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Towing Illegally Parked Cars in Handicapped Spots
A small step in the right direction for my little home state, the senate is working to crack down on cars illegally in handicapped spots. This is honestly a barrier I face routinely. And quite honestly, I feel like I’ve seen it all.
There are so few handicapped spots to begin with, and what people don’t understand is that it isn’t a luxury. Sure maybe it’s nice to park close to a store when it’s raining or freezing cold. But it’s also a necessity. To my surprise, many don’t seem to care and take advantage of this. Their ignorance is frustrating, but hopefully, this new bill is a step in the right direction.
Do you experience similar challenges? What are the laws about handicapped parking where you live?
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6 Replies
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My worst experience was in college. A motorcycle parked in the striped spots next to my van. We had to call the cops to take care of it. They wanted to just pick it up and move it but that would be illegal. So they called a tow truck. First tow truck never showed up. Second tow truck showed up 2 hours after we had originally called the cops. The tow truck owner was extremely nice and even offered to pay for our meal (we were heading out for a date). When the motorcycle was fully loaded, the owner of the motorcycle showed up and tried to sweet talk his way out of it. The cops and tow truck owner were both very upset with him. The motorcycle owner never even looked in my direction. The cops said he could take a ticket or pay the tow truck fee. He chose the tow truck. The owner of the truck told him it was $200 haha way more than what an actual tow truck costs.
Other experiences, the cops were not so nice and they acted like I was bothering them.
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Ugh. So sorry to hear that happened to you. I’ve never called the cops, but I’ve had some bad experiences as well. I’ve had people cuss at me when I’ve kindly told them they’re parked in the lines and I can’t let my ramp down. People can be so ignorant. And hurtful. I don’t know if you like country music, but whenever I see someone illegally parked, I daydream about doing what Carrie Underwood sings about in her “Before He Cheats” chorus. 🙂
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That’s awesome the cop and tow truck driver were so supportive Jennifer. I bet the motorcyclist learned his lesson even if he doesn’t think he did anything wrong. It would only take getting towed once I’m guessing. My biggest issue is people parking in front of curb cuts. I’m surprised more cars aren’t ticketed. Seems like it would be an easy revenue maker for cities.
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I’m not a fan of automatic towing rules. They’re abused way too much just to generate revenue for the towing companies and cities. I’ve forgotten to put up my placard a few times and having my van towed would be a way bigger inconvenience than waiting for someone to move or getting someone to move my van a few feet to get access to my ramp.
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Once when I was leaving a restaurant, a very expensive car was parked in the curb cut next to the disabled parking spot making it impossible for me to safely get to my car. Now for the record, let me make clear that I would never encourage people to take the law into their own hands. Vandalism and vigilantism is wrong but…. I may have had my partner lift me out of my wheel chair and put me on the hood of the offending vehicle. I may have borrowed lipstick from my mother in law. I may have written a note with some colorful language in lipstick on said windshield thanking them for parking in the curb cut.
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While I don’t encourage what you did, I also probably would not have stopped you from doing so. 🙂 Thanks for sharing, Patrick.
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