28 replies to this topic

[A trophy guy]

http://www.mlive.com...onts_man_i.html

Hi all! I am brand new here and I can't believe it took me this long to find this place. What do you think of my story here? This had been my gym for the past ten years; the only gym in my area with a UBE that I could use for cardio. The best part really isn't even the story but all the comments afterwards. I'm just not totally sure about the way this board works, so I hope I linked it right.

[goose]

Welcome...great job for trying to make a statement! This has been a major problem for some of our members who have tried to rectify the problem going thru the proper channels without much success. Some have even released the trapped air pressure in tires of illegally parked cars. Sometimes you just have to do whatever it takes to get their attention.

I think you'll fit right in with this group!


After reading some of the comments, it makes you wonder how some people even make it thru the day.
Did the first guy get his membership revolked too?

[Conez™]

I think if one had his membership revoked both should have been sent packing.
I understand this is frustrating issue for many and i mean no disrespect when saying you cant do something illegal to highlight another illegal indesrection. so basicly, 2 wrongs dont make a right. lettin down the air in peoples tyres or double parkin is wrong... but what if....
the disabled fella was to remove his car from the disabled park and park it in the nearest normal park however far away from the idiot in disabled parking...
then jump into his wheelchair wander over and double park himself in behind the inconseiderate tool and his car....
now heres the fun bit... just to amp it up, get out of the chair and make yourself comfy in the carpark... toss the chair just outta reach and when security comes act dazed and say you had to park so far away coz of this inconsiderate illegal parked car and when returning to your vehicle u just happened to up end it (conveinently to obsruct the offening car)
.... this will certainly grab attention, may even be an effective way of teaching someone a lesson and getting your point across without going to jail, gettin a fine or losing ya gym membership

this was an interesting post after looking at the survey on this site about disabled parking and the blue badge.
thanks for the link

[Snakeye]

I went to Walmart today and here drives up my waitress at the local cafe parking in a handicap spot.She probably walks 100 miles a day at her job so her walking skills are just fine...she jumped out of the car and ran into the store like a track star babbling about how her diabetes was flaring up...I wonder how folks claiming they need a disabled sticker cause their conditions flare up now and again always seem to flare up when they visit Walmart...Why is someone in need of a sticker if they can walk unaided (even by a cane) into the store then stroll around a huge store (unaided) for thirty min's then walk back to to their rig with no problems?...Nonsense...

[edlee]

The real problem is twofold. First,, the doctors who hand out these placards like breath mints. As many abuses are from people who have legal placards as from those who don't. And second,, law enforcement is miserable at best, about either coming when called or when they do come,, actually issueing a citation. I was told by a local cop,, one who I flagged down in the Walmart parking lot,,, that it didn't matter if he gave them a ticket,, the magistrate would just toss it if they had a placard,, even when they were parking on the yellow lines and blocking my van's lift.

Too many placards,, and no real enforcement. We just don't have a big enough voting block to get noticed, I guess.

I don't usually block them with my vehicle,, but I do use my body,, and have done so twice. A bit of advice,, block their door from closing,, don't get behind them. The first worked,, the guy backed into me in the second,, tho he stopped when I started beating on his trunk lid with the arm rest of my A4. He was a bit upset about the dents,, but as I told him,, it was the only way to get his attention,, since he obviously didn't see me back there.

I'm a bit older than you, TG,, and one would think that with age comes a bit more restraint. But it doesn't.
ed

[KayDub]

OP- I feel your pain, I have so many problems at the gym I go to!!!

Goose, I have never done such a thing like releasing the air in tires of illegally parked cars.... ;-) Well except last week ha ha.

At my gym the other day a woman and her two teenage children parked in a handicap spot and then hopped out and walked inside no problems. As we were getting out cards swiped I asked them politely if they knew they had parked in a handicap spot. The older boy nodded and I just said, oh really... Then the younger girl, about 14, started squealing, "My mom has a f**** broken back, shut your f****** mouth, shut your g** d*** mouth you f*****." This was at the top of her lungs. The gym staff said absolutely nothing (one reason I'm thinking about leaving but it's the closest pool to me, it's really like a daycare and they'll do anything to make the parents happy, including letting kids break the handicap buttons opening the doors, pushing my chair around the pool when I'm in the water, etc.). Anyway it was a pleasant exchange.

