A Madrid City Council message to cheeky drivers who park in spaces reserved for people with disabilities or reduced mobility.

Finding a parking space near home or work has become increasingly difficult. In large cities, where the number of cars is constantly increasing and free spaces are scarce , drivers often have no choice but to drive around several times, settle for a distant spot, or end up paying for parking . And amid all this difficulty, there are spaces that should be untouchable, reserved for those who truly need them to get around normally: spaces for people with reduced mobility.

These are properly marked spaces that can only be used by people with a parking permit for people with disabilities, as well as those accompanying someone who does. This permit is valid throughout Spain and also in other European Union countries, ensuring that those who need it can move around with a degree of autonomy.

However, these spaces are not always respected. Often, drivers without a license plate occupy these spaces, causing inconvenience and difficulties for those who truly need them. To try to prevent this, San Sebastián de los Reyes has added a small detail that has caught the eye. They placed a sign next to the official sign with a direct and human message: "If you take my space, keep my disability," thus appealing to drivers' sensitivity.

The misuse of these spaces is not trivial. Occupying them without authorization carries a fine of 200 euros—100 euros if paid within the voluntary period—with no loss of license points, but many people continue to do so, making daily life difficult for those who truly depend on these spaces.

Attention to accessibility and sensitivity toward people with reduced mobility is nothing new in San Sebastián de los Reyes. Back in 2018, the City Council launched a pioneering project to adapt signage in its municipal centers, incorporating signs with pictograms, easy-to-read text, and Braille.

This initiative, promoted by the Department of Functional Diversity in collaboration with the Nortea Association, has made 40 municipal centers more understanding and accessible, especially for people with specific comprehension needs, such as those on the autism spectrum.

Placing the placard on reserved parking spaces is part of this same approach, combining education, empathy, and regulations to ensure that spaces are reserved.

This isn't the first time La Vanguardia 's Moveo Channel has covered how parking spaces reserved for people with reduced mobility are managed and respected. In a previous post, we included some messages that city councils themselves left in parking spaces to try to discourage those who occupied them improperly, ranging from direct warnings to reminders about the corresponding fine.

In one of these spaces, painted on the ground next to the accessibility symbol, a clear and direct message appealed to the sensitivity of the offending drivers. "This is not a VIP area, nor is it an exclusivity I would like to have, but I need it. Do you really want to be in my place?" read the text. Meanwhile, the Alcorcón City Council in Madrid, with a text written inside the square, reminds people that the fine for parking in a space reserved for people with reduced mobility is 200 euros, "which will be donated to associations for the disabled."