A couple of recent encounters generated some thoughts I wanted to share.  Both of these go the question of who should have handicap parking privileges.

The first was a car parked in a handicap space at the front door of a store we were visiting.     The car had a legitimate placard hanging from the rear-view mirror.  The space was identified on the sign as “Van Accessible”.  Note the sign doesn’t say “Van Access Only” which I have seen in a few places.  This space was one of several open handicap spaces in front of the store but the only one that accommodated ramp deployment on the passenger side.

Technically the driver of the car is breaking no laws.  To avoid impact to us, the other driver should have parked in a space not set aside for vans.  I don’t want to be cynical but the idea of trusting humans to read signs and grasp their full implication is a non-starter.  This person would have to be generally courteous and also aware of issues facing handicap families like ours.  That is too much to expect.

I don’t have a good solution for this problem other than to put signs that say “Van Access Only”.  That’s not a 100% solution either without strict enforcement which is never going to happen.

The second encounter takes me back to the ease with which handicap privileges are approved.  Take a look at this hog of a pickup jacked up with big tires. 

Note it has a handicap license plate so the driver has been approved in Georgia with a long-term disability.   My first thought was how in the world does a truly handicapped person get in and out of that hog?  So I waited and watched.  The elderly man driving somehow lowered himself from the driver’s seat.  He carried a cane and had a limp but as he walked to the store, he wasn’t using the cane for support or balance.

He was legally parked but it raised the question in my mind about the ease with which handicap tags are approved.  And then it raised the question of why would a disabled person ever want to navigate a truck that inaccessible.  Not my business, just wondering.