Sally's World

Disabled parking spaces are great…..

Unless of course your specially adapted disabled vehicle looks like a big van…not through choice or anything, just because you need a bloody great electric wheelchair lift on the back to allow your child to get in it.

Its a necessity that we have spaces that are specially for those who need to be close to certain facilities, but god forbid, your vehicle looks like a van, god forbid we expect the camera/traffic warden/police officer to actually check and see if there’s a badge or it's actually registered disabled before sending you a ticket through the post.

I received yet another parking ticket yesterday. I apparently parked on a red route, in a disabled only parking bay…helloooo.

Honestly, I get seven or eight parking fines a year. All because these wonderful cameras we have dotted about London capture pictures of anyone who dares drive into a parking space. Of course, to the camera, the vehicle may look like an ordinary van. But the fact that the letters are addressed to me care of Motability (UK suppliers of disabled vehicles for those who don’t know) would give them a clue I should think.

This takes up more time and energy than I have to spare and quite frankly I'm sick of it!

This must happen to loads of people! And its just adding stress to already stressed lives....

Just venting!!!

Sal xxx

I would just like to send my commiserations to the traffic warden who missed out on a commission today. It’s a good job I forgot to lock the car door; otherwise I wouldn’t have seen the attempted delivery of an unfair parking ticket.

A traffic warden was standing on the curb when I parked in a disabled bay, set the badge to the appropriate time, placed it on the dashboard and got out. The traffic warden saw me unload Deion in his wheelchair, saw me put the ramp back up and watched as we began to walk away. Luckily we had to return after a few steps as I realised that I forgot to lock the doors.

I was surprised when I saw the warden punching my number plate into his little machine of his…the same machine I was tempted to take off of him and place somewhere safe, somewhere that would have required a trip to the hospital to have it surgically removed.

I asked him what he thought he was doing, he ignored me, I asked him louder and pointed to the badge. “It’s upside down,” he said in a bored tone. Actually the badge was sideways, but surely that’s not the point. The expiry date, the time and the number were all clearly visible, even if the poor traffic warden would have had to perform the hard task of tilting his head 30 degrees to the left to check that. I guess it was unreasonable for me to expect such a thing.

The truth is, I didn’t know that the badge had to be upright; I thought as long as you could see it, that was good enough.

Anyway, I turned it so that it was perfectly upright, took the names of a couple of passers by who had stopped to gawk in amazement at the tactless traffic warden just in case I ended up with a ticket in the post anyway. And I think he decided to cut his losses and he walked/stalked off up the road in search of another four wheeled victim.

It would be interesting to know though just how many tickets have been issued in this way, and if people are paying them.

How ridiculous. I drive a HUGE adapted vehicle with a bloody great electric wheelchair lift, there are about thirty stickers warning anyone not to park within 8 feet to allow the ramp deployment and wheelchair access. I have enough to think about without having to become paranoid that my disabled badge is at an exact ninety degree angle to the dash board should some idiot come along and slap a ticket on just for the hell of it.

Is it any wonder that Traffic wardens are some of the most hated people on earth, be honest we all put their job title right up there with serial killers, armed robbers and politicians, I’ve never met a nice one and I don’t think I’ve heard anything nice ever said about one.

Aarrghhh!

Sal xxx

p.s That does say Traffic Wardens in the title by the way…what were you thinking? Traffic Warden is enough of a swear word, I didn’t need to elaborate!

Back again so soon!

I know this is something that many of you will understand. The pure frustration of people parking unnecessarily in disabled spaces, just so they don't have too far to walk...well it is cold out I guess, bless...

But the word 'frustration' didn't come close to the ignorance I experienced last night. I was simply picking Jordan and Robyn up from karate...(let me get a little boast in here very quickly, they have been going to karate for 5 years, have really committed to it and got their black belts a few months ago)...So there I was innocently picking my Little ninjas up, I pulled into the car park, which had lots of empty spaces in case your wondering. But the wholly inadequate row of disabled parking spaces was completely filled with tiny sports cars and the odd Ford Mondeo.

I had no choice but to pull in front of two of them to wait for the kids, I got out of the car so they could see me (I couldn't actually go in and get them as I couldn't park). I know I said there were other spaces, but seeing as I drive a big green bus with roughly the same dimensions of a Sherpa tank, an ordinary space is no good to me.

All would have been well, if the owner of one of the cars hadn't come out and raised his voice at me...I kid you not! He actually shouted at me for blocking him in...he even bandied the B word about....and as anyone who knows me will tell you...it's NOT my favourite word.

I stayed calm, after all Deion was in the car and the kids would be out any minute, I calmly told him to shut up. Okay, so I may have mentioned the incredible level of his ignorance, also his total lack of intelligence and brain cells, his inconsideration and general rudeness and idiocy might have been mentioned ...but I was calm as I insulted...sorry, I mean as I stood up for myself.

He yelled again, added the F word this time, and I was getting angry by now. "I'm so sorry," I said loudly, "was my big disabled vehicle stopping you from getting your little, clearly non disabled vehicle out of the DISABLED ONLY parking bay."

Goodness me, all he'd had to do was come out and politely ask me to move the bloody van, apologise even for parking there, was that really too much to ask? Then came a whole other level of ignorance..."but you're not disabled," he snapped looking me up and down. "No, I'm not disabled," I replied through gritted teeth. Not something he'd be able to say ever again if he threw the B word out there again.

Well, I calmly got back in the car, the kids came out from their karate lesson, they also jumped in the car and off we went. They were none the wiser and I was just spitting mad. Mostly that I hadn't got to run the bastard over!

Why do people do this? how on earth can someone take one of these spaces that are so important, and not only that, actually be so rude and ignorant when someone who genuinely needed the space comes along. Not an ounce of shame. Its a measure of our society in a way, and one of the things that need to be tackled head on.

It's not the first time this sort of thing has happened to me, it certainly wont be the last, and I'd put money on anyone with a disabled badge having gone through the same thing at least once.

Lets hope that in the future all car parks will provide better parking, that people will show more consideration and less ignorance...oh and while we're asking the impossible, lets end world hunger and solve the issues of world peace.

See you later

Sal x