An Inconsiderate Crime:  by Aaron J. Smith

 Law enforcement should have a stricter penalty for illegally parking in a handicapped parking spot because this offense causes anyone who legitimately needs the spot to make an impossible trek from a main parking lot. It is a selfish act. One should think about who is affected by committing this violation. It is a shame when someone ambulatory is so inconsiderate. Society should be more aware the consequences of this act.    

            I was twelve years old February of 1999; it was then that my life changed forever. I was diagnosed with Friedreich’s Ataxia, a neuro-muscular disorder, which progressively deteriorates muscle and nerve functions. At the time of the diagnosis I did not fully realize the challenges I would have to overcome in the near-future. Now twenty years old, I have witnessed, first-hand, the selfishness of society. One everyday challenge I face is one that I should not.

            I attend South Louisiana Community College and driving into the parking lot every morning is much like a game of chance. Will I have a parking spot in the six spaces designated for those with disabilities? Or instead, will I be forced to park in the rear of the building, where my strength will not be enough to propel myself over a four foot hill that the rear sidewalk is built on? I would also have to cross a road, a road with speeding traffic.

            I did, in fact, lose this “game” a number of times. Every incident shared a common trait; all of the handicapped spaces were occupied by more than three vehicles without either a handicapped license plate or hanging placard.  On more than one occasion, I have been the last to take advantage of the reserved spaces and I have noticed people in adjacent handicapped spots waiting for friends or family to get out of their class. Rather than wait for these people in or on the side of the main parking lot, these people illegally take a handicapped persons parking space. In order to spare their friends or family an additional twenty or thirty feet of walking, these criminals opt to make it impossibly difficult for those with disabilities to make classes at all, much less on time.

Handicapped parking is not some sort of consolation prize awarded to those with disabilities, it is a necessary right. Since a $500 fine is not enough to deter an inconsiderate criminal, there needs to be a far harsher penalty.

18 June 2007