When a child is the "owner" of a handicapped parking placard.

[emwithme]

I have ME, and so have a Blue Badge (UK variant of "handicapped tags").  I quite frequently get questioned because I look "normal" - especially when I've just arrived somewhere; less so when I'm going back to the car having done whatever it is I needed to do. 

I'm hoping the addition of this (which arrived this morning) will make people stop and think. 

[Sluggyfan]

This is why I hate societal shaming and vigilanteism. I know we're talking about people with handicapped tags, and thankfully, for the most part, I think the system works pretty well -- I bet the scammers and jerks are few. And yes it can be jerky if someone borrows a family member's tag or parks in the space without a tag, but in the end it's a parking space. There are so many other things to be angry at than whether or not people who are "properly ill" are able to park a little closer to the door, or have to wait for proper parking to open up. 

I have the same problem when people make assumptions in general. For instance, shame a woman who "looks pregnant" for smoking or purchasing alcohol. I had one friend, for instance, who proudly claimed to have shamed a pregnant-looking woman for buying beer while cashing her out at her workplace. Can you imagine the nerve? There are dozens of scenarios I can think of where a pregnant-looking woman would buy beer, including her possibly not being pregnant!

Assumptions are a dangerous thing, and I certainly wish people would consider more than just the worst case scenario when throwing down for such relatively small things -- why die on such a small hill?

[O'Dell]

This is why I hate societal shaming and vigilanteism. I know we're talking about people with handicapped tags, and thankfully, for the most part, I think the system works pretty well -- I bet the scammers and jerks are few. And yes it can be jerky if someone borrows a family member's tag or parks in the space without a tag, but in the end it's a parking space. There are so many other things to be angry at than whether or not people who are "properly ill" are able to park a little closer to the door, or have to wait for proper parking to open up. 

I have the same problem when people make assumptions in general. For instance, shame a woman who "looks pregnant" for smoking or purchasing alcohol. I had one friend, for instance, who proudly claimed to have shamed a pregnant-looking woman for buying beer while cashing her out at her workplace. Can you imagine the nerve? There are dozens of scenarios I can think of where a pregnant-looking woman would buy beer, including her possibly not being pregnant!

Assumptions are a dangerous thing, and I certainly wish people would consider more than just the worst case scenario when throwing down for such relatively small things -- why die on such a small hill?

Maybe because it carries so little risk? Is a possibly pregnant woman or a handicapped person going to fight back? Probably not. The average person can be the bully for a little bit, work off some of their everyday frustrations, and walk away without injury...and maybe even some applause by onlookers.

Can ya' tell that I'm not a fan of people doing that either?

[CakeBeret]

This is why I hate societal shaming and vigilanteism. I know we're talking about people with handicapped tags, and thankfully, for the most part, I think the system works pretty well -- I bet the scammers and jerks are few. And yes it can be jerky if someone borrows a family member's tag or parks in the space without a tag, but in the end it's a parking space. There are so many other things to be angry at than whether or not people who are "properly ill" are able to park a little closer to the door, or have to wait for proper parking to open up. 

I have the same problem when people make assumptions in general. For instance, shame a woman who "looks pregnant" for smoking or purchasing alcohol. I had one friend, for instance, who proudly claimed to have shamed a pregnant-looking woman for buying beer while cashing her out at her workplace. Can you imagine the nerve? There are dozens of scenarios I can think of where a pregnant-looking woman would buy beer, including her possibly not being pregnant!

Assumptions are a dangerous thing, and I certainly wish people would consider more than just the worst case scenario when throwing down for such relatively small things -- why die on such a small hill?

I agree with you. I got a few nasty looks buying beer while pregnant (for my husband) but thankfully no one confronted me.

The only time I've been tempted to confront someone over things like this, is when I was a brand new mom. My grocery store has parking spaces labelled "For Expecting and New Mothers Only". I wanted to use one of those spots because I was SO tired, my baby and his carrier were SO heavy, and I really needed groceries. The spots were all taken, so parked halfway down the lot instead. As I walked past I saw two young men getting out of a two-seater car parked in one of the New Mom spots. I was so sorely tempted to ask them cheerily, "So which one of you is pregnant?" but I reined myself in.

