As I pointed out in an earlier post, these bays do matter and it shouldn’t be used without a legitimate reason regardless of how long it is being occupied for.

As you no doubt have noticed from earlier posts, I have a particular issue with people parking in Disabled Bays illegally. While the response to the issue is usually great, there are times when the response is… less than ideal. Helped in no small part by my obsessiveness, things can get pretty heated when these issues aren’t resolved. Naturally, this causes a lot of anxiety, (un)necessary agro, etc. Luckily, a friend suggested I contact the QuadPara Association’s Whatsapp Hotline.

The hotline was released in 2014 as a way to combat ‘the problem’ and, on the whole, has been working effectively – at least when I’ve used it. While dealing with these issues is never fun, the hotline at least becomes a vehicle (pun intended) to reduce the energy, anxiety, and stress that the other methods of reporting lead to. What’s more, the hotline provides a safer medium in which to challenge this problem of illegal parking.

Please don’t crucify me for this, other ‘Parking Warriors,’ but the parking is not the issue. Frankly, if you have a real, justifiable reason for parking in a Disabled Bay I’m not too fussed. My problem comes in with the sentiment that often goes hand-in-hand with it: ‘I’m only stopping a minute’ or ‘It doesn’t matter.’

As I pointed out in an earlier post, these bays do matter and it shouldn’t be used without a legitimate reason regardless of how long it is being occupied for. Using a bay without a justifiable reason is just wrong and should be abhorred.

Considering my ‘mess with the bull; get the horns’ attitude coupled with a need to be right on these issues, having a hotline like this (which works) is refreshing. I don’t know why but, for some reason, I was ‘blissfully’ unaware of the fact that this hotline existed until two months ago even though it has now been active for the last couple of years.

For my South African disabled (and non-disabled) parking-concerned comrades who might not know about the hotline: Whatsapp a photograph of the offending vehicle to 073 853 9675, include which street you found our ‘friend,’ and leave it at that. While not perfect, it’s a step in the right direction and well worth investigating.