Almost got a ticket

[Momz]

I rode to the store to buy me some new reading glasses. I parked my bike in the first handicapped space and walked in the store and made my purchase.
When I got out to my bike there was a security guard and a cop at my bike. The cop was writing a ticket when I asked what the problem was. He said that my bike was parked illegally in a handicapped space. I asked both of them if they bothered to look at my licence plate. The security guard interjected that I did not have a H/C hang tag from my mirror and that it was required. I again asked if either of them checked my licence plate.
The cop handed me a ticket for a parking violation. Again I asked if they bothered to look at my plate. The cop said that my plate number was on the ticket, and it was.
I asked the cop if he had a problem seeing plate numbers and symbols. He gave me dirty look and asked if I was some kind of joker. I said "here take my new reading glasses and look at my licence plate again". He came at me with a threatening gesture and I just stood there and pointed at my plate. He looked at the plate and then asked me to give him back the ticket.
He voided the ticket and stated that he was going to remember me, as if to somehow threaten me. I just smiled and waited untill he got into his car. The security guard however did not leave and started shouting. I remember him saying something  to the effect that if I was really crippled, then I shouldn't be on a motorcycle.
I am disabled due to spinal chord problems. I don't walk very well and I've got balance issues as well as muscular deterioration. Yes, I'm weak, but I can still function and ride a cycle. My bike is modified so that I can still enjoy being the kind of biker that I was before this problem.

And there may come a time were I can no longer ride,......but it isn't today!

 

[Valker]

My one legged son also rides. They have several bikes around here with HC tags.

[Momz]

We got another chapter member that has a prosthesis, as he lost his leg in an accident. And he was on his Valk at the time. He still rides a Valk and he goes by the handle of "Kickstand".   

[Stanley Steamer]

..

[Serk]

Jeeez.... Ironically, I had this very discussion with a co-worker today, they were saying if someone was so handicapped they needed the plate, they had no business... I verbally ripped 'em a new one (Politely, but firmly) and they finally agreed that it was conceivable and acceptable that someone could have a legit need for a handicap plate or placard AND still ride...

Mainly, because I had a 6 month period where I had a handicap placard I put on my handlebars on the bike... (Bottom 2 discs in my back are badly herniated and walking was pure hell for a while there)

Props to you for staying up on 2 and continuing to do what you love!

[Slyk Willy]

Would've loved to see the cops face. Good-on-ya George!

[Robert]

I guess when you ride you ask yourself at what point will I not ride any longer either due to illness or age and I really admire the fact that you didnt surrender something you love for a physical problem. I also am really surprised in this day of anything goes that the security guard pressed the issue. Not to mention that neither one looked at the plate. Thanks for posting this it made me think. Just as a note if the cop has any further issues with you, which I dont think he will I would report him. Thats just sloppy work.

[SgtBunny]

Don't you just hate dumb people.

[rmrc51]

With all of the real crime going on out there this idiotic cop and security guard choose to harass someone who clearly has dome nothing wrong and make assumptions regarding the validity of you possessing handicapped plate.      What a sad state of affairs!

[kipmilam]

I live in VA (for a few more months) and they have about a zillion personalized plates available.  But they don't have a handicapped plate for motorcycles.  That shows where their head is at,

[Big IV]

As long as you can keep it in the wind then you should! Everybody needs to know themselves and what they can do.
People do abuse those plates which is a shame, but when tehy are needed then I am glad that they exist.
I suppose you could have parked on the sidewalk by the store and not needed the HC plate. I wonder what your friend in security would have thought about that?

[~ Timbrwolf]

. .....next time, I,ll hafta bribe a smarter cop to ticket ya !



.....hmmmm.....thats an oxy moron isnt it ?   . ... ....smarter cop ? 




.....c ya at Bobs Q !

[98valk]

I am disabled due to spinal chord problems. I don't walk very well and I've got balance issues as well as muscular deterioration. Yes, I'm weak, but I can still function and ride a cycle. My bike is modified so that I can still enjoy being the kind of biker that I was before this problem.

