefully they will some day but, it is VERY frustrating!

Lisa--  EXACTLY--it IS about the Golden Rule!  Wouldn't YOU hate to park in one of those spots and come out only to realize that there's someone who's been waiting for 15 minutes so thay they, who REALLY need the spot, can park?!  Not to mention the fact that if I did that, I'd probably be the one who gets a ticket!!

Missy-- I wish that they would only give those 3-month placards and have a 'One and Done' rule!  Glad to hear that you don't have that problem there!

Sharon!  Clueless is a polite way of putting it!!  I wish they'd do the same thing here!  Funny thing, when I drive my car and get out to walk around back to get Ray's chair out, then over to get him, I'm always afraid that someone looking at me is thinking, "Now why is SHE parking in a handicapped spot?!" 

Tanya--Didn't that make you NUTS?!  People DO know better--they just choose to be insensitive to others!

Hey Kelly- AMEN to that!!

Debbie--Wal-Mart is one of the WORST!  Recently Ray has found that he loves Wal-Mart Supercenter and can NEVER find a handicapped spot there.  Luckily for him, he can get down the hill to the store, then ask for help as he leaves.  When it's uphill to an establishment, he can't get in to ask for assistance on his way out! 

Hey Elizabeth!  When he was with Bank of America, he had a handicapped, ASSIGNED spot in one of the decks.  People would ALWAYS take his spot and since he worked from home 2 or 3 days a week, the attendant never knew if he needed to have the cars that parked in his spot removed or not.  So, when he did go in and someone was in his spot, the attendant would find another 'special' spot for him--generally in one of the maintenance vehicle spots.  They NEVER towed any of the cars that parked in his spot, NEVER!  Had they done that a few times, as their signs stated they would, people would not have kept parking there. 

I can't believe the story about your parents--well, YES I can!  Doesn't it just amaze you?  Had you not been there, neither of your parents would have been able to get out quick enough to stop 'the jerk'! 

Okay, so we're the Budget Society, The Christmas Friends Society and NOW, the Handicapped Parking Police Society!  We're going to be KNOWN for something, it might as well be a good cause, huh?!

 

Debe in Charlotte

Nov 18, 2008 01:20 PM
Teresa Harris
Lake Real Estate, LLC - Denver, NC
Denver . Lake Norman . Charlotte

Hey Debe, This is one of my pet peeves too. I see people doing this a lot too. The first thing I think of is they must have some condition that I am not seeing. There has to be a better way. Is there some way to report potential abuse?

Another pet peeve of mine is people not knowing what a cross walk is. Some people would rather mow you down than stop. Have you and Ray found this to be an issue too?  

Nov 18, 2008 02:01 PM
Debe Maxwell, CRS
Savvy + Company (704) 491-3310 - Charlotte, NC
The RIGHT CHARLOTTE REALTOR!

Hey Teresa!  Yes, that too frustrates the heck out of me also!  Even when it's geese crossing, the 30 seconds that it takes for a driver to slow down or stop is not going to make them late to where they're going!

I do wish that there was something that we could do!  I don't know if you saw it on the news recently or not but, a very popular AEROBICS teacher here in Charlotte was nabbed several times taking the handicapped spaces--she was even filmed bounding into her classes with her workout clothes on!  They made a BIG deal out of it and I was SO glad that they did!  We need a 'handicapped parking watch' team to get a hold on the abuse that continues.

Debe in Charlotte

Nov 19, 2008 04:09 AM
Todd Clark - Retired
eXp Realty LLC - Tigard, OR
Principle Broker Oregon

I know in Oregon you can call these kinds of people in for this abuse. Do you have that ability in your state? If you do, I certainly would do that and they will be followed and caught!

Todd Clark, Helping Families Home - www.IFoundYourNewHome.com

Nov 23, 2008 12:11 AM
Tony Orefice
NorthGroup Real Estate/www.TonyORealtor.com - Concord, NC
Realtor- Cabarrus County, NC

Debe, that is a pet peeve of mine too! It befuddles me how people can be so selfish and disrespectful of others. Rant away!

Tony

Nov 26, 2008 11:18 PM
Debe Maxwell, CRS
Savvy + Company (704) 491-3310 - Charlotte, NC
The RIGHT CHARLOTTE REALTOR!

Hi Todd!  You know, it's almost as though we're just TOO nice here--these people are RARELY towed and there pretty much has to be a handicapped individual sitting in the middle of the road, phoning the police and waiting until they get there to call the tow truck and then you can have a space!  It's amazing that we allow this but, to me what is even more amazing is that people are so incredibly lazy!  (I don't often rant about much but, this one is my BIGGEST pet peeve!)

Hey Tony!  Before I met Ray, I had a problem with these people and would often make snide remarks to whomever I was with so that these selfish people could hear me like, "She surely doesn't appear to be handicapped!" or "Handicapped or Lazy, which do you think she is?"  It never made them go back and move their cars but, I always hoped that it made them think the next time they were going to park in a reserved space!

Debe in Charlotte

Nov 29, 2008 02:38 AM
Steve Loynd
Alpine Lakes Real Estate Inc., - Lincoln, NH
800-926-5653, White Mountains NH

Debe. Aside from the folk with vehicles that don't need special assistance, I also take exception to places that don't have parking to accommodate a ramp style van. I called a local Condo complex the other day as I had a tenant with wheel chair access needs and said you know by law you have to designate so many spaces for a building your size. They had no handicap parking at all, and because it was built before a certain year they weren't going to put any in..till I made a stink. the Crazy thing is we have one of the premiere adaptive sports programs in the country for skiers in my town..go figure.

Nov 29, 2008 02:50 AM
Debe Maxwell, CRS
Savvy + Company (704) 491-3310 - Charlotte, NC
The RIGHT CHARLOTTE REALTOR!

Hi Steve!  That is unbelievable!  I can't believe that the older buildings don't go ahead and comply--I guess that they think that no one is handicapped YET?!  Thanks for commenting and have a great weekend...

Debe in Charlotte

Nov 29, 2008 03:39 AM