[LadyClaire]

This is why I hate societal shaming and vigilanteism. I know we're talking about people with handicapped tags, and thankfully, for the most part, I think the system works pretty well -- I bet the scammers and jerks are few. And yes it can be jerky if someone borrows a family member's tag or parks in the space without a tag, but in the end it's a parking space. There are so many other things to be angry at than whether or not people who are "properly ill" are able to park a little closer to the door, or have to wait for proper parking to open up. 

I have the same problem when people make assumptions in general. For instance, shame a woman who "looks pregnant" for smoking or purchasing alcohol. I had one friend, for instance, who proudly claimed to have shamed a pregnant-looking woman for buying beer while cashing her out at her workplace. Can you imagine the nerve? There are dozens of scenarios I can think of where a pregnant-looking woman would buy beer, including her possibly not being pregnant!

Assumptions are a dangerous thing, and I certainly wish people would consider more than just the worst case scenario when throwing down for such relatively small things -- why die on such a small hill?

One of the professors at work had a research grant that involved cigarette smoke. She was heavily pregnant, and would go buy cartons of cigarettes at the gas station down the road to use in her research. She said she got so many nasty looks and comments that she eventually started sending her lab assistant to go buy the cigarettes.

[camlan]

This is why I hate societal shaming and vigilanteism. I know we're talking about people with handicapped tags, and thankfully, for the most part, I think the system works pretty well -- I bet the scammers and jerks are few. And yes it can be jerky if someone borrows a family member's tag or parks in the space without a tag, but in the end it's a parking space. There are so many other things to be angry at than whether or not people who are "properly ill" are able to park a little closer to the door, or have to wait for proper parking to open up. 

The problem is that the person taking the handicapped space just to be closer to the door is taking the space of someone who might not be able to park at all without the handicapped space. Or who may not be able to get to the store/their job/the doctor's office from the far reaches of the parking lot. Those people do get angry when they see someone cheating the system. It has a significant impact on their lives.

It's not so much the location of the space, as that they are removing one of an already limited resource from people who really need it.

[mich3554]

This is why I hate societal shaming and vigilanteism. I know we're talking about people with handicapped tags, and thankfully, for the most part, I think the system works pretty well -- I bet the scammers and jerks are few. And yes it can be jerky if someone borrows a family member's tag or parks in the space without a tag, but in the end it's a parking space. There are so many other things to be angry at than whether or not people who are "properly ill" are able to park a little closer to the door, or have to wait for proper parking to open up. 

The problem is that the person taking the handicapped space just to be closer to the door is taking the space of someone who might not be able to park at all without the handicapped space. Or who may not be able to get to the store/their job/the doctor's office from the far reaches of the parking lot. Those people do get angry when they see someone cheating the system. It has a significant impact on their lives.

It's not so much the location of the space, as that they are removing one of an already limited resource from people who really need it.

Exactly.

I can't begin to count the number of times that I have left errands undone because all h/c places were full and it was not prudent for me to walk through a snowy lot.

At my job, there are a whopping 15 h/c spots for about 5000 employees.  As I was parking one morning, I realized that there was a cab waiting in one of the spots.  I crutched over to the cab driver and told him that within 10 minutes, every single space was going to be filled and someone was going to be out of luck at going into work because he was illegally parked in one of the few h/c spaces. My next call was going to be to campus security if he hadn't moved.  Fortunately, he moved.

[mmswm]

As to the issue of state issued ID's:

All of my children have picture ID's in the form of US Passport cards.  These are the same size as drivers' licences, but are federally issued passports instead of the big passport books.  They're not valid for air travel, but are for land and sea travel to specific countries.  Since I lived in ND for a long time, and frequently traveled to Winnipeg, I got those in addition to the passport books because they're easier to manage at the border crossings. Because I have those, I chose not to get the state IDs for them.  Some form of picture ID makes life a LOT easier when dealing with multiple doctors, hospitals and government agencies.  If I'm ever questioned on the handicap tag by a police officer, there's a serial number on the placard that can be looked up to determine who the tag was issued to, and having a picture ID for the child in question makes those times MUCH easier and faster to resolve.  And yes, I have had people report me and have had to prove that the tag is legitimate.