In our state (Colorado), it's a volunteer position to give out tickets for handicap spot violators (I don't know why, the cops would make more money than speeders, $250 for parking without a placard, $5000 for using someone elses, you have to carry the registration with it and ID and only the person it's issued to can use it... no one has ever gotten charged for that, I'd like to see it done though). I'm looking into doing it.

[Aparr]

My mom and I came out of the store one day to find a car blocking the handicap ramp. The car was locked and running. There was a liquor store there as well so we thought someone parked there for a quick run in. My mom goes into the liquor store and asks if the car belongs to anyone in there. The manager comes out said that the car has been parked there for about 15 minutes. He calls the local Police and a man comes out of the store we were in and said it's his car. He looks at me an said, yeah my wife is like you she's handicapped. His wife then walks over to the car. As he was finally getting into the car to move. I could NOT resist and said to him, NO SIR your wife is not handicapped like me I can't stand or walk! Try dropping your wife off and parking in the lot!


I have also come out of Target and saw a motorcycle parked in the yellow lines of the handicapped spaces.

[A trophy guy]

Let me just add that the guy who parked illegally in this story I linked-NOTHING happened to him. No ticket, no warning, no gym membership revokation-NO NOTHING. I, on the other hand, have been treated like the evil criminal in this situation. The paraplegic who was doing nothing other than standing up for the rights of the disabled (no pun intended) was banned from the gym and not even allowed to step foot on the property. Injustice.

[Snakeye]

A trophy guy, on 23 October 2011 - 07:44 PM, said:

Let me just add that the guy who parked illegally in this story I linked-NOTHING happened to him. No ticket, no warning, no gym membership revokation-NO NOTHING. I, on the other hand, have been treated like the evil criminal in this situation. The paraplegic who was doing nothing other than standing up for the rights of the disabled (no pun intended) was banned from the gym and not even allowed to step foot on the property. Injustice.

Indeed..The dirty SOBs...

[BoyFallDown]

Hey man, I feel your pain. I live in an apartment with one handicap spot up front. My neighbor, who has a temporary handicap placard insists on parking in the spot every day even though he can clearly see me rolling from the only other available spot about a block away. Normally I wouldn't complain, but it's plain as day that his placard is either not needed anymore or fraudulent from the beginning. What I've started to do is use an iphone app http://www.handicappedfraud.org/ . You just type in a few details about the car, and snap a picture of the license plate. This gets sent to the site who puts all the data together and sends it to each states DMV. What happens from there, Im not sure, but at least someone will know about it.

[goose]

You noticed I didn't mention anyones name when sharing the air release story...could have been more than 1 guilty party. LOL It should be more than 1 at least it gets their attention. However, they are probably such air heads that they didn't put 2 and 2 together...some people are just clueless or slighly below average in the smarts department.

IF the other guy didn't get banned, I'd be writing editorials to the local paper and TV station. Depending on the size of your town, word of mouth travels fast.

I agree some doctors give them out like candy. If they would be more selective, we'd have fewer people abusing the placards.

My biggest pet peave is when it's raining and EVERYBODY decides they're handicapped. Sitting and rain especially in cold weather doesn't mix. We get soaked!!!...laps,shoes,clothes...the whole body and chair too.

We should work together to solve this problem. Lets start thinking of ways to correct the abuse and take back our parking spots!!!!!

[KayDub]

You're the best goose! I yelled at a guy who pulled into the last handicap spot the other day and there were no other spots at all. He was a young guy with an expired temporary permit (the kind you get for a broken foot). Grrrrrrrr. Like we've all decided, I'm just a magnet for this stuff!

[Conez™]

Snakeye, on 23 October 2011 - 11:36 PM, said:

A trophy guy, on 23 October 2011 - 07:44 PM, said:

Let me just add that the guy who parked illegally in this story I linked-NOTHING happened to him. No ticket, no warning, no gym membership revokation-NO NOTHING. I, on the other hand, have been treated like the evil criminal in this situation. The paraplegic who was doing nothing other than standing up for the rights of the disabled (no pun intended) was banned from the gym and not even allowed to step foot on the property. Injustice.

Indeed..The dirty SOBs...

