Handicapped tag abuse

[Barbara S.]

Originally Posted by DutchStar38

Now how about ticketing the idiots that just can't seem to take the placard down when driving as boldly stated on the placard?

I don't ever remove my placard because I ended up breaking my first one at the part that hooks on from taking it off and on. Now it stays in place and the current placard is in good shape even tho' it expires this year.

[Bad Bolt]

Originally Posted by Chow5656

IMO you should have to have a PLATE on the car or truck not something that JR can take and hang on the mirror of any car. And if you can craw up into a lifted pick up truck or SUV you can walk from the parking lot!!!!

Ohio will not issue plates for vehicles, only a mirror tag if the actual vehicle is not in the handicapped person's name. My brother in law and sister are her primary caregivers and their van is in his name. Too much of a hassle to get plates. So, mirror tags are the only way for them.

Yet, if you have multiple vehicles, the mirror tag is the way to go for ease of travel and cost.

[spritz]

I appear for the most part UN-Disabled with the exception of

4-heart attacks, 4 stents
Chronic low back (hurt on the job 96'98'20,final 2004)
Arthritis both knees
bi lateral vestibule 100% right ear 50% left ear. (Need cane for balance)
Had to stop working 3 years ago because of this, 28 years @ previous place of employment Not a happy camper to say the least but I manage, I can't remember the last good day I had. except in the Motorhome
So if there is a handicap spot open you bet I'm taking it.

JM, Tim

[deanawo]

There was a time when my son often had full leg casts that he couldn't walk on. I didn't qualify for a tag because it was temporary - 6 weeks of casts, learn to walk again, 6 more weeks etc. This went on for a couple of years.
I couldn't get him out of the back end of my car & into a wheelchair with full leg extensions without parking in the handicap spots. I had to buy groceries & he was too young to stay alone. Twice after I put him in the car & went to return the cart someone who only saw the return made nasty comments that I seemed to have no trouble walking & shouldn't park in the handicap space.
I never judge people in those spots & mind my own business. I also don't think I should have had to share my son's personal health information with a stranger to justify why I parked there. We have become a tattletale nation, judging the whole by the actions of a few.

[Wayne M]

In Texas:
(quoted below)
"A parking placard or plate is ONLY valid when being used by the person with the disability or someone who is driving the person with the disability.

It is a violation of state law to use the placard or plates for a disabled parking spot without the person with the disability in the vehicle. People who misuse disabled parking placards are subject to fines of up to $1,250 and/or up to 50 hours of community service."


For information: TxDMV - Disabled Parking, Placards & Plates

[HD4Mark]

Here is an update. Our friend, not the one with the tag, went on a day trip with her friend with the tag to go snorkeling/scuba diving. Yes I guess with a sore shoulder bad enough to get a handicapped tag you can scuba dive. They made a few stops to shop, have lunch etc. She told us that she used handicap parking spots everywhere possible. Even though her husband did the driving

Next time I see their car I think I will take down the tag number. Maybe even send in the photos of her kayaking & scuba diving from Facebook.

[rollondown]

Best one I ever saw...
We used to live in eastern North Carolina where there is a very large military population. Retired, active, everything. One day we were in the local Wal Mart walking from the outer parking lot, down the row when a nice truck rolled by with handicap plates on it. We didn't pay it any mind until we got closer. It had pulled into a handicap spot right at the front and a lady had gotten out of the passenger side and a nice looking young man got out of the drivers side. From a distance you couldn't tell there was any impairment except his walking gate was "off" somehow, not a completely natural walk. Didn't think anything of it. Someone walking out of the store saw him get out of the truck and walk away from it and gave him pure hell for taking a handicap spot when there was obviously nothing wrong with him, berating him badly. This was going on in the middle of the road in front of the doors and was gathering attention. The young man never said a word, just unbuckled his pants and let them drop. 1 leg amputated above the knee the other below. Pulled the pants back up and walked on in the store.
Best part of it all, was he was... ahhh Commando.... no drawers, nothing...
There was applause for him and his wife as they walked thru the doors!

[spritz]

Right on, wish we could have seen the look on the badgers face...

[Wayne M]

Mark,

Not all is as seems. I'm a former Assistant Instructor with PADI and a Dive Master. I can assure you that in recreational scuba diving the arms and shoulders are not used very much. Also, in physical therapy for shoulder injuries, water exercises are many times prescribed. There may be other underlying injuries that are not easily discernible.

Alie & Jim,

Great story. I would have loved to have been there and seen that encounter.

One time while traveling we were finding a parking space at a service center on a Turnpike. We observed a driver pulling in to a handicapped spot and a young person got out and ran in to the center. No placard or plates indicating any status of handicapped. We parked. As we were approaching the handicapped spot, coming up the sidewalk was a double amputee. At that time the young person came out and the two met. The amputee just said two words, "Thank you!" The young person turned red, put their head down, got in and drove off.

It is at those times that I wish there were "enforcement" police on-site that could issue citations, and not cheap ones either. Some states can appoint volunteers to issue citations. Wish it were done.