And there may come a time were I can no longer ride,......but it isn't today!

maybe this can help u
http://www.drbookspan.com/clinical.html
http://www.drbookspan.com/BackPainArticle.html

her credentials "Left paralyzed after breaking her back, neck, and most of everything else in an accident, she rehabbed using sports medicine techniques she developed."

http://www.drbookspan.com/bio.html


God Bless

[DaveC]

MomZ,
glad it all worked out for you, but there is a REAL difference between a COP & a POLICE OFFICER. Unfortunaltly you ran into a COP.
True story:
I'm a retired Detective from the Metropolitan Police Dept., Wash.,D.C..
In the early '70's a citizen observed a man apparantly unconcious in an automobile, parked in a metered space on a city street, called the Police in the off chance that we (the PD) may have an interest in this matter
To make a long story short, when i arrived on the scene i found a man in the passenger seat, dead from a single gunshot wound to the left side of his head.
Also found on the windshield of the car were 3 parking tickets written by the same cop on the 3 previous days.
Fortunately these guys are the exception, not the rule.
y'all stay safe now, ya hear
the hobo

[Bob E.]

The real sad thing is that this cop had to look at your plate to get the number and failed to recognize the clearly visible handicap symbol right on the tag...and then seemed ignorant to the fact that his own state issued such tags to motorcyclists.  And then he had the balls to give you a hard time about it when you tried to point out his error.  It almost makes you think it would have been more fun to accept the ticket and use it to embarass him in front of a magistrate/judge when you fought it and, not to mention, filed a complaint with his superiors.

[3fan4life]

Sounds like One dumb "COP" and One dumber wanna be "Rent A Cop"

  !!! YOU CAN'T FIX STUPID !!!   

[John Schmidt]

My daughter has a handicapped son, wheelchair bound all his life and unable to live alone. However, he is bright mentally. They have a van with the drop down platform on the right side to accommodate his wheelchair and periodically will find someone has illegally parked their bike in the area adjacent to the HC parking slot. I was with her one day on a trip to Walmart and sure enough, just as she pulled in some kid pulled in with his crotch rocket. She first asked him to move it, saying it wasn't allowed there, and he had a smart answer for her...not repeated in this forum. She then strongly suggested he move it, same answer from this genius. I was going to say something but she stopped me, had a glint in her eye and said she can handle it fine.

Soon as he left with a warning to her about moving his bike, she called her next door neighbor...the local PD chief. This is a small farming community in central Illinois and everyone knows everybody else....and the chief, whom I've met. He sent over a small wrecker with instructions to take the bike whereever she wanted it delivered. She asked the driver if he knew where such and such a park was in the next town about 10 miles away, he busted out laughing and said "consider it done." The chief then called the town constable in that town and told him about it....told me about it later over a couple cool ones on his patio. The smartass kid had a $200 ticket for parking in a HC spot, a towing bill, and storage since the cop in the other town had it picked up and impounded for being in the park overnight. Plus, he had court costs on top of all that where the judge suggested he change his habits re. parking and how he talked to ladies. He also was required to write her a letter of apology. All because he wouldn't move his bike to an adjacent spot less than 20' away. Last my daughter heard....his father took away his motorcycle. Small town, everyone knows everyone else's business.

[Brad]

Sounds like One dumb "COP" and One dumber wanna be "Rent A Cop"

  !!! YOU CAN'T FIX STUPID !!!   

Off topic but I could not resist.  The pirates got their stupid fixed, so sometimes it can be done.

 

[Black Dog]

My daughter has a handicapped son, wheelchair bound all his life and unable to live alone. However, he is bright mentally. They have a van with the drop down platform on the right side to accommodate his wheelchair and periodically will find someone has illegally parked their bike in the area adjacent to the HC parking slot. I was with her one day on a trip to Walmart and sure enough, just as she pulled in some kid pulled in with his crotch rocket. She first asked him to move it, saying it wasn't allowed there, and he had a smart answer for her...not repeated in this forum. She then strongly suggested he move it, same answer from this genius. I was going to say something but she stopped me, had a glint in her eye and said she can handle it fine.