[Kaire]

I'm in Illinois and my placard has my birth month and year punched in it, so it's tied to me.  I guess if I didn't have a driver's license, I'd have to produce my birth certificate.

[JeanFromBNA]

This is why I hate societal shaming and vigilanteism. I know we're talking about people with handicapped tags, and thankfully, for the most part, I think the system works pretty well -- I bet the scammers and jerks are few. And yes it can be jerky if someone borrows a family member's tag or parks in the space without a tag, but in the end it's a parking space. There are so many other things to be angry at than whether or not people who are "properly ill" are able to park a little closer to the door, or have to wait for proper parking to open up. 

The problem is that the person taking the handicapped space just to be closer to the door is taking the space of someone who might not be able to park at all without the handicapped space. Or who may not be able to get to the store/their job/the doctor's office from the far reaches of the parking lot. Those people do get angry when they see someone cheating the system. It has a significant impact on their lives.

It's not so much the location of the space, as that they are removing one of an already limited resource from people who really need it.

I live in an older part of the city where parking spaces are fewer, so I see a lot of abuse (no tags at all).  Ironically, it's also where a lot of folks who have mobility issues live who actually have the tags.  It's not feasible for them to park a couple of blocks away to go to the post office. I wish the police would patrol it more often.

[JustEstelle]

Theoretically, non-drivers can get a state issued ID. It has a picture and a number, but has nothing to do with driving.

I know, but is that noted somewhere on a hanging placard? And don't even drivers get one for when they ride in another person's vehicle?

They don't put the entire ID number on the placard; only the first four digits.  Also, the owner's initials are on it.  If a policeman checks it, the owner's ID will match up with what is on record.  No, they do not emblazon a person's ID number in its entirety.

[JoW]

I'm in Illinois and my placard has my birth month and year punched in it.....

They used similar here for years, but they had to discontinue it.  The tag gave an approximate age and gender.  The local thugs would find a car with a tag that said "F  65+" and wait until the owner came out so they could steal her purse.  Now the police have a harder time identifying the young man who borrowed his crippled grandmother's tag. 

[Kaire]

I'm in Illinois and my placard has my birth month and year punched in it.....

They used similar here for years, but they had to discontinue it.  The tag gave an approximate age and gender.  The local thugs would find a car with a tag that said "F  65+" and wait until the owner came out so they could steal her purse.  Now the police have a harder time identifying the young man who borrowed his crippled grandmother's tag.

Now that you mention it I'm rethinking whether it's month and year or month and date.  That's horrible that someone would do that, but sadly not surprising in this world we live in.

[ladyknight1]

I live in Florida, and we have an epidemic of improperly used disabled parking tags and spaces. In particular, at schools and in shopping mall parking lots. Many of these are other relatives permits being used fraudulently, sometimes after the relative in question is deceased.

I personally know of two people who use the permit issued to someone else in their family to park in disabled only parking when that person is not with them or they are not picking them up. However, I do not feel it is my place to say or do anything about it.

We have a citizen task force that does write citations and have vehicles towed for unauthorized parking in disabled only spaces. As I have both a license plate with the permit on it and my own permit, I use the spaces when I have need and report those parked in the spaces with no permit or license plate.

OP, I feel so bad for you and your children that you have to deal with this harassment.

[dinvancouver]

Theoretically, non-drivers can get a state issued ID. It has a picture and a number, but has nothing to do with driving.

Well, I looked at the info for my locale and apparently there's nothing barring a child getting a state ID. I didn't realize that and thought they were just for people who were of driving age but didn't drive--you learn something new every day.

I got my 10 year old a state ID when we were going on vacation. That way she had picture ID and wouldn't have to remember her address in an emergency.