Imagine having a disability where you really, really need to be able to park in the disabled parking spots at your child’s school, but other inconsiderate parents without disabilities park there instead.

Would you let them get away with it, or would you confront them about it?

In this story, one woman with an invisible disability is in this situation.

She tries talking to the school about it, and when that doesn’t work, she talks to one of the people illegally parked in a disabled spot.

Let’s see how that conversation went.

AITA for being mad about misuse of disabled parking spaces?

I (38F) am I mother of one (M9). He and I and his other mother (42F) all have invisible physical disabilities.

The disabled parking permit in my car is registered to me – the only one who can drive – but either of the others is eligible for one and could get it if there was a need to.

It is a constant ongoing source of annoyance and anger to me that other parents park in the disabled parking spaces outside the school when they do not have a valid permit.

Aside from the obvious moral issues, this is also illegal. You can be fined a significant amount if caught doing this.

The school isn’t much help.

I have complained often and at length to teachers, and the school’s administration (I think they fear me approaching at this point) but they say (correctly) that all they can do is educate.

They put out notices, they put up signs.

I understand where they are coming from when they tell me they aren’t in a position to enforce the law – they’re not cops.

She decided to say something.

It’s very often the same few people who do it, and I’ve often thought about saying something myself, but never have, until today.

My partner happened to be with me (which is not usual) when I picked up my son today, and there was no disabled space available, because a woman was parked diagonally across TWO spaces – one of them disabled only.

She was not one of the usual suspects, and she was still sitting in her car, so once I had my son, I told him to go to the car and wait with mummy. Then I approached this woman and had the following verbatim conversation.

Here’s how the conversation started.

“Excuse me, ma’am. Do you have a disabled permit?”

“Do you?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Well. No I don’t, but I have 3 children, and I don’t want them to walk too far along the road.”

She then rolled the window back up.

This woman wasn’t the only person illegally parked.

I was at this point absolutely furious.

I went to my car, and grabbed my phone, went back and took a photo of this lady’s numberplate.

Not necessarily with the actual intent to report her. Just so I can if I want to, or maybe the realisation that it’s a thing I CAN do would remind her it’s against the law.

In the other disabled space, also parked illegally, was a woman who does it all the time.

She called out for me to “Back off, witch!” and “stop harassing her”.

She’s second guessing what she did.

I didn’t feel I was “harassing” her. I spoke to her one time, and then took one photo of her numberplate, which took like ninety seconds all up.

My partner says I didn’t do anything wrong.

But I am second guessing myself, because there were stacks of parents there and no one weighed in on my side, but someone did on the side of the woman blatantly breaking the law?

It’s not one of the big ticket laws or anything – she’s hardly a murderer, but it’s a law that’s got an obvious reason. I thought surely most people can agree you don’t park in spaces meant only for disabled people.

AITA? For the conversation? The photo?

She didn’t do anything wrong. One person who is breaking the law defending another person who is breaking the law does not make them right.

Let’s see how Reddit reacted to this story.

This person reassures her that she didn’t do anything wrong.

I doubt that the other moms had disabilities.

This is a good suggestion!

This person would’ve played it differently.

Some people are so rude that they make you question what’s right.

If you liked that post, check out this post about a woman who tracked down a contractor who tried to vanish without a trace.