Parking bullies to face the law

Wayne Baxter has found the perfect way to deter normal, healthy drivers from parking in parking bays for the disabled at Newcastle Mall.

He created a page on Facebook, Disabled Parking Abuse – Newcastle, KZN. The page seeks to name and shame those residents who disregard the needs of our fellow disabled Newcastillians.

“I follow a similar page that relates to any and all traffic violations in Gauteng, That’s where I got the idea,” said Mr Baxter. “I just wanted to make these people realise how big of an inconvenience it is for the disabled residents to find some fancy car parked in the disabled parking bays, forcing them to park far away.”

Although not disabled himself, Mr Baxter often visits the mall with his mother and father, who are both disabled. “My mother was attacked by a robber some years ago, and as a result she broke her hip and injured her knee quite badly. Nowadays she struggles to walk at all. My father had three strokes, so he also struggles to walk,’ he said.

For many, the idea of even parking in a bay for the disabled has never even occurred to them. Selfish people excuse themselves, thinking, “It’s a free country”, “I will park where I please” to “I was just running into the shop for a minute”.

Residents who maintain that they can park wherever they want to, are in fact, very wrong. Although a shopping centre parking lot is private property, all traffic laws apply, and if the management of that centre decides to contact the traffic police, residents disobeying parking rules can face a fine of up to R 1000.

Mr Baxter has confronted many parking abusers, who often react aggressively or sometimes even comically. He has also designed a small flyer, which offenders could find decorating their windscreen if they are caught abusing these parking spaces.

“One lady driver pulled into a parking for the disabled, eating a big piece of cake. She had a saucer with a fork and everything. I went up to her and told her that she wasn’t allowed to park there if she wasn’t disabled,” said Mr Baxter. “She apologised profusely, saying that she didn’t know, and promptly drove off,” he continued. Upon exiting the mall, Mr Baxter observed the same car in the same parking spot, the half eaten piece of cake perched on the dashboard.

Beulah Rajkumar, marketing manager at Newcastle Mall, laments the abuse of parking bays for the disabled. “The mall security patrols the parking area at all times. When observing illegal parking in the disabled bays, security staff will request them to move to another parking,” said Ms Rajkumar. “We, as the Newcastle Mall management will appreciate any constructive suggestions on how to minimise this abuse.”

The Newcastle Mall management thanks the Traffic Department for its assistance in patrolling the parking area and for issuing fines to those who abuse these facilities.

The other shopping centres and malls in Newcastle all have a simple and very effective deterrent to the abuse of the parking bays: a big steel clamp, a hefty fine of up to R200, and a call to the traffic department.

At Amajuba Mall, parking abusers will face Robbie Matthee, the centre manager. Although unavailable for official comment, Mr Matthee has put his foot down. The money transgressors have to pay to have the clamp removed, goes toward helping disabled residents of Newcastle.

Newcastle Mall has no definite punitive system in place, and during his efforts, Mr Baxter has been confronted by mall security, one incident involving five security guards cornering him in the passageway of the bathrooms. They objected to Mr Baxter’s taking photos of the cars, and subsequently banned him from the mall. He returned the next day to speak with centre management, but has not received any feedback to date.

For now, the name and shame campaign is all that stands between disabled mall shoppers and those able bodied drivers who seem to do as they please.

“I just want them to stop abusing the parking bays for the disabled, they are there for a reason, and should be left for those people who really need them,” concluded Mr Baxter.