To think it takes a special kind of arsehole to fuck up wheelchair access?

[CatThiefKeith]

Apologies in advance for the rant, but I've had a particularly bad couple of days with arsehole parkers.

Yesterday I took a lady who has a history of strokes and heart attacks to hospital, where she got some fairly bad news. Our local hospitals disabled bays have one yellow box between every two spaces, and you drive or reverse in, depending which side the wheelchair user needs to get out.

Got back to the car with a very emotional lady to find some Arsehat had parked right over the box on my passenger side, leaving a 4ft gap next to his car where there was no box. Had to leave lady halfway down the car park, pull my car out with the hazards on, get her, get her in, reverse back into my space, then take the wheelchair back to customer services. Wanker.

And now today have taken a different lady to a mobility aids clinic and some utter twat has used the dropped kerb/wheelchair access as a fucking parking space. Both of these fuckers had a blue badge themselves btw.

To top it all off this afternoon took my favourite sweary nonagenarian for afternoon tea in the village and 3 fuckwits had parked over drop kerbs or across pavements. Tossers.

I think all new drivers should have to volunteer to take wheelchair users out and about before getting their license, just so they can see what a monumental pain in the arse it is when ramps are blocked. AIBU?

[John4703]

YANBU.
No-one should block and access for the disabled.

[CatThiefKeith]

I genuinely don't think people realise what a pain in the arse it is.

Half a dozen trips out with someone who is virtually housebound would put a different perspective on it. They could do their volunteering around the time they do their theory test.

[brightspark2]

I would have photographed the vehicles and blue badges and reported each one to the issuing council - with evidence of misuse.

[CatThiefKeith]

brightspark I imagine that it was probably someone doing what I was - taking a blue badge holder to an appointment, rather than a disabled driver themselves.

Good point about the ones in the village today though, I may well do that next time.

[MaximaDeWit]

YANBU.

I had to leave pre-bin collection last week she got home shortly after to find my bin in the middle of the pavement and a "polite note" asking bin man and homeowner to please be mindful of wheelchair users and make sure there's enough room on the pavement for a wheelchair to pass. I was fucking mortified and have seen the binmen leave our bins all over the place before and rushed in to bring them in so annoyed it's made me look bad!

Anyway, this little note was laminated and looked like it had been printed multiple times and cut out so the person had a few on them as it's obviously enough of a problem for them. That made it even worse. Maybe worth considering having some variations ("please don't park across dropped kerbs", etc) so you can do the same. Might just make some of the recipients think

[CatThiefKeith]

That's a good idea. I might do that.

[Isitjustmeorisiteveryoneelse]

Yes, what Maxima says, have little printouts to leave under their wipers - 'You've been reported to Parkedlikeac.com'. And then really do report them to Parkedlikeac.com.

[ADisappearingDreamOfYesterday]

Imagine having to do this every single day or every time you leave the house. It does get you down that people are such thoughtless twats. (Some of the worst places for this are busy motorway service stations btw!) And large vans, they won't go to the back of car parks and cross two spaces or find an empty area, they'll just park across the blue badge spaces.

It's just like the disabled access toilets - "oh I was only a minute" every fucking single time.

All those "minutes" add up and it really fucks me off. Other people have choices, we don't and it's very unfair.

[misdee]

YANBU. Totally not at all.

[ADisappearingDreamOfYesterday]

Misdee how is your DD getting on? I was on the thread (different name) where you were worried about her swallowing etc and have often thought of you.

[Tigerlovingall]

Grrrr! Years ago my disabled wheelchair bound friend had to take her equally disabled and wheelchair bound child to hospital to have a broken leg pinned, to find that all the disabled spaces near the front door were taken by - the soddin' Lord Mayor and his entourage . Birmingham, it was. 😡
And yes, I wrote to him and ,plastered the event all over social media.
Disgraceful.

[Rockhopper81]

YANBU

I remember taking my nan to a large shopping centre (with her wheelchair), parking legitimately in a disabled bay and then finding the access to cross the road had been blocked by some d*k parking across it. I had to push her the entire length of the car park and then down another walkway the entire length of the car park to get in. Oh, and it was p*sing down with rain - nan held an umbrella over her (bless her) and I resembled a drowned rat when we finally got in. The people on the information desk didn't give a toss and it made me vow never to go there again. And 15 years on, I still haven't.

Just as an aside though, ADisappearingDreamOfYesterday, not all disabilities are visible or mobility related - not only people in wheelchairs need access to disabled access toilets. Not ranty or moaning, just saying.

[Lunde]

I had a similar problem today at the disability exercise session at the pool - there are 2 disabled spaces but some wanker had parked a 3rd vehicle in the middle in a non-space where wheelchair/walker users should hve access making my door totally inaccessible. Luckily DH was with me, and leaving me sat in the middle of a car park in high winds, reversed out to allow the door to to be opened.

