apicker

Is the US handicap plac which I have good for spain? If not, how do I get one for a car rental.
I am not wheelchair bound, but my ankles at time are very painfull and I can not walk a distance.
Will I qualify? What do I do to get the sticker?
Amos

lincasanova

i will try to call and ask if that is possible but i don't believe you will be able to use it.. it takes about a year to get a sticker here, and don't feel too let down as there are very FEW places.

i hope i can shed some light on this.
you probably would not qualify for a sticker in spain if you are not seriously handicapped.

pontoon

Try mobility impaired. 'Handicapped' is a bit '70's in English speaking Europe(in a bad way).

kenderina

I have the card here in Spain and surely it didn't cost me a year..but I'm Spanish. Here is the local Council the one who gives them so I don't think they do for people from abroad. But, for what I know (and I'm disabled too) the american card is valid here. Just remember that even it is useful..maybe its not as useful as in the States, there are not a lot of parking slots for disabled people here in Spain.

walkinaround

>>>>>
Try mobility impaired. 'Handicapped' is a bit '70's in English speaking Europe(in a bad way).
>>>>>

sorry but here in the UK (which represents a good chunk of english speaking europe) saying "mobility impaired" will generate blank stares from whomever you are talking to.

RufusTFirefly

I've heard "differentially abled" recently.

Philip

Just went through the same question regarding a trip my wife and I are making to Switzerland later this month.

I tried to get answer through this website, then Swiss embassy and they referred me to the Swiss Tourist office. Swiss Tourist office said..........

Yes, Texas sticker will be OK

Suggest.................

contacting Spanish Tourist office in US to get practical answer

pontoon

Walkinaround

Use whatever term you want. My point was that 'handicapped' is considered by many a pejorative term. It is considered by many that in the UK you can, and often do, encounter some of the worst uses of the english language.

lincasanova

glad to hear that it is probably accepted. also, things go much faster in smaller towns, kenderina.

we have a friend who has been waiting since last year for their son's.
it is very frustrating.
another friend got one quicker, but her husband KNEW someone.

but i am really glad to hear these stickers are accepted places!

hey.. how about "physically challenged "?
sounds strange for the sticker though.

kenderina

mm, "physically challenged" it's too vague..I mean, one is physically challenged with a broken hand and that doesn't give you any kind of status
I just don't mind very much the name..what's in a name ? The "problem" is the way people uses it, even the voice tone when they say it ! I use to say when I need to, I'm physically disabled.
The concierge at Holiday Inn Madrid found easier to say in quite a loud voice when I asked for a taxi and he refuses to call one and then saw me walking..."oh, sorry, madam is lame !!" (which is highly unpolite here), but I just smiled..it's only a name ..the rose still smells the same

Underhill

For anyone interested, I just asked about using my disability placard from California in France and was told it will be okay.

Robbietravels

Thank you Underhill -you always have such useful info. We leave for France tomorrow and I'll take the placard out of the car right now and pack it.

Underhill

I should add, though, that we've not seen very many parking places reserved for people with disabled permits.

mari5

I've used my U.S. (Texas) blue handicapped placard in Europe several times. The logo is universal and I've never had a problem.
Mine has been a bad knee problem for a couple of years...finally got it replaced but recuperation takes a little time.
I've used it in Germany, Austria, Italy, Scotland,Ireland, Portugal, France....and most of the parking spaces are marked with the same symbol as here in the States. Don't see why you couldn't use it in Spain.
(there was no place for it to slip over the rear view mirror "stem"(Ireland), so it was just put on the dashboard. THEN we discovered a little plastic pocket on the passenger side of the windshield.)