Blocking handicap parking spot in California?

You were ticketed by a volunteer police officer? I've never heard of such a thing. Sounds like he may be something of a blowhard. I would fight the ticket in court for sure.

ping, WELCOME to A2K. There were six spots for handicapped, and he gave you a $250 ticket for dropping off somebody? That lunkhead needs to be shot - I mean, put into the poky. He's dangerous! Fight this one; take it to court, and explain your situation. I seen hundreds, if not thousands, of people walking through handicapped parking spots. If that isn't one stupid police, I don't know what stupid is. File a complaint with the police department; they keep a file, and any police officer that gets too many complaints are told to get with the program, or are suspended, or possibly fired.

I have no idea what the law actually says on the matter but, if your description is accurate, I'd just go to court and explain exactly what you said here to the judge. Unless he/she is in a really bad mood that day I'd think they'd see it as "over zealousness" on the part of the police.

That really is ridiculous!
Certainly fight it.

I don't know if you live in the US, but here are a few links that might help.

Ticket Assassin

FYST

Huh. I surmise there were six more free spots, but that they weren't marked for handicapped, that only the one you pulled up in was.

The volunteer police action seems an illustration of overdoing it, but I somewhat see the point - I do see handicap spots routinely abused by people who bound out of their conveniently parked cars. If you ever are feeling completely debilitated, add that to not being able to walk well because of the pain, and having to circle or be forced to park, oh, two hundred feet from the store door, it might matter more.

I've heard of some of my colleagues going through special training in city planning for accessibility concerns. Just riffing on what I might remember of the description, that they had to go through the university campus blindfolded, or that they had to sit in a wheelchair, or have one leg immobilized (I made that last one up, but I think there were some real constraints put on them, if not that one.) Of course you can't add pain to the student's assignment. I think there is some built up anger in the community among the handicapped and their friends and family, re the hardship they go through to just do anything at all, and lots of other anger re unused parking places near a store door.

Not to knock the pingpong here... the nab for the quick drop off seems a little unforgiving.

Impatience = road rage. I can't buy the argument that the handicapped person may have waited less than a minute before pulling into the handicap parking spot was overly inconvenienced - espeically since there were six more parking spots close by - handicapped or not. At a hospital, there could be an exception to that rule, but what if he was dropping off an emergency patient?

PingPong
PingPong, welcome to Able2Know; glad to have you here.

I must alert you. I'm a disabled person who relies on handicapped parking spaces all of the time. So be fair warned, don't get me started on people who abuse the use of handicapped parking spaces. I will rant and rave for hours.

It does seem the "volunteer" officer was over zealous. He could have just warned you. I wonder if he was a "rent a cop" hired by the business near the parking spaces. If so, the ticket may not be legitimate.

However, please be considerate of people relying on handicapped parking so that can get out in public and take care of their needs.

BumbleBeeBoogie

BBB, I'd be right behind you to rant and rave if some bozo took the handicapped spot without the handicap license, but that's another 'issue.'

But, CI, there were six other places to pull up into to drop someone off...

I think we agree this ticket was a little, uh, reactive.. but really, people with disabilities do need consideration. There shouldn't be anybody else in that spot.

Okay, ping made a mistake by parking in the handicap spot - even just for a second - to drop somebody off - which most of us will never do. All I'm say'n is that a one time incident by somebody that doesn't know any better should be given the benefit of the doubt. That doesn't translate into a wholesale offense by most drivers, and the majority of us are considerate of the handicapped - way beyond the parking lot. Give me a break!

We are giving him the benefit of the doubt. We all said it was over-reacting.

How do you translate that into an offense by most drivers?
Most don't... at least here in my town the handicap parking spots are left clear generally, pretty useful really.

But I have seen, more in west LA than here, lots of folks bounding gleefully from closely parked autos. Let's just say if they had heart conditions, they got better fast.

osso's quote, ".... but really, people with disabilities do need consideration." PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES DO GET CONSIDERATION - MORE OFTEN THAN NOT. WHY KEEP BRINGING UP THIS ISSUE?

If you were still in the car and the engine was still on, you were not parked; your car was doing what's called standing. Fight this in traffic court, explain the situation exactly how you have explained it here (don't use the word BS and don't whine, just present the facts), wear nice clothes and be respectful to the adjudicating officer and your opponent (assuming he shows up; officers are often called in as witnesses but usually cannot appear due to other obligations). Your chances of winning will then be very good but nothing is guaranteed in this life. Good luck!

I agree wholeheartedly with Cicerone Imposter's view, by the way. And I work in the field of disabilities. Somebody with a disability might need that space, but waiting a second for a parking spot never killed anybody. While access is guaranteed to the disabled, immediate gratification is not. So somebody, if they happened by and wanted to park, would have had to wait a second. Big whoop.

Thank you, suzy; somebody finally understands what I'm trying to say.

BTW, I worked at two agencies that provides services to the developmentally disabled for the last 18 years of my career, so it's not like I don't understand handicap issues.

Ever been to a ski area in winter and wonder why there are 20 or 30 empty "handicapped" parking spaces right up front? Or your local municipal golf course for that matter? The ADA doesn't provide any leniency for the primary use of a facility, it only specifies that a % of spaces must be reserved for the disabled.

What really gets me going is that MOST, and I mean MOST of the "disabled" drivers I see using the spaces hop out of their cars and walk right up to the business/whetever they are visiting. What is their disability? A glass eye? Who decides who gets these placards?

So, IMO fight the ticket.

The issue is in the topic here. I didn't post the topic question.

I did agree, CI, that the volunteer police person was overreacting.

However, there were six empty spots right beside the HC one being talked about and pingpong chose that one. In principal, he could have chosen one of the others.
I agree people with disabilities are getting more consideration than they were, and I agree with cjhsa that sometimes a whole bank of spaces is not necessary for some businesses. I design handicap ramps myself, and am not often happy about them, aesthetically. Well, actually, never.
But gee, lot of anger going around about leaving people with disabilities these spaces.