I have been looking into getting an adapted car so that I can leave the house by myself after an accident almost 7 years ago - yet it scares me that I could find myself alone and unable to get back into the car

[thatdearoctopus]

People just don't realise. It's not until you have direct experience yourself that you truly 'get' how difficult it is when you have a physical disability or impairment.
When I broke my leg, I saw the whole world through different eyes. I couldn't even get in to the GP surgery on a Zimmer frame through their heavy swing doors. I couldn't get upstairs, as the banisters didn't start until the second step. I was given a nurse who had a consulting room at the end of the corridor in the dr surgery. Might as well have been half way up Everest.
When I managed to get lifts to work, I'd have to phone through to admin to get someone to come out with a key to unlock the only entrance that didn't involve a flight of stairs. I couldn't get to my classroom after lunch as the floor outside (dining room) was soaking wet from cleaning and I'd have gone flying on crutches.
And we think we've come a long way with disabled access. Well, we have, but it makes you wonder how on Earth people managed 20 years ago.

[CatThiefKeith]

Depressing realising how common it is.

[ADisappearingDreamOfYesterday]

Rockhopper yes I know and I don't (MN favourite word alert!) confront or challenge people If I see a car without a BB in the BB space for example, I will smile and say "oh you've forgotten to put your badge up, they're a nightmare for ticketing here" or some such. I would say 90 - 95 % look embarrassed and say "oh well I don't have a badge but I'm only popping in, I'll only be a minute".

At toilets I would never "challenge" either as you just don't know. People without disabilities usually tend to come out, look embarrassed and say "oh I know I shouldn't but I was only a minute" or "I couldn't fit my pram in the normal toilets" or my old favourite "oh sorry but there were no disabled people waiting for it and I knew I would be quick".

People either don't realise or don't care that all these popper ins add up and so restrict availability to people who have a need for these facilities rather than just a desire to make their lives easier for a minute or two. Which is fine as long as you don't make other peoples' lives harder.

[grannytomine]

I hate that, people are so thoughtless sometimes. It can be hard for people with double buggies as well. I used to live on a lane with quite narrow pavements and road. A man down the road used to park half on the pavement so I had to literally walk down the middle of the road with a double buggy. He never knew how close he came to me attacking him.

[CatThiefKeith]

granny whilst I agree that is annoying, wheelchair users don't have the option to go round into the road.

Electric wheelchair users would face plant into the road and lay there helpless if they attempted it, and if I tried to get a manual wheelchair down a normal kerb I either risk tipping the person forwards and out of the chair, or go off backwards and take the full weight of the person and the chair until I can get the back wheels off the pavement and onto the road.

In yesterday's case that was about 15 stone. If I put my back out that's weeks off work potentially, plus several people who can't get out and about while I am laid up.

There is a big difference between a modern double buggy with a couple of little children in it and a manual hospital wheelchair with solid wheels and all the manoeuvre ability of an Asda trolley with a wonky wheel containing a person with very limited mobility.

[ZackyVengeance]

The lady over the road is very disabled and in a wheelchair, she also has a guide dog, she goes out when she can to walk the dog.
I saw her one day haveing to call her carer to get a dick head to move their car that was parked on the pavement, so bloody annoying.
I often look down the road and wonder how the hell i would get my dds wheelchair through the gap.
People are selfish
You only have to read the disabled toilet threads or the vile whelchair on buses ones
Yes people have invisible disabilities
But if you can walk you have more options than someone in a wheelchair.
When i take my dd out, we need dropped kerbs and pavement free or cars and wheelie bins.
We need to be able to aceess disabled toilets, and one day I would like to,take her in a bus.

[Rockhopper81]

Yes people have invisible disabilities
But if you can walk you have more options than someone in a wheelchair.

I would say hidden disabilities have different options, rather than more options.

You are 100% with people's general lack of understanding of people with chairs - a little more thought for others would go a long way.

[BlackeyedSusan]

leave a note for them apologising that you may have damaged their car trying to get the wheelchair past. no damage actually needs to have taken place for this to be effective.

and accessible toilets could be a matter of life or death for my children, despite them being able to walk. actually it is the running/walking that may cause the problem as they run/walk straight outinto traffic if they are panicked by something. like a handryer. not so much of a problem in a quiet location. quite a big problem in busy areas.

[MiscellaneousAssortment]

No it's sadly very very normal for people to push disabled people off the streets and out of communities. Happens all the time. People are thoughtless, selfish and cruel. People make the world infinitely more difficult to navigate.

Not streets and buildings and such like. The biggest barrier every single time is people.

[MiscellaneousAssortment]

Sorry for my pessimism, attempted to take my son to the circus today. People who should have known better made it a humiliating and agonizing experience. Needlessly, thoughtfully and selfishly.

It's so hard to force myself to go out when people turn me into an outsider, a figure of fun. Easily excluded. By people who no doubt haven't thought about it since. Whereas it's 3am and I'm in bed crying. Resilience being sorely tested.

[CatThiefKeith]

MiscallaneousAssortment are you ok? I'm sorry people were unkind or unsupportive, do you want to talk about it?

[Frouby]

My dp had a stoma bag for a while, about 4 years. Having to ask for keys to unlock disabled loos was horrible. I ordered him a radar key. The amount of snotty looks and snide comments he got from 'proper' disabled people was depressing.

No disability trumps another. If you have a need you have a need.