Woolworths shopper slammed over disabled parking act with mobility scooter

Drivers have called out a Woolworths shopper in central Victoria for parking their mobility scooter in a spot designated for disabled drivers.

Drivers have called out a Woolworths shopper in central Victoria for parking their mobility scooter in a spot designated for disabled drivers.

A woman took to Facebook with photos of the scooter outside the Bendigo supermarket, writing that she’d assumed the disabled parking space was vacant – only to pull in and find the scooter there.

“Surely not legal,” she captioned her post, adding the mobility scooter was also not displaying a disability parking permit.

‘Surely not legal,’ a woman wrote, sharing images of the scooter. Picture: Facebook

The mobility scooter was in a disabled parking bay in Bendigo. Picture: Facebook

The woman’s assertion that a mobility scooter being parked in the spot being “not legal” was ultimately correct – according to VicRoads guidelines.

“You cannot use vehicle car parks to park your motorised mobility device,” the advice states, “even if the parks are designated as parking spaces for people with disabilities.”

A Victorian Department of Transport and Planning spokesperson confirmed mobility scooters should not be parked in parking spaces – saying that those who require the use of one are considered a pedestrian.

“Under Road Rule 203, all drivers must display an accessible parking permit to lawfully park in a disabled parking space,” they said.

“Riders of mobility scooters that travel below 10km/h are defined as a pedestrian and need to travel and park on the footpath.”

VicRoads guidelines state that ‘you cannot use vehicle car parks to park your motorised mobility device’.

Some defended the driver, writing their use of the spot was ‘entirely what it is intended for’. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Joel Carrett

The woman’s pictures ignited fury from social media users, with some calling out the driver of the scooter.

“It isn’t legal. They are not registered vehicles and can be left outside the front of the store or taken inside the store if they want,” one commented.

Others questioned where the driver of the scooter had gone “if you’re using this for mobility”.

“I would have thought if a person was that disabled that they needed a disability scooter to get around, then surely they would need it to get around inside the supermarket.”

But some defended the driver of the scooter, writing they thought their use of the disabled park was “entirely what [the spot] is intended for”.

“It’s a form of transport. If they are disabled then they should be able to park there or parking area made available to them.”