Handicapped tag abuse

[RickO]

Seems to me we have two issues being discussed:

1) Those who have permits but appear to be fine...

2) Those who abuse the system for their own selfish reasons.

Great points have been made on #1 and I concur.

On #2, PushedAround sums up my feelings on it.

Originally Posted by PushedAround

This is another example of human nature at its worst. Some people will respect the rules, while others will find every way to take advantage of them. It's just the way some people think, and you'll never change that.

IMHO, it's not too different from those who get their dog certified as a service dog so they can take them wherever they like even though they are not being used as service dogs.

I tend to rely on Karma to enforce these types of infractions.

Rick

[flaggship1]

On the subject of placard versus plate - I know of at least one permanently disabled person who always uses the placard and has for many years. The reason - with a license plate you tell everyone on the road you are handicapped. With a placard, you remove it from view when driving. It's a safety measure for them. And when they travel with another they can take the placard with them.

I looked it up and in Tx - the disabled person must be with the tagged or placard vehicle to be in compliance with the law, and the registered owners DL# is on the placard. Enforcement is another story as others have noted.

I'm a fairly passive sort, so I don't attempt to enforce the law, question or confront others - and this is one area where I wouldn't in any circumstance. As others have said, you can't see all disabilities (vision, heart, pulmonary, eg). These health issues are personal, and nobody's business but their own. You don't have a right to ask me what my disability is and I have no obligation to tell ya. So let's stand our ground over this? No thanks. Asking this of the wrong person, disabled or not, could earn a shiner or worse. You may of course do as you please, but your pet peeve is not my problem, and my health problems are mine. YMMV
Steve

[wa8yxm]

One advantage of the hang tag over plates..... In some places you find people who are.. well, Not very nice.. And when they see a "Handicapped" plate on a car in a normal parking space.. They get upset "That man is entitled to special parking, What's he doing taking up OUR spaces" and do things like slash his tires for him to express their displeasure.

So when I have had Handicapped hang tag, but choose not to use it (Because most of the handicapped I know, if they are having a good day they will save the restricted handicapped spots for someone who REALLY needs it) I put the tag in the door pocket and parked where I wished.

On days when I did need it, I hung the tag and used it.

I know many who do it that way.. Because .. Well think of this old line.

A man gets frostbite and looses his toes.. he was upset till he spotted a man with no feet, who in turn was upset till he spotted a man with no legs, And so on.

There is always someone who needs that spot more than I do.

And, sadly, there is often someone who needs it not at all using it.

[RickO]

Originally Posted by wa8yxm

One advantage of the hang tag over plates..... In some places you find people who are.. well, Not very nice.. And when they see a "Handicapped" plate on a car in a normal parking space.. They get upset "That man is entitled to special parking, What's he doing taking up OUR spaces" and do things like slash his tires for him to express their displeasure..

Now THAT is a bad neighborhood.

[MartySQ]

Originally Posted by Papawto5

Without a rented electric chair at Disney World, I would have stayed in the MH for 6 days while the family enjoyed the park.

Dang it pawpaw... PT's work hard to educate folks... they aren't electric chairs... they are power chairs! Electric chairs are for the death row in your state penitentiary.... needing an assist doesn't mean you are condemned!

[njs42]

I remember several years ago a Seattle news station began watching these spots and chronicling the abuse. Their reporting included stopping people who had just parked and quizzing them about their circumstances. they did not stop people they knew were qualified and had done some home work. Of course the intent was to embarrass offenders and show just who might be doing such a thing. I remember one person who showed the tag parked and began to run toward the ferry dock. He had acquired the tag needlessly and it was discovered he was a member of the Attorney Generals office. Abuse is silly, gets the abuser little if anything really and may deprive a person in need a rightful spot. It would be fine with me if a way was found to embarrass in a public manner more offenders.

[DutchStar38]

Sample of Do's & Don'ts for Florida Placard

Do's and Don'ts of using a Disabled parking permit

Florida has Sheriff volunteers roaming issuing tickets for improper use, improper display of placards and no placard displayed. Now how about ticketing the idiots that just can't seem to take the placard down when driving as boldly stated on the placard?

[LadyFitz...]

Originally Posted by flaggship1

On the subject of placard versus plate - I know of at least one permanently disabled person who always uses the placard and has for many years...

