This is meant to be a PSA in the kindest possible way, because I know most people do not go out there trying to be a pain. A lot of the time it is just that they simply do not know better yet. And once we know better, we do better, right?
Have you ever noticed that most handicapped parking spaces have a series of stripes painted on one or both sides of the parking spot? I’m sure before I knew better I was certain they were for playing hopscotch over the lines, or for discretely dumping off your shopping cart when you were too lazy, I mean busy, to walk it all the way to a cart corral or back inside the front door. Then one day I found myself navigating my foreseeable future in a wheelchair and a van with a ramp that goes in and out, and I became very acutely aware of what those painted lines are for, so I’m doing my due diligence to pass this mind-blowing information along to you!
When my ramp is out and I am getting in or out of my van, this is how much room that takes…
Our ramp sticks out a decent amount, and then I have to have room to turn around at the end of it to drive on or off.
See the amount of space left here? This is never going to do. You can see I cannot even get to the bottom of my ramp, let alone turn off of it at the bottom.
How about this one? Nope. It does not seem like they took much, but this is not enough room to turn onto my ramp to get back in the car.
Assuming I had wanted to park in the spot to the left of this car… not going to happen!
This was the last handicapped spot left in the parking lot, and this person had the stripes AND the spot blocked!
This one had narrow stripes to begin with, but there was no way parking next to that I would ever be able to get my ramp and chair out.
This one is really just for amusement because this car had a legitimate tag and clearly /wanted/ to park in the handicap spot, I’m just not sure what happened.
So the moral of the story is please save the stripes for ramps and wheelchairs, not your shopping cart, or two of your tires. If you are parking next to a handicapped spot, please always assume the striped area is needed for a ramp and wheelchair. Understand it takes a little room to maneuver, so unless you’re a fan of door dings and inexplicable tire marks on the side of your car, try to have a little consideration and please give as much room as safely possible. Take a little stress off someone with wheelz and make it easier for them to get out and where they’re going on time; you’ll make their day, even if you don’t get to see it!
Choosing Hope 
I expect you’re right, that most people don’t know these things. You would hope that people would park according to the markings and wouldn’t have to be told. It must be so very frustrating to have to deal with things like this on top of all of your other struggles. I’m so sorry that so many people don’t “get it.” And you are correct, I have often seen shopping carts left in the marked off areas. I’m glad you are raising awareness of this issue, with your trademark grace and humor.
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