Reminded of this after reading a small article in AIR (the Annals of Improbable Research). Apparently a study was done in the US some years ago which determined that there was no obvious increase in likelihood that an expensive car was improperly parked in a disabled space as opposed to a cheap car. In essence, it doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor, a selfish lazy fecker is a selfish lazy fecker.
So my suggestion – pass this on to your local council – is this. Now we all notice them. You drive for ages to get a space in a car park, then some ****** tootles up, parks in the first disabled space, then gets out on their perfectly functioning legs, closes and locks the door with their perfectly functioning arms and tootles off to enjoy the sights with their perfectly functioning eyes. No little orange / blue sticker in site.
Now, ideally, I’d like to snap their legs, but that’s maybe a little harsh. So it seems to me that the need to park so close to the shops shows that these people are dependant on their cars. So disabling the car would be disabling them.
I think you get my drift. The law should state that any member of the public should find it part of their civil duty to disable (or at the very least damage) a vehicle so placed if not displaying the regulation badges and so forth. In addition, if the person in the vehicle pulls out a disabled pass and pops it in the windscreen, despite them not being accompanied by a disabled person… same rules apply.
Lights, windows, paintwork, tyres. All are fair game. These lazy sods get away with it far too often. Don’t let them! For the really hard-nosed, stand behind the car when they come to get it and refuse to move until a traffic warden has come to give them a ticket. Don’t forget, if they insist on moving the car and hit you… it’s their license and insurance.
I do recall one night in Luton. I was staying in a hotel at the airport and took a drive to Sainsburys for some provisions. The supermarket had a “bouncer” on the door, something that seems quite common down south. I’d parked about 25 spaces down and was just heading back to my car when one of the above feckwits turns up, drives the wrong way through the one-way system and parks 15 yards from the front door in a disabled space.
He gets out of his car, locks up and strides to the door.
“Good evening, sir,” says the bouncer.
“Hi!” says Mr Confident.
“And how are we, sir?”
“Well, fine thank you.”
“No aches or pains? No serious limp? Able to stroll comfortably around?”
“Errr… yes…?”
“Well in that case, sir, would you mind moving your car? There are people who actually need those spaces. Thank you.”
Priceless!
