Illegal accessible parking stickers, available in a range of colours and marked with a ‘disabled’ symbol, are used by able-bodied shoppers to park illegally in bays reserved for Persons with Disabilities.
“It is a widespread problem, and I receive regular complaints from Persons with Disabilities,” said Fanie Swanepoel of the Gauteng Provincial Association for Persons with Disabilities (GPAPD), adding that no action can be taken against shops, as nobody is prepared to take responsibility for the stickers’ distribution.
Legal parking discs are acquired through the traffic department after proof of disability is provided by a medical practitioner. They are marked with the recipient’s name, identity number and disability, as well as an expiry date. It is illegal for a vehicle to use accessible parking when the Person with a Disability is neither the driver nor a passenger, and when parked in an accessible bay, the Person with a Disability must exit the vehicle, says Swanepoel.
Beyond inconsiderate parking practices, however, Persons with Disabilities frequently experience public abuse, says Kim Lugli, Chair of Health and Social Development at the Johannesburg Disability Forum, who has battled lupus since 1976 and uses a disability scooter.
In a recent incident at Norwood Mall, Lugli says, an unpleasant scene followed after she confronted the able-bodied driver of a vehicle occupying an accessible bay.
“He replied ‘F*** off, you white bitch’ and threatened to smash his door into my scooter,” said Lugli, whose unpleasant experience exacerbated her frustration at the abuse of accessible facilities by able-bodied customers, who not only use accessible parking illegally, but take advantage of toilets and tills reserved for Persons with Disabilities and pensioners.
“Here in South Africa, the disabled are too complacent,” said Lugli, calling on Persons with Disabilities to take a stand against such treatment.
Meanwhile, the GPAPD, says Swanepoel, regularly visits shopping centres to educate and sensitise management, security, and the public, and is lobbying for a standardised National Parking Disc.
“We will support and join any efforts made to continue creating an awareness in this regard,” concluded GPAPD director, Beena Chiba.
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