Hear Hear!
I'm shocked by what I'm reading.
poor buggers.. not coz ur disabled or coz some idiot stole the last handicap parking
because the sort of uncivilized BS that the offender(s) throws at ya in defending their stupid actions. wtf is the world coming to?! it saddens me.
the height of arrogance and ignorance I see why y'all think these peeps are lacking in the smarts dept.

maybe its just me tho, I never realised u could get temp placards for a broken foot or should I say I dont think u should be able to claim temp placards for minior injuries that require mininimal time for recovery like a broken foot.
I'd never ask the dr for this... but obviously peeps do... so its a matter of changing the regulations so drs cant by law give these idiots placards and maybe enforce proper managerment of injuries... eg, I would think my dr would strongly discourage me from driving with a broken foot for X amount of time to let it heal.

[style71]

My cousin used his brothers tempo disabled parking (his brother was involved in the accident with me but not a SCI) and was telling me about it and how he's happy he got to park there. Needless to say I didn't find it humorous and told him "what would you have done if someone like me showed up?" That shut him up pretty quickly and he tore up the permit in front of me (his brother didnt need it anymore) and apologized

[paul1404]

A trophy guy, on 23 October 2011 - 07:44 PM, said:

Let me just add that the guy who parked illegally in this story I linked-NOTHING happened to him. No ticket, no warning, no gym membership revokation-NO NOTHING. I, on the other hand, have been treated like the evil criminal in this situation. The paraplegic who was doing nothing other than standing up for the rights of the disabled (no pun intended) was banned from the gym and not even allowed to step foot on the property. Injustice.

They must know you drive a Mazda

Edited by paul1404, 13 November 2011 - 07:34 PM.

[Charlie-boi]

paul1404, on 13 November 2011 - 05:28 PM, said:

A trophy guy, on 23 October 2011 - 07:44 PM, said:

Let me just add that the guy who parked illegally in this story I linked-NOTHING happened to him. No ticket, no warning, no gym membership revokation-NO NOTHING. I, on the other hand, have been treated like the evil criminal in this situation. The paraplegic who was doing nothing other than standing up for the rights of the disabled (no pun intended) was banned from the gym and not even allowed to step foot on the property. Injustice.

They must know youbdriveca Mazda

Dirty rotary engines ;)

[A trophy guy]

Got some haaaaters here, huh?








zoom zoom, bitches!

[Vanessamaee]

COME TO MY GYM! PLEASE! They need a damn lesson and Im about to contact police about it. They have 2 handicap parking spots, both would be perfectly accessible if it was for the fact they had an actual sign in fornt of them, the paint that was used to mark them has worn off so it is barley visible so people park there not even knowing it was actually handicap parking. I dont mind this, Ill just park next to the curb but far eough to where I can still get out. HOWEVER the part that pisses me off is certain high school kids (sad part is I KNOW THEM) park on the ramp! They think it makes them look cool having their jacked up truck parked up hill. THIS pisses me off because the curb is to big for me to get over, so unless the ramp is open, I cant get in. Now, a reasonable person would call them from there car and tell them they cant get in, however this place play their music so loud, and the people working are always in the gym working out, so the phone is never answered. YAY for ignorant people.

[A trophy guy]

Vanessamaee, on 14 November 2011 - 01:45 AM, said:

COME TO MY GYM! PLEASE! They need a damn lesson and Im about to contact police about it. They have 2 handicap parking spots, both would be perfectly accessible if it was for the fact they had an actual sign in fornt of them, the paint that was used to mark them has worn off so it is barley visible so people park there not even knowing it was actually handicap parking. I dont mind this, Ill just park next to the curb but far eough to where I can still get out. HOWEVER the part that pisses me off is certain high school kids (sad part is I KNOW THEM) park on the ramp! They think it makes them look cool having their jacked up truck parked up hill. THIS pisses me off because the curb is to big for me to get over, so unless the ramp is open, I cant get in. Now, a reasonable person would call them from there car and tell them they cant get in, however this place play their music so loud, and the people working are always in the gym working out, so the phone is never answered. YAY for ignorant people.

Yes, you need to at least contact officials to let them know what is going on with the ramp/parking situation; that is unacceptable. And you would be perfectly justified in contacting police about the inproperly marked/identified handicapped parking spots, since they aren't doing what they are legally supposed to be doing and keeping the paint up and having a sign displayed.

Edited by A trophy guy, 14 November 2011 - 01:59 AM.

[Charlie-boi]

A trophy guy, on 13 November 2011 - 08:34 PM, said:

Got some haaaaters here, huh?








zoom zoom, bitches!

