The four-limb amputee adventurer Philippe Croizon comes to the rescue of people with reduced mobility
This page is translated from the original post "L’aventurier quadri-amputé Philippe Croizon au secours des personnes à mobilité réduite" in French.

Philippe Croizon and his partner Thierry Garot launch “VIP”, an app that geolocates parking spots reserved for People with Reduced Mobility (PRM).
VIP is an essential tool for the 12 million disabled people in France, as well as for the 11 million caregivers.
While the law clearly establishes several rules regarding reserved parking spaces for people with reduced mobility, the reality is often quite different. Municipalities with more than 5,000 inhabitants are required to create accessible disabled parking and parking areas, but many do not comply with this obligation. Neither do they reserve 2% of parking spaces for reduced mobility. As a result, finding a spot is often a real challenge for all PRM!
“I regularly give talks all over France and have noticed that although regulation exists regarding PRM parking, its enforcement is inconsistent across the country due to lack of monitoring and sometimes blatant non-respect of quotas. That’s why VIP will play an ESSENTIAL role.” explains Philippe Croizon, adventure speaker and co-founder of VIP.

Based on this unanimous assessment, Thierry Garot and Philippe Croizon decided during summer 2023 to develop an application tailored to the needs of millions of people impacted directly or indirectly by disability, including the 500,000 users of the Parking Mobility Card (CMS).
You will no longer be handicapped when looking for a parking space!
Available on Android, Play Store, and Apple Store from January 22, 2024, and easy to use, the VIP app guides all users to the closest reserved parking spots for PRM near their final destination. VIP saves valuable time, especially with voice guidance. Using databases and partnerships with Indigo or Effia, VIP has mapped approximately 500,000 spots and locations reserved for PRM in parking lots.
It should be noted that a parking space for a person with reduced mobility must meet several conditions, such as measuring at least 3.30 meters in width and 5 meters in length. It must also include 80 cm of space next to the vehicle to facilitate maneuvering and be located no more than 200 meters from the entrance… The goal is truly to improve accessibility!
A truly collaborative app!
The spirit of “Very Important Person” also involves a community dynamic. Like Waze, each user can report information: a new parking space, a space that no longer exists, or one that is wrongly identified. Sharing information through photos and comments helps improve accessibility, uphold the rights of people with reduced mobility, and foster a friendly VIP community.
As a bonus for the most requested access points, the VIP community is invited to estimate and indicate how long a space will be occupied. This allows other users searching nearby to know which spots will soon be available. No more stress from circling around.
But VIP doesn’t stop at parking!
This innovative solution aims to list, by spring, all accessible restaurants, hotels, toilets, cinemas, tourist sites, and shops for PRM. Its business model is simple.
The app costs €2.99 per month with no contract or €19.99 for lifetime access! Moreover, VIP offers a trial period with the first five “searches” free of charge.
To learn more, visit the website: VERY-IMPORTANT-PARKING.FR
We also suggestthese articles:
Also read


