My accessible parking bay is a right for people living with disability, not your loading zone

"You want to park here?"

The truck driver honestly seemed perplexed by my daughter's question as we pulled up next to his open window.

I suppose having a 19-year-old yelling at you from a passenger car window wasn't something he'd come across before.

But the fact that his truck was perfectly parked in the accessible parking bay, right at the entrance of the shopping centre, said to me that he was a seasoned veteran.

Are accessible car parks the new rideshare drop-off point?

Disability affects one in five Australians. And for many, their disability is not always visible.

Yet I have been noticing that accessible car parks are becoming the new loading zones. From commercial vehicles, rideshare drop-offs, even for a quick dash to the shops, everyone is now using them.

Unfortunately, for those of us who truly need these spots, places like schools and large private shopping centres don't have parking inspectors to check, so most people are easily getting away with it.

Why accessible car parks are essential  

I've been disabled for 10 years and must admit it is truly a blessing to park at the front door of most public buildings.

We often get free parking or at least double time compared to our able-bodied friends.

They often have a step-free gutter to let you get your wheelchair up onto the footpath.

And you don't need to buy a parking ticket because it would be impossible for a wheelchair user to place the ticket on their car's dashboard.

For me it's all about the extra room to open my car door.

Although I can walk for long distances, my prosthetic legs stop me from bending my ankles. So, getting in or out of a car without the door wide open is near impossible.

And on another occasion, I returned to my car to discover someone had parked so close that I had to wait two hours for them to come back before I could get in and drive home.

It can be a battle for accessible parking spots

My family has taken on the battle.

But it's a fine line between gently reminding complete strangers not to be selfish and screaming at them from the car window.

My husband Rod has been known to take photos of offending cars parked in the blue zones without a blue permit, but knowing what to do next is the challenge.

Do you send the photos to the council and hope they follow it up with a parking ticket?

Or perhaps you post the photos on local social media and ask them to consider what they do next time?

Fighting the good fight

I was proud of my 19-year-old daughter that day. And that she was prepared to fight the good fight on behalf of all disabled people.

"You're not allowed to park there!" She bellowed as she pulled the permit from my dashboard and held it up for him to see.

So back to my friendly truck driver — perhaps he honestly had no other option that day.

Indeed, there was a loading zone directly in front of his parked truck but, unfortunately for him, a battered old station wagon had beaten him to it.

At least it had the word courier written in worn-out black letters on the driver's door. So we all knew there was no questioning their improper use of a loading zone.

Mandy McCracken is an ABC Regional Storyteller Scholarship recipient living in Central Victoria. She's a disability advocate, speaker and writer.