In a viral Reddit post, u/Calamity4M, she wrote she was with her 65-year-old mom who has access to disabled parking. But, on this occasion, there were only expectant mother spots left.
The post has received more than 8,500 upvotes and 1,900 people have commented.
The 41-year-old woman told Newsweek that she was left feeling “shaken and upset” when a stranger “called” her out for parking in the family space and threatened to call the mall security.
Newsweek spoke to the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery to find out more about parking in the original poster’s hometown Ontario, Canada.
A spokesperson said: “The Accessible Parking Permit (APP) in Ontario is granted to all applicants whose regulated healthcare practitioner certifies that the applicant has one or more of the following eligible health conditions:
Cannot walk without a brace, cane, crutch, lower limb prosthetic device or similar assistive device or requires the assistance of a wheelchair or the assistance of another individual whoSuffers from lung disease to such an extent that his or her forced expiratory volume in one second is less than one litrePortable oxygen is a medical necessitySuffers from cardiovascular disease to such an extent that the individual’s functional capacity is classified as Class III or Class IV according to Nomenclature and Criteria for Diagnosis of Diseases of the Heart and Great Vessels, ninth edition, published by Little, Brown & Co. in 1994Severely limited in the ability to walk due to an arthritic, neurological, musculoskeletal or orthopaedic condition visual acuity is 20/200 or poorer in the better eye with corrective lenses, or whose maximum field of vision using both eyes has a diameter of 20 degrees or lessMobility is severely limited by one or more conditions or functional impairments
“In respect to enforcement of Accessible Parking spaces, municipalities are responsible for enforcing the proper use of APPs under the Highway Traffic Act (HTA), as well as establishing and enforcing bylaws that govern accessible parking spaces.
“The ministry continues to work with municipal partners to enhance their understanding of the APP program and to clarify their role in preventing misuse and/or abuse of permits; any concerns about misuse of accessible parking permits (APPs) must be directed to the appropriate municipal law enforcement to address.”
Therefore the OP was within her rights to park in the spot while with her mom, whose disability is unknown.
The Redditor wrote: “I told him my mother is disabled and has the disabled parking as well. This guy double-downed and said it didn’t matter. I ended up flipping him off [and] showing him the parking pass.”
She added that she is a cancer survivor with mobility issues so it is “difficult to walk far.”
She posted: “I only park in disability parking when with my mom. I will park in regular spots when I’m by myself. The last time I dropped my mom off to wait for me, she fell on her knees, which buckled, and then she fell on her face which injured her nose. We had to go to the Emergency room. I never park in family parking unless as a last resort.”
The original poster told Newsweek: “I didn’t feel entitled to take the spot. I just didn’t know what else to do as all the disabled spots were taken and there were several expectant mothers and families spots available.”
Almost 2,000 Redditors have commented and voted, “you are not the a**hole”.
The top comment has received more than 13,000 upvotes, it said: “In my own opinion, disabilities get priority over expectant and those with children, as having children is (largely) a choice, disability isn’t.
“Also, how did he not know you were an expectant mother? at what month of pregnancy does it become acceptable to park in those spots. Personally, others need to mind their own business. His question didn’t justify a response from you.”
The OP also pointed out that the man “didn’t even question anything! Just demanded that I move spots even after showing him the parking permit.”
“People need to just mind their business. There’s a guy from the UK on TikTok who constantly gets berated by the older population for parking in disabled spots… despite having a disabled (blue) badge. They always say, ‘he doesn’t look disabled,’” wrote another.
