Yesterday, my husband came home and told me that he saw a cop who thought that his badge granted him extra rights. The cop was parked in a handicap parking space. His car was running and he evidently thought that he was “just running in” for a few minutes and it wouldn’t hurt anything. Of course, for the rest of us, that results in a minimum of a $100 fine in most places. Of course, we’re actually lucky if we just get a fine. The police in Chicago recently shot a pregnant woman with a taser gun when she parked in a handicap space. Not many details are given in the story, but enough for me to know that there is a double standard in place.
- In New York state, if a person “just runs in” for a few minutes with their kids in the car, they are breaking the law and will be punished if caught.
- If you decide not to leave your kids in the car for fear of being turned in, and you take them with you while you “just run in” to a liquor store or a winery, you could be breaking the law too (depending on where you live).
- If I start my car in my own driveway and “just run in” and leave it unattended for a few minutes, I am breaking the law, and will be punished if caught.
- If I “just run in” to pick up my carry-out order, I am breaking the law if I leave my car running during that time (whether I am in a handicap space or not).
- If I leave my keys in my car because I am “just running in” somewhere (even if the car is not running), I am breaking the law (in many locations) and will be punished if caught.
While I think about all of these double standards, I think I’m going to “just run” my head into a brick wall and hope I don’t have any run-ins with the cops.
Extra Rights for Handicap Spaces is a post from Cop Block - Badges Don't Grant Extra Rights
