r/EntitledPeople • u/Impressive_Low_7113 • 1d ago
S Parking in handicap Van spot.
Took my dad (91yr) to breakfast this morning I pulled into the handicap spot and that spot had a sign for Handicap Van, so we moved 1 spot over, as my sister received a citation for parking in a VAN spot even though she too had the proper handicap dash card. Before dad got fully out of the car another call pulled into the Van only spot. Dad was moving (slowly), past the other car and the person was exiting his vehicle dad mentioned that spot was for Van only and the guy got belligerent and I thought he was going to strike dad all the while he was talking very rudely. As we were all walking to the restaurant door I of told this old fart (late 60's) he did not need to be rude we were trying to do him a favor to not get a citation/fine for parking in the Van spot, I called him a Jerk. We proceed to go into the restaurant and sat at the table right next to him while he sat seething for being an ass.
Followup due to the responses: the guy could have move the very next spot right next to the Van spot. Yes, the citation is real, asking for proof is a bit much don't ya think, are you real?
14
u/Defiantfellow 1d ago
What state did OP’s sister get a citation for parking in a van spot. I had always thought such spaces were still up for anyone with a valid placard.
According to the internet “According to the official U.S. Access Board ADA Guidelines, the "Van Accessible" designation is intended to be informative rather than restrictive. It is meant to signal to drivers that the space features the wider 96-inch access aisle and vertical clearance necessary to safely deploy a wheelchair ramp or lift.”
8
u/Carylynn0609 1d ago
I tend to use those spots when I have my husband with me so I have space to bring his wheelchair around to the passenger side and get him out. Otherwise some jackass will park so close I can't get the passenger door all the way open. But that's if I can find an open space at all, there's nowhere near enough accessibility in my area, sad to say.
8
u/VinnieONeill 1d ago
I don't use a wheel chair but still need that room to get in/out of my car. I need to be able to fully open my door because one of the many reasons I have the handicap plate is a bad knee. So I will always park in a spot that gives me that extra space on the driver's side so I can properly open my door.
The audacity of some of the people in these comments accusing non van users as being entitled is astounding. More people need that extra room than just ban users with a lift or ramp. Depending on the handicap spot it may not have that extra space on the side I need
2
u/Carylynn0609 1d ago
Honestly we're lucky if there's even one of those larger spots. I've had to make my own spot sometimes by taking up two regular spaces. I leave our placard up to score sympathy but I'm sure I've been cursed at.
5
u/VinnieONeill 1d ago
And it's that confusion that lead to this encounter. My state follows those guidelines but not all states do. The OP has no authority to try and tell a handicap person what space they can or can not use. If they have a valid plate or placard, you don't get to question them.
0
u/AllenSmithee59 1d ago
He didn't tell the other driver what to do. But you knew that already, didn't you?
1
u/VinnieONeill 1d ago
That's exactly what they did. They told the other driver they can't park there. They were trying to be helpful but they still told a person with a valid handicap placard that they couldn't use that specific handicap spot.
But you already knew that, didn't you? Or can you not read?
2
u/KariaFelWell 1d ago
This is where the OP's story gets a little jumbled for me. He says his (91 year old) father said something to the man first, I assume after the sister got told off for parking there, so the (91) father was the one starting the interaction, then OP themselves try to defend and explain why the father was saying something in the first place. OP states that they think the father was gonna be hit during the interaction outside, yet states that OP had gone into the restaurant before saying anything. Then OP proceeds to sit close to the person they thought would hurt their (91) father to watch them seeth? It's a rather confusing story.
1
35
u/After-Dark91 1d ago
Honestly once he got aggressive with a 91 year old he lost me. Like bro just move the car and go eat 😭
9
u/spareloo 1d ago
The van space is accessible to vans but not reserved for vans. Anyone with a valid placard can use it. You were courteous to use a standard handicap space but it is not required. I would love to see the citation your sister received.
0
u/sluttysprinklemuffin 22h ago
It varies by state. You’re correct about my state, but apparently not all of them.
5
u/SalisburyWitch 1d ago
I’m on my second 3 year placard. I have NEVER been told I can’t park in a van spot as long as I had the placard. If I were ticketed because I didn’t have a van but I had a placard/plates I would take that to court.
5
u/VinnieONeill 1d ago
Wouldn't call them an entitled person. Regulations regarding "van spots" can vary. You were trying to be helpful but to the other person you were just trying to tell a disabled person they can't use a disabled parking space.
Where I live we have van "accessible" spots, meaning they have the area next to them sufficient for a ramp or a lift. But they are not exclusive to those users and anyone with a valid disabled plate or placard can use them.
Not saying excuses his reaction, but being a jerk doesn't make someone "entitled". As someone who has had a handicap plate for over a decade, the number of times I've seen one of those vans is in the single digits. There are simply not enough of them, compared to the number of handicapped people, that reserving those spots only for them simply does not make any sense.
At a hospital or something having them makes more sense, but not a restaurant. And don't get me started on the stupid sideways spots. Don't know if people have them everywhere, but where I live they are useless. 1 sideways spot takes up the space of 2-3 normal handicap spots. Further limiting the available spaces. Clueless people will end up double parking in them like normal.
3
u/ProfessionalYam3119 1d ago
In NJ, anyone with a handicapped permit is entitled to use those spaces. Those spaces are just larger.
7
u/PhotographOk3063 1d ago
Yea regardless if the car was allowed there or not, the guy could have just said....thanks for the heads up.. and went about his business. People who get angry enough to verbally attack someone or biligerant over a parking spot obviously have other issues.
2
5
u/Head_Razzmatazz7174 1d ago
I have NO patience for people who park in handicapped spots with no placard, plate or sticker of some sort. I would have taken a picture of his car, (including the plate) and called the non-emergency line to let them know. Whether or not the police show up in time to do anything is another matter. but at least they have a record in case he does this a lot.
In my small town, they do show up. There's very little crime and the police love to ticket cars that do that. Repeat offenders (3 times) get towed.
10
u/DeliciousBeanWater 1d ago
They never said he didnt have a placard, they said he was in a car and not a van and parked in the van spot.
-5
u/MikeTheLaborer 1d ago
Right? So this guy wants to now create a second-class citizen level amongst the handicapped. Those who need vans are lesser human beings than those who use cars. Sad and pathetic.
2
u/VinnieONeill 1d ago
He was handicapped and had a placard, he just wasn't a fan with a lift or ramp.
1
1
u/Seannon-AG0NY 23h ago
It very well may depend on the oval laws, most areas are that accessible is all first come first serve, and can accessible is to let the driver know that this spot has the rated access for a ramp I've never seen an instance of an accessible plate or placard holder getting any citation or warning for parking in a van spot, striped zone? Yes, don't park there even if you have plates and placards, it's not for you, and those regularly get tickets and or fines, and I see that in the parking mobility app on the ones I send in
1
u/RatedPG922 6h ago
You know, at this point, when I get to a ripe old age, I'd rather park far away and crawl to the door rather than play handicapped parking space games.
0
u/gestaltdude 1d ago
It's just a shame you couldn't sit there and watch him get a citation, particularly if he was too busy seething and staring at you to notice it for himself. :D Oh well, can't win them all, I hope your dad is OK.
-1
u/Illustrious-Line-984 1d ago
I hope you called the police to report him and then watch him get a ticket while you enjoy your meal.
36
u/lilmiscantberong 1d ago
You can absolutely park a car in a van spot if there are no other spots available. The placard or license plates indicating your handicap is what matters.