Handicap spots and idiot's

    So this has been on my mind for some time and finally I have time in which to put this down for all to read. I work in a customer service business in which me and all other employee's have access to view the entire parking lot at all times of the day and night. As all business's have we have parking spots for customer's and employee's to use. Of which there is about 8 or 9 spots total; 1 of those spots is designated for handicap people with proper documentation in and or on their vehicle to use.

    Now with this when we all go for our driving exam and or test we are all told and taught not to park in the handicap spot('s) ("unless otherwise permitted to do so") out of courtesy and requirement by the law. However it appears that this day and age no one cares about what is right and or wrong any more in regards to this and other matters.

    So why is it that people still park in the handicap spots and feel they have the right to do so?. I see soo many people do this it is ridiculous and when it is pointed out to them they get upset that you noticed and said something to them.

    Case in point. I was working a shift starting from 3pm and ending at 11pm 1 winter night. During that time there was about 10 vehicles parking in that spot. Surprisingly all but 1 took it nicely when I told them they were parked in a handicap spot and 1 even moved their vehicle and came back in and finished their transaction. However 1 person took severe offense to it and even said that there were no markings showing the spot as such. Now granted it had been snowing all day and all night. However I also had been spending my entire shift clearing the parking spots of snow and ice. I indicated to this person that had he been paying attention he would of seen the Handicap spot painting that is under his truck, I even pointed it out to him and said also he will be able to see it when he backs his vehicle up. I am starting to think that maybe just maybe all handicap spots may have to start looking like this.

Pay attention and you shall see this.

This is the evolution of handicap spots if we don't do something quickly.

    So I did some researching on what it would cost if a police officer was to see this and issue a ticket for parking in a handicap spot, the information is below with links to the source of the information as well.

    Now the same thing goes as well for "Fire Lanes". There are numerous people that will also park in a fire lane and feel justified about doing it as well. Are we as a society becoming so ignorant to the rules set forth that we no longer care either?. Information and source link also for this fine is listed below as well.

    Now case in point on June 02, 2013 in reference to the rules and regulations I was making a left hand turn from one road to another that also has a cross walk on it, now when there is someone in the crosswalk they have the right away until they are clear of the road entirely. So naturally I stopped and was awaiting this person to finish crossing the street before I continue on. However the person behind me did not like this and went around me and came within 1 meter of hitting the person crossing the street legally. Luckily I was able to get a shot of the plate and sent it to the police, now if anything came of that I do not know.

This car just went around me when I was stopped for someone in a crosswalk on Victoria rd.

    Here is a great Blog for some additional stats and info on crosswalks and other crosswalk data as well done by John McKiggan.

    I have even got to the point now of having a video camera with me every day just in case in see any infractions like this again so that they can be reported and action taken on the person that is putting other people in jeopardy.

    There was also a recent Article from Global News about an App called “SpotSquad” which would unleash a lot of parking bounty hunters. Currently they say it violates our rights because everyone is entitled to their privacy, however if you are breaking the law what right do you have to privacy, If I can see it why cant anyone else? The police can already issue a ticket if they see you breaking the law, so why can they not act on it if you report it to them and then they confirm it. Your privacy is inside your vehicle not the outside of it in public. To date it is still being debated and I say go for it, bring it out for the people to use, in the end we would have less violators doing the things that should not be done.

    A fire lane is a marked lane in a parking lot that is near a structure. Parking is prohibited in fire lanes to ensure the access of safety equipment to the structure in the event of an emergency. Fire lanes are defined as passageways or access roads that allow fire apparatuses to pass through. They are not intended for normal vehicle traffic. There are certain requirements that must be met when designing a fire lane. Because fire trucks and other apparatuses are so large, there must be certain accommodations made for them. Though these can vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, they are generally similar. Fire Lanes also provide clear space for egress from a burning building and should therefore be wider for larger occupancy buildings.

Source Info: http://www.gov.ns.ca/just/regulations/sots/NSSOTbooklet.pdf

My name is Wilcre and you can follow me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/

The average hospital visit

The average hospital visit

Well it all started about 5:00 pm on February 09 2011 at work; I got excruciating pain in my right leg, I found it hard to stand let alone even walk on the leg.