When it comes to placards and plates, I never say a thing to anyone that has one and uses the HC Spots for parking. If they have the placard or plates they have proved entitlement, at the time, to those items.

I know that the following link is for 'Texas' however there is information based on the ADA that is informative. Some good facts. Accessible Parking in Texas Facts

[jdoc]

The City of Midland, Texas has gotten senior volunteers and trained them on what to look for in parking lots. They gave them ticket books to use. They use them daily. All they do is drive through parking lots looking for people that do not have the placard or plates on their vehicle if none is seen that vehicle gets a ticket. It has helped somewhat. I wish all cities would this.

Jerry

[Alsdas88]

This forum is really sad. I think we all realize that with the decline of individual responsibility and accountability in this country, everyone suffers. No one is punished for their actions when they defraud others or the system and they continue to do what they feel is best for themselves. We have morphed into a "me me me" society and many just don't care what is correct and honest any longer.

[CLIFFTALL]

Originally Posted by jdoc

The City of Midland, Texas has gotten senior volunteers and trained them on what to look for in parking lots. They gave them ticket books to use. They use them daily. All they do is drive through parking lots looking for people that do not have the placard or plates on their vehicle if none is seen that vehicle gets a ticket. It has helped somewhat. I wish all cities would this. Jerry

My City does this as well as fire hydrant and fire lane parking enforcement.

[Dog Folks]

I have a disabled hang tag, and "earned it." But we often park away form the front area or where disabled slots usually are. Why? I have a power chair, so parking away just means another 10 seconds that I have to push the button to go. It also makes it easier to load and unload my chair away from traffic.

The other issue is I hope it leaves the space open for someone with a manual chair or has trouble walking; in essence, they need it more than I do,

But then again I was raised to be considerate to others.

[EelKat]

Originally Posted by Chow5656

IMO you should have to have a PLATE on the car or truck not something that JR can take and hang on the mirror of any car. And if you can craw up into a lifted pick up truck or SUV you can walk from the parking lot!!!!

I've always wondered about that. I'll see these giant pick ups that you have to be pretty fit to be able to jump up into the thing, and they'll be in the handicapped spot and I'm thinking - WHAT? How does someone physically fit enough to climb up into the driver's seat of that thing have a handicapped plate?

Myself, I have a hanging card and not a plate, because I don't just use it because it's there. I suffered a knee, hip, and back injury, that reoccurrs if I fall down hard. At it's worst it can get me laid up in bed for upto 5 months to a time. Horrible, because I can't even sit up when it's that bad and I like being an active person, I go stir crazy laid up in bed like that.

I also have chronic tendonitis which basically means, a little stumble that would only bruise most people, can cause my tendons to slip off the bones resulting in the arm or leg in question being put in a cast for 9 to 12 weeks. It's happened 3 times in the past year. So frustrating.

Doctors in the ER would interrogate me up one side and down the other, convinced someone must be beating me up because I was coming in with these same injuries so often month after month, for years. I'd say, no, I just fell down. They'd say, you don't get injured this bad from a fall, are sure your boyfriend didn't hit you, we can help you get away from him...no, I fell, that's all! They wouldn't believe me.

One day a doctor said he had a thought, ran some tests, started poking all my joints, whole slew of x-ray type things, after several hours he says: you have chronic tendonitis, your tendons are weak around the joints and come lose when you fall down, because you move your joints fast trying to correct yourself to prevent the fall. This is a serious problem. Someone should have checked you for this years ago.

Yeah, I'd been telling the doctors there was something wrong, but they were too busy trying to tell me I have a violent boyfriend (because he was always the one who drove me to the ER) instead of actually looking to see what was wrong with me!

Well, once they finally believed it wasn't my boyfriend and started looking at what it could be, I finally got the help I needed, which was mostly physical therapy, and changing my diet, taking vitamin supplements, and using a cane to steady myself and prevent falls.

I walk with a cane, and do pretty good, and on good days I can even go on hikes even (so long as I don't forget my cane), but on bad days I can barely take 3 steps without sitting down. Sometimes I have to use the wheelchair carts that WalMart has, because my leg starts acting up and suddenly I'm not able to walk.

But here's the thing. Most days I don't use the handicap card. I just leave it under the visor and park my TOAD in the RV overnight lot behind WalMart and than walk around the lot to the store - that's a long walk to, because the RV lot is on the farthest end of the parking lot from where the store is!

I'll be hobbling slowly across the lot, takes me a good 5 mins to get to the store (maybe more!) and I'll see these big truck zip up into the handicap spot and the driver while hop out nimble and limber like a wood elf from Lord of the Rings, bound off into the store, obviously no issue moving around at all. I'm thinking - that can't be the person who the plate is for, why are they parking there when they don''t need to? That's for folks who can't walk far and need to be near the building, not for folks in a hurry and don't want to walk far!

I'll use it on days my leg is acting up and I know I'll need to use the wheelchair cart, but most times I avoid using it at all.

Here I am, I need the thing, I have the thing, but I rarely use it because I'm stubborn and besides I'm supposed to try to walk to exercise my joints, and than here are these other folks who use it and don't seem to need it. Well that's just backwards.