From time to time one hears that able bodied people are using disabled parking and am wondering if that is widespread. I can see the attraction as they are closest to the shops entrance.

If the misuse of the spaces is common do people simply ignore the signs or do they use stolen or borrowed stickers on their vehicle.

I do not know how our system works as I have never had to use it and really have not taken notice of stickers on cars. I think one has to get an authority from a GP to obtain a sticker from the motor registary in each state.

A recent news article stated that at least one city in the USA is using volunteers to check if cars had an up to date sticker and report it to authorities, along with a photo of the vehicle. Apparently their stickers have a visible number that can be checked for validity.

Would that idea work here where there is a problem? Or is there another way to stop unlawful use of the designated parking spaces?

Henry L yes indeed they are often used by people who have no right to
NSW see,s women use them to park very high end cars
Men do too but hard for the police to be every place at once
Make the tag electronic and have a signal sent if no tag on parked cars

Dear Henry,

Ever since my fall some time ago when I smashed the
bones in my right leg, I need a walker when it
involves walking greater distances. I was issued
a form for disabled parking by my GP and got all
the display permit signs from my local council.

It's amazing how many times people use the
disabled parking spaces when they're not entitled
to do so.

I'm not sure how to solve this problem, especially
in large shopping centres - when security is busy
elsewhere

In NSW apparently the penalty is currently $519.00 plus one demerit point.

I think the USA idea is to use volunteers that go to the parking areas armed with cameras that have a date/time printing capability. Any photo would have to also have in the picture the cars number and the ground emblem showing the disabled sign. A simple form to be filled out showing the sticker number to be checked, if there is a windscreen sticker.

Obviously the misuse is not only affecting disabled drivers but we would need less if only used by the entitled persons.

I also have a disabled parking tag. I do find a few cars without the tag parking in shopping centres. It is at its worst at a public hospital I had to attend a few times.

I have sometimes felt like kicking a car door in on occasions when I have been in severe pain. One thing stops me, as the parker may not be illegal, just careless.

I use a number of different vehicles, & carry my parking tag in a bag along with my emergency heart medication. This goes with me almost everywhere. I have had a few occasions when I have forgotten to get my parking tag out & display it as I leave the car. As I expect something similar may happen to others, I give those with no tag the benefit of the doubt.

I don't use a walker yet Foxy, but I would not be able to do a full grocery shop, without a shopping trolley to lean on. Fortunately the trolley return is a ridiculous distance from the disabled parking at my nearest shopping centre, so people often leave the trolley in a corner of the parking bay. I grab one to lean on as the supermarket is a long way from the entrance

Dear Hassie,

Sorry to hear about your heart condition.
I fully understand your having to lean on
a trolley I do that with my walker.
I've actually had to sit on it a few times
and rest while shopping.
And its wise you taking your meds with
you.

I've got to go to the hospital in a couple
of weeks for my stress walk and echo. They may
change my meds then. We'll have to wait and
see.

Anyway, you take care.

All The Best.

It's very poor form to park in a disabled car park, but like most things, most people don't do it. It's my understanding that shopping centre managements can call on the local council to have inspectors patrol, but they probably have to pay for it, so it doesn't happen.

The other thing in shopping centre car parks is people knowing that the pedestrian crossings are not official and not stopping.

Life is full of disappointments, mainly caused by a relatively few arseholes.

Foxy, As you hold a disabled sticker. can you give us a little more information.

Is your sticker exclusively for your car with you driving.

Can it be used by another person to drive you somewhere, in your car or a different car, and then park while you are in the shops.

Is there a visible number and/or expiry date on the sticker.

Can you carry a able person in the car and still park in the disabled parking space. Like can you take a group of friends for lunch and use a disabled parking space.

Is it correct to say the only time your husband can use the sticker is when you are actually in the car. What if hubby had to park and come find you in the shopping center.

I have avoided getting one,because once you do, in this state at least, you need to prove you are ok to continue driving
Without a license life would be impossible here
And long ago lost faith in those pen pushers

One thing stops me, as the parker may not be illegal, just careless.
Hasbeen,
Or desperate ! If we had monorail then there'd be heaps more parking space !

HenryL disabled parking bays are wider than normal parking spots. This is to make it easier, [or even possible] to get someone out of the car, & into a wheel chair.

When my mother was wheel chair bound, long before I needed a disabled sticker, I was eligible to use the bays if she was in the car, & had to get out. This was usually at hospitals & doctors, with only very occasional shopping or legal activities.

I was not supposed to use it if she was not getting out of the car.

Now I have mine, the need is equally great. At a newly built shopping centre someone stuffed up, & the disabled bays are only usual parking bay wide. The mother & childe are wider, as necessary to get small kids out of child capsules & into a stroller.

