This Mom's Photo Shows Why You Should Never Park on the Blue Lines Next to a Handicap Spot

Once or twice a week, Shanna Mondy finds herself hoisting her 65-pound son and his 56-pound wheelchair into her van because someone parks their car over the blue lines of the handicap space, blocking the van's ramp. Although the mom doesn't get mad at this particular struggle, she does worry about when her 9-year-old gets bigger, which will make it much more difficult to lift him into the car. So to avoid herself or any other family being put in this position in the future, the mom of two is sharing an important PSA to not park on or over those blue lines — whether you have a handicap sticker for your car or not.

Shanna's son Cauy has cerebral palsy, and since his diagnosis in 2008 when him and his twin sister, Skylee, were born at 24 weeks, the mom says she's learned a lot about the world of special needs — as well as the struggles.

"The blocking of the wheelchair ramp does happen about once or twice a week," she told POPSGUAR. "Luckily . . . I can lift [his wheelchair] up and maneuver him onto the ramp with only my body touching the car next to me so I make sure I don't damage the other car. Which is what I did on this particular day that I took the picture. The reason I took the picture was to share with my grandma on Facebook. It wasn't to shame anyone, and that's why I didn't include their license plate in the picture. The black car shown in the picture did have a hanging handicap tag."

However, even though Shanna and her husband have figured out a workaround for this particular struggle, sometimes the solution isn't as easy as simply lifting Cauy onto the van's ramp, depending on how the person blocking the lines is parked. Sometimes one of them will have to pull the car out onto oncoming traffic to make enough space for the other to lift Cauy, which Shanna says can be scary.

In sharing the photo, Shanna simply wants drivers to be more attentive and informed. "I truly believe that people just don't understand the importance of the blue lines or what the lines are meant for," she said. "My husband and I have a lot of friends that didn't even know what the lines were for, so I really just want to raise awareness to help all people who are wheelchair-bound and might not be able to get into their car/van."

So please, if you're parking in or next to a handicap spot, be sure not to park on the blue lines — and if you see someone else doing so, explain to them why they could potentially be making someone's day much more difficult than it has to be.