I hold a Disabled Person’s Parking Card (PLEASE NOTE; means my walking is impaired NOT my driving) In the local town there are 3 on-street parking spaces close to the centre of the town and one rather too far out. Space no.1:Occupied by piece of road repair machinery; Spaces nos 2&3 occupied by cars WITHOUT Parking cards; Space no 4: Only half filled by 1/2 Chelsea Tractor (the other half protruding over double yellow lines!).This situation lasted for at least half an hour by which time I had to give up and go home. Consideration for others??? Not on our country roads!
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24 Comments
i saw a woman park her car in a parking space that was clearly marked for use by diasbled drivers. This was on Lower Glentworth street in Limerick outside the Bank of Ireland less than 200 yards from the Garda HQ on Henry Street which has full visibility of Lower Glentworth street.. I said to the woman that she was parked in a disabled spot and because she didnt have a permit she shouldn’t be parked there. Her reaction was unreal effing & blinding, telling me to mind my own business etc.. It really gets on my wick that able-bodied drivers can be so inconsiderated.. So after listening to what seemed like 5 minutes of abuse, i blocked her in and foned the Gardai who promptly came up and issued her with a ticket….I do the same with people who park their cars in a loading bay when i’m trying to park my van…
i saw a woman park her car in a parking space that was clearly marked for use by diasbled drivers. This was on Lower Glentworth street in Limerick outside the Bank of Ireland less than 200 yards from the Garda HQ on Henry Street which has full visibility of Lower Glentworth street.. I said to the woman that she was parked in a disabled spot and because she didnt have a permit she shouldn’t be parked there. Her reaction was unreal effing & blinding, telling me to mind my own business etc.. It really gets on my wick that able-bodied drivers can be so inconsiderate.. So after listening to what seemed like 5 minutes of abuse, i blocked her in and foned the Gardai who promptly came up and issued her with a ticket….I do the same with people who park their cars in a loading bay when i’m trying to park my van…
This also drives me insane. I actually have just started a blog in the past few weeks & I put a post up last night about it with a shot I took of a car. It was ok though, she didn’t really do anything wrong, she didn’t park in the space, she parked behind it so that no one could use it! See here: http://galwaynutter.wordpress.com/2007/09/20/thankfully-there-were-more/
It really drives me insane. I just usually look them up & down & say “It’s not physical, so it must be mental then!” & turn to whoever is with me or even another passer-by & say “I didn’t realise they were giving out passes for mental disability now!” Normally that sends them away red faced!
The other ones I hate are the ones who block the spaces as the one in my blog did or park 1/2 in the space with the double flashers on. Grrrrr! Drives me insane!
Went to Woddies DIY in Galway and saw Jaguar parked across THREE disabled spaces. The solution is simple: Find a traffic warden, there’s plenty of them about, grab him by the scruff of the neck and drag them to the offending vehicle. They must issue a ticket there and then. Don’t try to involve the other driver, this will result in argument/physical harm on either side. There’s nothing more satisfying than seing a plonker getting an €80 ticket slapped on the screen. If everyone kept doing it, repeat offenders better have deep pockets.
Even better in my case. They don’t issue tickets in the Woodies car park, they clamp. Even more money, plus added delay and inconvenience.
What’s the problem? Get a warden and get even, no problem!
If parked across 3 disabled spaces maybe 3 fines should be issued. I did see a car parked about half a bonnet length over a disabled parking space clamped in Galway last weekend so zero tollerance is applied.
Yes, at last it’s grate. There are wardens out there in Galway who are actually doing their jobs. Not like the old ones. As you can see in this shot:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelle-o/149834153/
Not the first time I have seen this happen. But thankfully that seems to be becoming a thing of the past.
is laziness a recognised disability?I recently saw a woman parked across 2 disabled spaces outside argos in blackpool in cork,she was leaning against the (small)car smoking a fag waiting for her other half to bring out her crap from the shop.I was going to say somthing to her but wots the point,if they need to be told then they obviosly dont understand the concept.and its pointless telling the security dudes cos most of them dont speak english and those who do dont want the hassle.
I was parked outside the shopping center in Tullamore recently across from 3 designated disabled parking spaces and within the half hour I was parked there I witnessed several cars pull into these spaces and the passengers/drivers were not disabled just OLD. Being an OAP doesn’t give you the right to park in the disabled spots even if you do have a gammy hip.
lazy bastards
Another popular one is to take granny’s car, cause she’s got a disabled badge and use that for free parking.
It’s nice to read so many supportive comments on this topic but I must admit to slight bafflement about the contribution from poshvicescrips.
My Disabled Parking card was issued upon the recommendation of my GP who has a very detailed knowledge of my medical history, but can somebody take a quick look at me and say ..”No, he’s not disabled…just old and lazy”?. If the contributor is so able, he/she could save the country a fortune in medical bills…DIAGNOSES FAST AND FREE!!
