Sir, – Do people disregard the signs for wheelchair and parent parking in supermarket car parks deliberately or is it subconsciously done?
It seems it’s a free-for-all and a significant section of the public either do not understand the signs or choose to ignore them. As a nation, we are improving in our driving habits, with a very welcome decrease in recent years in road deaths, but what about our parking habits?
Out of curiosity, I asked a few people who were parked in disabled spaces without having a permit displayed and got various responses: “I’m just waiting for someone” (who was perfectly able bodied); “I’m in a hurry”; or “Sure I’ll only be a minute”.
That’s no comfort to a wheelchair user who cannot park in an accessible area and possibly has to abandon their trip to the shop as a result. Another man who was actually polishing the outside of this car while parked in a disabled parking spot told me: “I’m not great on my feet.” I was tempted to point out that at least he has feet, but I refrained.
On public roads and council-run car parks the traffic wardens and Garda police this, but in supermarket car parks, I’m not sure whose responsibility this falls to, but I know my experience has been one of chaos. I live in hope people might learn to respect these car park spaces and that a few feet further to walk might make someone else’s more difficult life a bit easier. – Yours, etc,