Some disabled drivers don’t look it
Last week, Illinois state police conducted a sting operation in Fairview Heights to catch drivers without disabilities who park in handicap parking. Here’s a response from a disabled driver who doesn’t look disabled, but she qualifies for a handicap placard. She’s tired of the remarks people make when she legally parks in handicap parking.
“Thanks for your note at the end of the handicapped parking article to remind people NOT to confront those they think are abusing the system.
“I have an AutoImmune disorder called Myasthenia Gravis (one of 144 ‘invisible’ disabilities of this particular type, you also mentioned another, Fibromyalgia, further down on this page, another is Rheumatoid Arthritis).
“Many of us have been harassed by people who look at us and see our placards and make their own diagnosis that since we don’t LOOK disabled, we must not really need that close parking spot.
“Some of my similarly disabled friends have been yelled at, called names, even had their vehicles vandalized by these self-righteous ignoramuses who think they know more than our doctors do just because we’re not missing a limb or something else ‘obvious’.
“Many people feel passionately about abuses of this system, obviously the disabled do, too… but, the point is that a spectator can NEVER know just by looking at someone whether or not they really need that tag. And disabled people have enough struggles to get through without worrying about being HARASSED by some know-nothing every time they leave their homes.”
- Sick and Tired of being Judged ‘Fit’ in St. Louis
It’s a no win situation. I get yelled at for parking in disabled. Then one time before a water therapy class as the Y, I was yelled at for taking up a “normal” space instead of a reserved disabled spot. The only thing I can figure is that they figure if you have a real disability you won’t have the physical ability slug them!
Sorry, “Sick and Tired” but I don’t buy it. If you can hop out of your car and walk to the store without assistance, you doon’t need to be parking in a handicapped spot, regardless of your diagnosis. The spots are meant for people who physically have a difficult time in walking, not just someone who happens to have an illness or disease that crops up from time to time.
My daughter has CP and is in a wheelchair. We have a ramp in our full size van to accomodate her. It never ceases to amaze me how many “disabled” people go to the movies or the mall when it rains. We can NEVER find an open disabled space during inclement weather, and we have seen countless times of families hopping out of a car with a disabled tag (probably borrowed for the trip) with no physical challenges whatsoever.
In my opinion, the blue disabled tags should be discontinued in favor of only allowing disabled license plates (which we have). It is much harder to borrow a vehicle with a disability plate than it is the blue hang tag. I have no problem with the temporary red tags, which are necessary for short periods of disability for broken legs, etc.
But if it is obvious that you are not having difficulty getting out of your car and walking to your destination, you have no reason to be parking in the spots that we need for my wheelchair-bound daugther.
P.S. If she is not in the van, I DO NOT park in the disabled spaces, despite the fact I could get away with it due to my license plate. It goes back to what I said — a person only has a right to these spaces IF THEY NEED THEM.
I’ve got Gout. It used to put me in so much pain that I could barely walk, yet I still went to work and lived live WITHOUT a handicap tag. Your autoimmune disease may leave you weak or in pain sometimes, I get it, but if you’re not having a spell, park in the general lot and let those in real need use them. I’m going to have to agree with Charles on the license plate comment, if you’re legitimately disabled, get a plate. Do away with the blue tags, it’s too convenient to borrow someones tag and it’s obviously being abused way too much.
Something I find funny is that there are handicapped spots at stores at all. Sure, you get better parking, but you still have to walk around the store, what’s 50 more feet in the parking lot?
The real problem I have is “Mommy Parking” spots. You’re pregnant, so you get a special spot? How pregnant do you have to be, or how young do your kids have to be to use those spots? Why can new fathers not park there? Sex discrimination if you ask me. Last I checked, it was healthy for pregnant women to walk. If you’re having an at-risk pregnancy, you should probably be on bed rest anyway. My ready-to-pop wife certainly had no problems walking in from a non-prego parking spot while the presumably 2-week pregnant women were taking those spots.
I definietely agre about the “mommy spots”. I thought that you were supposed to get the exercise while you were pregnant as part of being healthy.
As for comments about discontinuing disabled hanging tags…I need the tag for when I take my elderly father places. Dad can’t drive, he has no car of his own to license, so we have the hanging tag when he is in my cars. And for the comment about getting around in the store…what is another 50 feet?…Dad heads straight for the motorized shopping scooters, and they are getting hard to find sometimes.
I think the point of the original post is that you cannot judge the extent of one’s disability just by looking at him or her. You cannot dismiss someone’s disability simply because they are able to drive and walk. Similarly, all pregnancies are not created equal, and the amount of walking should be reduced for some women (although my belief is that if you doctor indicates this, you would be eligible for a temporary disable parking pass).
I agree that there are abuses of the system, but that doesn’t mean that everyone who doesn’t “look” disabled, isn’t.
To those who are “not buying” Sick and Tired’s argument, why don’t you look up myasthenia gravis. The more you do, the worse it gets. So someone may look fine walking the short distance from handicapped parking to the store, but if they had to walk farther it would be a severe strain. It does not crop up from “time to time.”
I’m with Lauren, many things are exacerbated with usage… look it up, and talk to a doctor if you don’t believe WebMD.
http://www.webmd.com/brain/understanding-myasthenia-gravis-basics
I don’t buy this either. My mother had ALS, towards the end she couldn’t even move her eyes, she was compleatly paralized. It is rediculous that some jack @$$ with “Pain” should take a spot that a real handicapped person needs. I am sorry but a lot of people have pain, get over it. Try not moving once in a while.
Wow Amber, Sorry about your mother but how dare you say her form of suffering is worse than anothers? Who made you the athority on ranking the severity of disabilities? How about you post a list of disabilities that warrant a handicapped plate? If someone has any kind of disability then they can have the spot, I will walk, I’m not that lazy.