Perhaps this is the attitude that encourages the selfish ones needlesslyto occupy these spaces.
Harry,
one thing anyone can do and I would strongly encourage anyone reading this comment to perform the following actions:
Unscrew arial, take off wipers, place carefully on roof or bonnet.
Fold in wing mirrors (carefull, don’t do any damage)
Place nice message (optional, but must be polite) under wiper that this is what is likely to happen in the future should parking like this be observed again.
Take picture and plaster all over Shitedrivers. Pictures are also important to prove no damage has been done to the car in the process, since some of these ignorant pigs are liable to damage their own car and blame it on you if caught.
Most importantly: RUN!
Thanks “Mr. Smith”, Nice ideas…one SLIGHT difficulty though: If I COULD run, I wouldn’t need the Disabled Persons Parking Card !!
Harry
Sorry, forgot. My bad, didn’t mean that.
Confronting the offending driver has got to be the way to go. Even when they do come out with the bravado excuses, if it happens repeatedly it will eventually hit the spot.
Just before comments are no longer allowed (changes to the system MOST welcome, by the way), the town I thought I’d make an additional point or two, if I may.
The town to which my original post referred was Skibbereen, in West Cork. There is ample free off road parking in the centre of town, which makes the selfishness of those abusing the Disabled Parking spaces even more reprehensible.
However, Skibbereen must be praised for the number of spaces provided…unlike Schull a few miles away where the only on-road Disabled parking space is outside the new hotel…too far from the shops!
I have downloaded several of your delightful notices and will endeavour with help from my friends to label as many offenders as possible.Thank you!
OOPS sorry error in typing in line 2!
Here in limerick city i see cars parked on footpaths, on double yellow lines and in buses stops but never in taxi ranks, i am a passenger on the buses i pay my taxes so i should have access to buses stops.
Saw a traffic warden in Mallow chat to the driver of an Audi while it was parked on double yellow lines … the warden then walked off and did not issue a ticket, even though prior to his chat he had wallpapered all cars up as far as the Audi … Musta been a buddy of his?
Disabled spaces in Ennis are now reasonably clear, €80 is a good deterrent and it should be €100. The other day I even saw a Toyota Yaris in a loading bay, the owner no doubt gone off to buy themselves that all important chocolate bar, with a ticket on it! Oh, the joy! Normally loading bays seem to be reserved for mothers with children, people who just HAD to buy the paper, taxis (that really bugs me, aren't 50% of all spaces in Irish towns now taxi ranks?), people gone for lunch and no one ever gets a ticket.
And you should see the market and the post office on Saturdays and Dole days. I want to put up a webcam, because if I told you the sheer horror of what's going on there, you just wouldn't believe me. Strangely enough, there's never a warden there.
The sheer ignorance of some people is breathtaking. Some people don't even try to park, they just coast to a halt and get out. When beeping at them they just look at me as if I'm mad. Thank God for Shitedrivers! At least they can admire their car online now. Just let them know they're online now.
You guys should check out the new main street in Ashbourne. Underground car park one end, multi-story at the other end, along with a large surface car park at Tesco – All free. Yet people still just abandon ship in the middle of the street while they stroll casually into the shops. There are no parking wardens and the Gardai never seem to do anything about it. Confront anyone and they look at you as if you have two heads.
Where do closed posts go? Is there a closed post Graveyard?
O.k. i've been reading this thread and i feel i must reply.My mate is wheelchair bound, so i'm not having a go at the disabled , i know his stories are similar to those above…BUT heres the thing……when his wife or other family members are going shopping or whatever they will take his permit to allow them to park in the designated spaces.This really annoys me to the point that it really doesnt bother me anymore when i see able bodied people using these spaces…i used to be livid almost to the point of criminal damage until i witnessed his wife taking the permit from his car and putting it in hers…..his answer to me was "well it stops someone else from doing it "…i had to bite my tongue ……How many times have YOU seen someone do this….now i know there are different forms of disability but i see it all the time, and with christmas coming up it will get a lot harder for disabled people to find spaces …especially if its raining !!
I agree entirely with Peter Griffin's comments but when one is issued with a parking card, warning is given that "misuse of the card in this manner will result in a fine and withdrawal of the Parking Card". Please report any such misuse. It seems to me to be even worse that a beneficiary of the system is abusing it.
But dont you see it all the time…..Mary in her Merc ..but wait a minute she has her disabled/old granny/mother who she dragged along for the ride, although the poor woman does'nt know where/why she's there in the first place……….grrrrrr!
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[...] Cricketnext.com editors@cricketnext.com wrote an interesting post today!.Here’s a quick excerptI hold a Disabled Person’s Parking Card (PLEASE NOTE; means my walking is impaired NOT my driving) In the local town there are 3 on-street parking spaces close to the centre of the town and one rather too far out. … [...]