Disabled facilities

[Jakes Daddy]

there are women-only parking spaces in Germany?!

will wonders never cease

<PredictableComment>
Yes, they are 10ft wide as it's a well known fact that women cannot park
</PredictableComment>

[expat]

Personally I never park in the disabled bays, unless my son is with me and only if there are a couple free. If he is with me and only one is free then I leave it for somebody more deserving. I will never park in the bays if we don't have our badge.....

Sensible answer and thoughtful actions.

Personally I don't park in disabled bays under any circumstances, and only use a disabled toilet in some circumstances (i.e. a queue otherwise, and no-one else wanting it).

I wasn't trying to be stroppy or to incite arguments, but rather to look at the logic. On the one hand, it did suddenly come to me at one moment that disabled facilities are there for fairness (I'm trying not to mention a level playing field), not for priority. On the other hand, I did have someone I know, who works for the RNIB but is not herself disabled, suggest with a certain righteousness that it would be against the law for me to pee in a disabled toilet, whether or not anyone else wanted in before or after me. That seemed to me to be illogical, and indeed possibly beyond what sense and resonableness would suggest - and therefore beyond the mandate that government could be said to have had from the people to impose such rules.


This is quite independent of whether there are people with disabled badges who shouldn't have them, or ideally shouldn't over-use them. And I am certainly prepared to give up a bit of logic in order that the system just works, for those who do need it.

[EternalOptimist]

My wife is a nurse and they have an Achondroplasia unit. The car park has nine 'Dwarf only' slots.

[expat]

there are women-only parking spaces in Germany?!

will wonders never cease

The sensible reason that I could think of is to keep for women those spaces that are less isolated, for their personal safety. In the abstract, I think that's treating a symptom rather than the problem, but I can see that those vulnerable to that symptom would see the benefit in doing that, as a start.

What I don't know is whether men's very presence in the area is forbidden, or whether men are just required to park elsewhere in order to reserve these spaces.

[janey]

The sensible reason that I could think of is to keep for women those spaces that are less isolated, for their personal safety. In the abstract, I think that's treating a symptom rather than the problem, but I can see that those vulnerable to that symptom would see the benefit in doing that, as a start.

What I don't know is whether men's very presence in the area is forbidden, or whether men are just required to park elsewhere in order to reserve these spaces.

I am actually quite shocked at this... I can understand that late at night, in an isolated area a female might feel rather "at risk" in a car park, but surely if it was late at night then the car park wouldn't exactly be full anyway thus negating the need for these allocated parking spaces?

[expat]

I am actually quite shocked at this... I can understand that late at night, in an isolated area a female might feel rather "at risk" in a car park, but surely if it was late at night then the car park wouldn't exactly be full anyway thus negating the need for these allocated parking spaces?

Not necessarily: arrive afternoon for shopping, say, and it's full so you park on 4th floor at the end. Go out to eat and drink, back at 11pm - 4th floor empty. Hmm. Or just one car, over there beside yours: is that someone in it? Do you go and retrieve it, or not?

[Pinto]

I am actually quite shocked at this... I can understand that late at night, in an isolated area a female might feel rather "at risk" in a car park, but surely if it was late at night then the car park wouldn't exactly be full anyway thus negating the need for these allocated parking spaces?

I presume, as expat says, they're well lit and near exits, to make it more difficult for them to be victims of mugging etc. It's got nothing to do with whether or not the car park is full.

[privateeye]

I am actually quite shocked at this... I can understand that late at night, in an isolated area a female might feel rather "at risk" in a car park, but surely if it was late at night then the car park wouldn't exactly be full anyway thus negating the need for these allocated parking spaces?

I know the Oracle Shopping Centre in Reading has an escort to car service which is free to anyone who feels vulnerable. I fully support it, when the car park is less used that is the time anyone is at their most vulnerable from attack/mugging.

[janey]

I know the Oracle Shopping Centre in Reading has an escort to car service which is free to anyone who feels vulnerable. I fully support it, when the car park is less used that is the time anyone is at their most vulnerable from attack/mugging.

that's a much more sensible idea, and I would totally support that. I just find specific allocated "female" parking spaces a bit bizarre

[janey]

I presume, as expat says, they're well lit and near exits, to make it more difficult for them to be victims of mugging etc. It's got nothing to do with whether or not the car park is full.

I agree.. but my point is that at the times when a female is likely to be at risk (although I hasten to add it is not only at these times) then the car park is less likely to be full anyway so she could go park nearer whereever it is she is going or park in an area of teh cark which is will lit etc etc

But like expat says... she could have arrived mid afternoon and only leave late at night.

But even so... how common is this scenario? does it really justify allocated parking spaces?