On one occasion I had to wait 20 minutes for the driver parked beside me to return. The car was not badly parked, but too close to mine to allow my door to open wide enough, without being jammed into the other car, for me to get my non-bending knees into my car. Obviously I have not returned to that shopping centre

Henry, I also got one a few months ago, because I can't walk more than the distance equivalent to 3 or 4 houses, before my lower back starts burning with pain along with all my lower joints, hips, knees and ankles.
Some years ago before I got my 'ACROD' as it is named over here in the West, I had an ex wheelchair taxi, a TOYOTA COMMUTER mini bus, already fitted with the electric/hydraulic rear wheelchair lift.
Along the way I bought myself a 'gopher', then another and they both live in the van.
Not that long ago I bought a half dozen out of service shopping trolleys and slightly modified one to hook onto the back of the larger of the two gophers, like a trailer.
The whole thing from van to gophers to trailer, I can only say, THE BEST IDEA I've seen in living memory.
Now whenever I feel the need, I just hop in the van, which is standing by at all times at the ready, and off I go.
With this rig, I don't need an 'ACROD' but for when I don't need a gopher and my walk is short.
In answer to your questions Henry.
Firstly, every state has it's own legislation on disabled parking.
Here in WA it is patrolled by the parking inspectors, not the police.
The fine is $1,000 but no demerit points.
Ours is not a sticker but a thick paper, that hangs on the mirror or on the dashboard.
The display card usually has a number and your name on it.
And yes it is dated so you have to buy a new one every year, I think it's about $20.
Because I have a few cars I have been meaning to ask or apply for extra's.
As for you having to be the driver or passenger.
It matters not how many people are with you in the car, only that YOU are there and being catered to.
What if you had a carer with you, same thing.
At least that's what it's like over here.

What a great idea ALTRAV. 1 don't need a mobility thing yet, but do use the ride on mower to get around the property.

Shopping yesterday 1 saw what 1 consider a heroine. A small slip of a young lady pushing a double stroller with twins in it, towing a shopping trolley along behind with the other hand. there are many ladies dealing with a stroller & a trolley not always as successfully as this one.

Perhaps the shopping centres need to develop a hook or nesting system similar to yours to help them. The first to develop an efficient system should score a real marketing edge.

Hasbeen, being an industrial designer my life has been one big design fest.
The only thing limiting my ideas are the people around me.
Luckily the venues I go to, Bunnings, Coles, woolworths etc; have all demonstrated a pleasant curiosity over my 'rig'.
I did in fact suggest to a couple of supermarkets that they should consider electric gopher like shopping trolleys, sort of hybrids with the back half of a gopher grafted into the back of a shopping trolley.
I know for a fact, that I for one, will be their number one customer, because I won't have to go through the effort of unloading my 'rig', I can use theirs.
I had reasoned that to stop any abuse of this hybrid shopping trolley one need only flash their 'ACROD' to qualify to use it, therefore keeping the riff-raff from getting their hands on them.

Well...how lucky am I?

I just put in three days on the bottom of a river brimming with bull sharks, checking boat moorings...I just put a new motor on the boat, that's my mobility scooter..

Dan

You are obviously certifiable Diver, swimming with bull sharks.

Me am a very lucky bloke. 40 years ago I used to regularly swim in Cid harbour in the Whitsundays, but it probably wasn't the retirement for old sharks back then.

There is not a lot of competition for that job hasbeen.

A dog taken off the rocks recently nearby to the marina. Fisheries set a test line across the river with ten hooks and caught nine bull sharks.

Here is a hint for lovers of fish and chips. If the fish is tainted with an ammonia flavour, its bull shark. They are not fit for eating, but still make their way onto the market occasionally.

Dan

The Chinese migrants (both the legal and illegal migrants) are doing it all the time. Their excuse is 'No Engrish! No Engrish!'

Mr Opinion, can't sleep either eh?

Mr O, how do you tell the legals from the illegals? That's right the illegals have it tattooed on their foreheads, sorry about that. I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

Paul, no, sorry, I was only responding to Mr Opinions time of writing his comment.
If you have ever noticed, quite a few of my entries are done at any time even during the night and through to the next day.
I have trouble sleeping, approx 2hrs a day, so I am up most of the time.
So if you look at the time on his entry it was around 4:00AM and my reply was around 4:30AM.
I'm not sure whether your comment is a serious one or in jest, I can't tell the difference, but either way, if it is in jest, please ignore my response.

Here is a few suggestions from other blogs that i have seen.

Raise the penalty to $1000 and charge misusers of an authorization with fraud.

Tow and impound the vehicles that do not have the visible authorization.

Train volunteers to issue tickets for the illegal use of disabled parking places.

May sound tough but difficult to stop as I have seen videos of some
illegally parking while another vehicle is being towed, they obviously do not read the signs until after the event.

Henry L. fair enough.