So with all the pain I ended up going to the Dartmouth General Hospital, I got there at approximately 7:00pm. I went through the Triage nurse and then off to the registration desk and then proceeded to go to the waiting room. I did not have to wait all that long (Approximately 30 minutes) before I was called in.

When I was taken in I was put in bed #4 where the very nice nurse that was on duty came in and introduced herself to me and then gave me a hospital gown to put and then checked over my leg quickly and asked me a couple of routine questions and then went to find the resident doctor on duty. Unfortunately all the doctors were busy with more important injuries.

When I finally got the chance to see the doctor it was 10:22pm thus putting me at that point almost 3.5 hours in to me being there; still not bad for being in a Emergency Room with lots of ambulances coming and going all night.

The doctor looked me over and asked me a couple of routine questions and looked my legs over, he then said that I mostly likely have an infection in my leg but could also have a blood clot as well, so he decided to put me on a blood thinner as well as antibiotics just to be safe and requested blood work to be done as well (blood work cam back as being normal), he then directed me to come back again in the morning for a Ultrasound of my bad leg. He then left and the nurse came back in again and provided me with some pills as well as the antibiotics.

She made sure that I was comfortable and that everything was setup properly for me and then started the intravenous (IV) and then left but came back every so often to make sure I was OK and not having a reaction to the intravenous I was getting. Once everything was done she asked if there was anyone she could call to come get me, I thanked her and politely said no.

I ended up getting the last bus home from the hospital, once I got home I set the alarm (Which I slept through) to get up to be back at the hospital again for 8:00am (February 10, 2011), Unfortunately I did not get back to the hospital as early as intended but I did get there (Thank you Denise) at about 9:00am. I went directly to the ultrasound room and I was done there within 30 minutes or so.

Once done with the ultrasound I then went back to the ER again and seen the triage nurse and re registered again, I was called in about 45 minutes later (10:15am); When I went in I was asked to sit and wait in another waiting room just up from the bed I was in only a matter of hours earlier.

As I am sitting there waiting I am watching patients come and go and some even left due to the length of time that they were there and not seen by anyone but the on duty nurse. Now I will say that sitting still and not moving my leg and then all of a sudden getting a twitch in it and my leg moving is very painful, this happened a couple of times so I got up and walked around a bit to try and relieve the pain but it did not help much.

As I am walking around I happen to come across a clock on the wall (And I only found that 1 clock during this visit); I then realized that it was almost 3:00pm; this puts me being there for almost 6 hours of which 5:15 worth of time I was left to sit in this waiting room in a very hard chair with no interaction from anyone other than the nurse occasionally to make sure that I am still there and have not left like some of the other patients did, mean while I keep seeing this one female doctor constantly on the go but seeing her help anyone within sight of me other than a elderly lady that came in after I did.

Now during this 5:15 of waiting in the other waiting room I had asked if I could go outside and get some fresh air to the nurse that had brought me in, she recommended that I not do that so I did not miss my turn; when she said that I was thinking to myself how is it I can miss my turn when no one that came in before me has been seen yet.

So I went outside anyways and came back in again in a couple minutes and I notified her that I was back. Approximately 40 minutes later (putting me at 6 hours of waiting now) this male doctor comes walking in (If I am correct this was the start of his shift and I think he was the one I saw come in with his bike) and walks right to the nurses station and I hear him say to the nurse “Where is this patient that has been here for 5 hours already”, he grab the chart and came over and introduced himself and then asked me some questions and looked my leg over and such; He then prescribed the antibiotics again for me as well as instructions to be off work for a couple days; Within 20 – 30 minutes of him coming over to me I was then discharged with my paperwork and the medications that I had been waiting for all day.

Now I will say that I do not hold the Doctors and or Nurses at fault for the delay in the waiting times to get seen but having to wait 5+ hours for something that only took 20 – 30 minutes to have done unsupervised while sitting in a chair is uncalled for. Something definitely should be done to eradicate these long wait times in our local hospitals throughout Canada and or any other country that this happens in; Now not only am I out of work for 2 – 3 days with a doctors note but I had to surrender a full 6+ hours of my day that I should of been at work and getting paid; Unfortunately not everyone can afford to lose a day of pay like I did while at the hospital for something that did not take long to do at all and was done by the nurse and not the doctor.