Soon as he left with a warning to her about moving his bike, she called her next door neighbor...the local PD chief. This is a small farming community in central Illinois and everyone knows everybody else....and the chief, whom I've met. He sent over a small wrecker with instructions to take the bike whereever she wanted it delivered. She asked the driver if he knew where such and such a park was in the next town about 10 miles away, he busted out laughing and said "consider it done." The chief then called the town constable in that town and told him about it....told me about it later over a couple cool ones on his patio. The smartass kid had a $200 ticket for parking in a HC spot, a towing bill, and storage since the cop in the other town had it picked up and impounded for being in the park overnight. Plus, he had court costs on top of all that where the judge suggested he change his habits re. parking and how he talked to ladies. He also was required to write her a letter of apology. All because he wouldn't move his bike to an adjacent spot less than 20' away. Last my daughter heard....his father took away his motorcycle. Small town, everyone knows everyone else's business.

Great story John...  My wife works with the elderly/handicap population.  My folks have a mirror hanger for their car, and I'm the last person you want to sass off to, if you park in a designated area, without a tag.

I've been in many places on my Valk, and have seen riders park in the 'blue' area of a handicap spot.  When I mention to them that that is part of the handicap parking, and that van ramps need that extra space, many say they didn't know and will move their bikes.  A few times, I'll get a smart a$$ that tells me to pi$$ off...  I then take out my cell phone and say I'm calling the police.  Usually, they will then move.  If not, I make the call.  To some, I'm being a prick, to the elderly vet, 3 months off of double knee replacement surgery (my dad), I'm a hero.

Sorry for the rant.  Some things just get me fired up 

Black Dog

[SgtBunny]

What aggravates me is when some kid uses his gramma's HC hanger to park up front.

I also get mad when people park in the stork parking that are not pregnant.

[Stude]

Good for you George... that would have been a good one to get on video 

[Kamikaze VRCCDS#0119]

Well, this has certainly been an eye-openning series of posts for me!!!!! I must admit that I am a frequent user of the space adjacent to the handicapped spots in parking lots to park in... let me correct that from "am a frequent user" to "used to be a frequent user" after reading this series! I had never thought about that area being needed for wheelchair ramps. From here on out I'll park in a regular space and waddle my lazy butt a little further to go in and out of the store... I know I could certainly use the extra exercise!!!!!!

[Charlie]

I once was at a grocery store waiting patiently for my wife to come out.  Some less than bright person pulled into the handicap spot next to me.  I told him politely that it was for people who had handicaps.  He told me to f**k off and went inside.  I proceeded to remove the valve stems from each tire and then threw them out into the parking lot.  My wife came out when I was doing the last one and laughed her *ss off over it.

In retrospect, I may have done the wrong thing.  Someone with a mind that small surely is handicapped, even though he didn't have the sticker to prove it.

[3fan4life]

Sounds like One dumb "COP" and One dumber wanna be "Rent A Cop"

  !!! YOU CAN'T FIX STUPID !!!   

Off topic but I could not resist.  The pirates got their stupid fixed, so sometimes it can be done.

 

  They didn't exactly "FIX" Stupid, they just "KILLED" some of it.  

[Stuntman]

I feel your pain, but some of the responses here surprise me. To paint all Police Officers with such a narrow brush is plain wrong. I am a full time Motor Officer in NJ. I admit some of my co-workers might not be the sharpest tools in the shed but on the same hand I also work with some of the best Police Officers around. You see we pick our Officers from 1 race. The Human Race. Until we start making better humans, thats all we can pick from. I have known good and bad types from all walks of life. Good School Teachers and bad, good Doctors and Bad, good cops and bad, etc...
Commiting criminal mischief like taking someones valve stems no matter how you feel is wrong. Towing a bike to a "Park" and leaving it there is theft, pure and simple. Even if the Police Chief had it done. It should have been towed to the impound yard.
In NJ there is two different summonses that can be issued to Handicapped violators, 1 is the township ordinance that carries and madator court appearance and a $275.00 fine and a State Statute that carries a $75.00 fine.
Bottom line is common sense and these days it's not too common.

[SgtBunny]

I'm all for criminal vandalism of a smart a$$ punk's crotch rocket.

[Lyn-Del]

My sister has a handicapped tag on her mirror.  More than once, she's been accused of using someone else's tag and illegally parking in the handicapped parking.  Problem is, she has the tag due to allergies - she's allergic to darn near everything that grows (and pollinates), and can often have problems breathing in the short distance from the HC parking spot to the store.

Not everything is as it seems.