Actually, you now know at least two. I chose the placard over the plate because I back my truck into parking spaces whenever possible (it's easier to back in a large vehicle and much safer to pull out). AZ only has plates on the rear so a plate wouldn't show when I'm parked; a tag is visible from all directions. When I had two of my three foot surgeries, I had to depend on others to ferry me about because I wasn't permitted to drive for the first four weeks. A plate wouldn't have done me any good then. I occasionally travel with friends so, again, a plate wouldn't do me much good.

Putting one's name on a plate or tag is a bad idea because it compromises a person's privacy. Handicap plates can be easily checked by the police, either on an onboard computer or by calling the plate number in. In AZ, tags have expiration dates and are also numbered, again to allow the police to check them. I've been told AZ issues ID cards for the holders of plates and tags but I never received one. I wish I had one, though. It would be handy for shutting up the occasional self-appointed plate and tag police I encounter who think they are doctors who can give a diagnosis without an examination.

[kiethco]

I used to have most of the same view as a lot of people here. I've seen people that look normal get in and out of cars, walking and the like, I used to get angry.
Then I got in a motorcycle crash and broke my back. 2 years later I look fine. I walk fine, I can even run. The problem is I can't bend real good. One of the most difficult things for me to do is get in and out of a car without opening the door to it's full capacity. My wife's lexus convertible is the worst, the doors are very long. I need to park in a handicap stall in order to get in and out of the car, then I walk away looking normal.
People ask me all the time why I have the placard, well, it's happened 3 or 4 times, but the looks I get are more frequent. The first time I actually took the time to try to explain to the lady that asked in front of the Outback restaurant. Then I thought what the heck, why bother, so now I just ignore them, I'd rather not have to explain something that's none of someone's business something that they can't understand or comprehend.
The way I look at it, I earned that placard and the system's in place and I'm thankful for that. Anyone that has a problem with us getting prime parking places should walk a mile in our shoes, or 500 feet. Every step is a chore, even though it may not look like it.

[BpK9Miami]

Originally Posted by 99-Am.Star

I think that the plate or the hang tag should be required to have the name of the disabled person on it so the police can check these folks when they come back to the car. If the tag is not in the name of the driver of the vehicle then a fine should be issued. I have seen tags on car's that belong to the grandmother used by the grandchild. If the police don't do the job, give the job to someone who needs a job and pay them a percentage of what is collected. Good job for someone......2nd offence do a week in county jail. These people piss me off and I'm not handicapped.

Most states print either the DL number of the individual the placard is issued to on one side or another, or it has a unique serial number, so that police can ID it quickly. I'm retired now, but there have been many occasions when I found this really useful. During a discussion with someone you think may be abusing a disabled placard becomes clear real quick as most abusers overlook this simple built in ID method.

[poppy bill]

We have a placard for my wife. She had a anurisysm and has a problem with balance and walking. If we spot a parking close but not handicap we use it. We have had the local PD check us at the local Kroger and my wife showed her ID I thanked the LEO for doing it. In Dallas County you can be fined $250 for using a permit illegally.
PS I cant spell medical terms!

[PyrateSilly]

When people even bother to say something instead of the looks all I tell them is "I have a very bad back .... the doctors are surprised I am still walking" They usually are stopped short at that point. According to the docs I should have been in a wheelchair years ago but I try to stay active and walking. Sometimes I do use one in stores and sometimes Thom will make me get in one cause he can tell I am in too much pain to walk more but to anyone else it looks like I am fine.

[MSHappyCampers]

That's a pet peeve of mine also! I even see folks WITHOUT a handicapped tag or sticker parking in the handicapped spaces! When I see that happen, (after I walk by their vehicle to check for tags) I call 911 and report it. Most of the time they leave before the police get there.

[chiefneon]

Howdy!

I'm retired LEO and I really hated it when I worked at venues were people would pull up to the place drop off "handicapped" then asked were the handicapped parking was. I always asked them why they needed handicapped parking for if they just dropped them off. You can guess the answer. Its a way over abused system that is almost impossible to enforce. The best enforcement I have seen or heard of is departments giving enforement duties to handicapped persons. They have very little argument when someone in a wheelchair issues them a citation.

"Happy Trails"
Chiefneon