Sympathy actually!!! How a 1.3 can drink so much fuel!

[A trophy guy]

Well I am really nervous and excited. Tomorrow is a big day (if not the big day). I have my first (I'm not sure how many there will be) mediation session with the mediator sent by the Department of Justice, a representative for the gym (Hurley Health and Fitness Center) and myself.

[mellowgator]

A trophy guy, on 05 December 2011 - 04:39 AM, said:

Well I am really nervous and excited. Tomorrow is a big day (if not the big day). I have my first (I'm not sure how many there will be) mediation session with the mediator sent by the Department of Justice, a representative for the gym (Hurley Health and Fitness Center) and myself.

how did you day in court go?

[A trophy guy]

It wasn't court, it was a DOJ-directed three-party mediation. And it turned out to be a sham. It was a disgrace. See I was under the impression that the manager that was working at HHFC (Dawn Hiller) at the time of the parking lot incident (and the wheelchair pullup banning) had been fired. Since she was no longer there, Hurley was now willing to take place in this mediation (participation was voluntary).

It turned out that Dawn Hiller was not only still manager at HHFC, but she was actively taking part in the mediation; along with an attorney for Hurley Medical Center. They entered into this mediation with absolutely no intention of altering any decision they had made. It begged the question of why they had even agreed to participate in mediation in the first place. It was a sham.

So now I am back to having the complaint brought back to the DOJ to be taken up for official investigation. Ughh...

[lavenderthistle]

That bites. Don't you just love close minded, cowardly people. It's much like dealing with a school board or administration. There is no cure for blind stupidity and abject stubbornness. It's a far too common problem. The politically correct, moron factor. It's only fair for those unwilling to admit error or consider another way.

[Vanessamaee]

I know this is a little off topic... but this kind of goes along.

The other night I was leaving my school parking lot after a basketball game. I am the Boys Varsity Manager/assistant coach. It was around 9 at night and I got into my car, turned it on, texted (atleast I wasnt driving!) and put the car in reverse. A car was coming though so I waited. They ended up parking behind me. The guy driving the car got out, knocked on my window and said "You realize there are older people who actually need the handicap pass right?" I was in complete shock and kinda scared. Apparently he had also called the police. I pointed to the back (where my wheelchair is) and said that Im paralyzed. What threw him off was that since I am a student at the high school we are required to have student parking passes which hang from our rear view mirrors when we park there, so I have the student pass along with the handicap pass hanging and he thought I was abusing it. Im glad there are poeple that look out for the handicap spots, but I found this taken to the extreme and getting authorities involved for nothing.

[A trophy guy]

Well, after my failed mediation session with HHFC, the mediator send my complaint back to the Department of Justice for review to determine if further investigation was warranted.

Today I got a letter from the DOJ informing me that they have made the decision to move forward with the official investigation. They have informed Hurley Health and Fitness as well and I should be hearing from the investigator within the next couple of weeks.

[edlee]

Good luck, Guy,, but don't get your hopes up. It has all the earmarks of one of those infamous " stretch it out and he'll give up" situations. And even if YOU don't give up,, they'll just rule against you to get even with you for making them get off their dead, government asses.
ed

[A trophy guy]

edlee, on 31 January 2012 - 10:10 PM, said:

Good luck, Guy,, but don't get your hopes up. It has all the earmarks of one of those infamous " stretch it out and he'll give up" situations. And even if YOU don't give up,, they'll just rule against you to get even with you for making them get off their dead, government asses.
ed

(bolding mine)

Ha! They don't know who they are dealing with if they think that strategy has any chance of success! And they had every opportunity to just rule that there was no grounds for further investigation; so if the motivating factor in all of this was simply apathy and laziness, the DOJ could have just ended it at the mediation.

All that being said, I'm not getting my hopes up; I've dealt with this shit too long to think otherwise. I'm just doing what I can do, taking it one day at a time and being cautiously optimistic that the case has not yet been closed.

[Seier]

I just had to get on here and upload this pic from my trip out shopping with my husband today.. we pulled into a shopping centre behind a police van and they went to park in the disabled spot! We parked right next to them and when I got out to help my husband from the car the policeman asked me if I had an invalid card!? I replied 'Yes I do, do you?' No response from the police guy so I took this picture and one of their number plate, now just to figure out how to report this to the finnish police...

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