When I drove my parents to dinner, etc., I never parked in the HC parking if I dropped the folks at the restaurant door.  I felt I needed to leave the space for someone who needed it.  Although once, I admit, I did take advantage of it -- I had twisted my knee and appreciated the shorter walk.  Surely the statute of limitations is up on that one, though, it's been almost 20 years!

[fudgie]

Can't ride a motorcycle cause your handicap? I'd asked him what your supposed to drive? Stereotypical answer would be my guess.
I don't park in the hc parking spots but I do park my scoot on the yellow lines at the ends of the rows. Well I take that back. At a local watering hole there is a handicap 'area'. The parking lot is all gravel and this area is concrete. All the bikes always park there. Now I have also been know to park on the side walk a time or two.

[John Schmidt]

What aggravates me is when some kid uses his gramma's HC hanger to park up front.

Yeah Sgt. B, I've even asked them sometimes when I happen to be there when some jerk pulls in and hops out, obviously not in need of the HC hanger. I ask if it's their hanger and they usually will tell me it's either none of my business...or will actually say whose it is. That's when I tell them they can't use it unless the owner of the hanger is in the vehicle. They usually will follow with some smart answer and walk away, at which time I pull out the cell phone and mention they have but a few minutes to move. One guy recently told me to go ahead and call and see what happens, so I did. I noticed he was standing near the entrance about 100' away, just watching me so I passed that info on to the dispatcher along with his description. To his surprise, a cop from inside the mall walked out and tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to the car....cost him $150. I had to laugh because he was watching for a police car to come cruising through the parking lot and was going to move only if he saw one coming. As a parting gesture, I told the guy "see, I did what you told me to do...I went ahead and called and now I see what happened."

[Goody]

Just had an ordeal with the Md motor vehicle admin.  I applied for handicapped tags for the trike.  First I had to get my doctor to sign a bunch of paperwork.  Went to the mva and was told the form from the doctor was not filled out right. Had to start over again.  Went back to mva.  We don't have handicap tags for motorcycles.  I was told to step out of line.  Went home and printed out all the laws about tags and handicaps.  Went back down the next day and showed them the paperwork and told them I was eligble for a tag.  Then the same girl started in that the trike wasn't elible.  I showed were any vehicle with three wheels or less touching the ground was considered a motorcycle.  I was told to step out of line.  As my wife and I were walking away a lady came out from behind the counter and asked to see my paperwork.  She went back behind the counter and went to the girls booth that gave me trouble said a few things to her and had the girl stand behind her.  She then recalled my number and we back to the counter.  Within 5 minutes I was issued my tag and A placard that I can use in ay vehicle I drive or am a passenger in.  Showed me the tear card that I have to carry in my wallet that I have to be able to produce if there  is a question.  She then told me a lot of things about handy cap tags that I didn't know.  I can park at any parking meter  for 4 hours without paying???  Showed it to me in the paperwork.  I thanked her and As I was getting ready to leave I stated "you ride don't you"  Her responce was Dyna-Lowrider and her husband had a Just bought a new Road King.  Got an Email from one of the secretarys at work yesterday stateing that if I didn't move my trike she was calling the police.  I emailed her back and told her feel free to do what ever she felt she needed to do but I would take a good look at the back of the trike before she does.  She went to the VP of the company. It was kind of funny today when the VP stuck his head in my office today and said " I hear you pissed somebody off"
Made MY day

[Ted_N]

Then you have folks like my 90-year old mother-in-law, still very active.  She insists that we always park out away from the store to "leave those close spots for the people who need them."  Her 92-year old sister delivers meals-on-wheels to the "old folks."

[Misfit]

Then you have folks like my 90-year old mother-in-law, still very active.  She insists that we always park out away from the store to "leave those close spots for the people who need them."  Her 92-year old sister delivers meals-on-wheels to the "old folks."

That right there is COOL! Thumbs up to your mother and aunt. Those gals ROCK!

[SgtBunny]

I just hope I can make it even close to that age.

[stormrider]

Does the store manager know about the security guards attitude. I'm sure it was on security video. Maybe not the conversation but a lot can be ascertained by body language. Our local Walmart has never harrassed us for parking in the yellow striped areas but the blue stripes are off limits and understandably so.

Good for you for standing up to two morons. It's amazing to me how once they "have" someone they don't want to back down or apologize.