anyone that has a handicaped parking sticker I need help!!

[Mskanga]

I'm sick and tired of some people I know using the handicapped parking stickers in the car when the people that got the stickers are perfectly healthy to walk , believe me I know! One of them got a sticker five years ago because he had knee surgery and was on disability for a while but he has been working already for over two years and his wife who is perfectly healthy keeps using it. Then there's another one , who years ago was obese and could barely walk, back then he got a handicaped parking sticker also but he lost all the weight and nowadays he lives a completely normal life ( heck, his wife is expecting twins! ) , also his wife keeps using the handicaped sticker, not just now that she's pregnant, she always did before too.
I'm NOT against people who get this things if they really need it and I know that a lot of disabilities are just not visible to other people but I really do think in these two cases they are abusing and it enfuriates me to see them do it with such a nerve.
Is it possible to report this to the state and if so to whom? How should I go about that? I would really like to do something about this, I hate that they are taking someone else's spot that they may need more.
Thanks for your help.

 

[SueM in MN]

Well, for one thing, even the handicapped permits for permanent disabilities expire and need to be renewed eventually. I don't know if it is standard throughout the country, but I think in Minnesota it's every 3 years. The temporary handicapped permits also need to be renewed and the holder has to provide proof that the handicap still exists. So, they might get caught eventually anyway.
I do know that people have reported abuse. There was a story in Minnesota a few years ago about University of Minnesota athletes on athletic scholarships who were using handicapped parking permits to park for practice. Someone anonymously reported them to the Department of Motor Vehicles. They were investigated and got in trouble. You might try contacting whatrever agency in your state issues the permits to see how suspected abuse can be reported.

 

[Michigan]

In Michigan if you have a permanent pass they don't ask any questions when you renew it. As a matter of fact I have gone in without my kids (I have 2 passes one for each girl) and renewed it. I wish they did make the DR fill out the request everytime you needed it renewed but they don't.

A woman I used to work with parked on her dead father's pass so she could get free parking at the meter. I turned her in to the Secretary of State's office. You know what they say about what goes around comes around, well she has since had a stroke and needs to use a wheelchair and now understands how wrong she was in doing what she did.

 

[Mskanga]

Thanks for the responses, it just kills me when I see these two families "abusing" the parking permits while other people may really need them, I will contact DMV and find out who issues the permits, hopefully they can do something about it.

 

[Figaro]

In Minnesota the permanent disability placards are renewed every six years. There is a form that I take to my physician and he has to fill it out and sign it. I take it into our local driver's license place and they stamp it and send it to the state. About 60 days later, I receive a new handicap placard.

If you call your local police department, they may be able to tell you who to contact about the mis-use of handicap placards.

 

[SueM in MN]

Thanks, Figaro. I knew our permit expires in 2003. It seems like we just renewed it recently, but it must have been in 1998. Time flies.

 

[mamajoan]

In California Handicap car tags are renewed in odd years, 2001, 2003, etc. for permanent disabilities. Temporary tags are red and issued for 6 month periods. I just got my first set of DP plates, I am not exactly sure if I have to send in a Docs Rx every year.
thanks for thinking about the disabled Kanga!

 

[Figaro]

You're welcome, Sue! The only reason I know is because it was such a hassle a few months ago. No one could tell me what to do, and the automated phone system and website at the Department of Motor Vehicles left a LOT to be desired. Supposedly, the state was going to send out a form for renewal, and I was supposed to take that form to my physician.

In actuality, the postcard for renewal came almost 6 weeks after my sticker expired. So I talked with them at the courthouse and they told me to just pick up a new form, take it to my doctor, bring it back and they would give me a 30 day temporary permit. They told me that since the state was so darn slow processing these, that most likely my 30 day permit would be up before I received my permanent sticker so to come back and they would give me another 30 day paper sticker and then call the state to give them a push about getting it processed.

Knowing what I know now, I would start the process about 2 1/2 months before my sticker was up, as those flimsy paper temporary ones will NOT stay up on the dashboard (shutting the door creates enough of a breeze to blow them down) and I ended up being hassled by people who thought I was illegally parking in handicap spaces (sigh). I couldn't tape the stupid thing down, since I switch cars fairly often. I was very, very glad when the permanent one appeared in the mail (smile).

 

[Nanajo1]

I have a dear friend who would use her husband's placard until I told her that it bothered me and I felt demeaned by her abusing it. She never looked at it as hurting anyone. One of my pet peeves is many people who get HP placards or plates don't know about van spaces and how important they are to those who need them. I recently tried to park at a medical office the only space being used was a van space and the car was a little one! When the dear lady came out I asked her if she knew she had parked in a van spot. She said what does that mean?? She had no clue what a van space was. I think all who get HP parking permits should have to acknowledge they know the rules. Ever come back to your van and find someone (with HP Placard) has parked in the hashmarks and there is no way to get in to your van? Sorry for the rant. But this thread got me going.

 

[SueM in MN]

Yes, Nanajo. That's one of my pet peaves too. I think a lot of people park their cars in the van spots because they are not aware that there are different kinds of spots. I think there should be some instruction given along with the permits too.
The last time I took DD to her neurologist, there were at least 3 regualr handicapped spots available, but all the van accessible ones were filled with cars. We finally had to wait for a non-handicapped spot on the end of a row to become empty so we could park there.
One of my other pet peeves is people who park in the spot so crookedly that they block anyone from parking in the handicapped spot next to them.

 

[tigger2on]

I just recently read on the cruise board that a family with a BIL who uses a cane has reserved both handicapped accessible rooms on the deck for their bigger verandahs. They could have gotten one and shared it but now someone might have to miss out on a cruise due to their ignorance.
Ever notice it's always a battle for us no matter what?

 

[JudithM]

I try to pay attention to the van accessible spots & not park in them. I can walk some & would rather park in a "regular" parking spot than park in a van accessible spot. Also, I understand about people we know who abuse the handicapped permits - we have a friend whose parent passed away & they continue to use the permit.

 

[plugnickle]

I have had a HP for about a year. I have what you would probably consider a hidden disability. I ruined my knees fighting fire, but I try as much as possible not to limp. Walking has an accumulative affect on my knees, which is the reason that my bone surgeon gave me the "permanent" handicapped placard to begin with. People that see me park and walk in the store probably think that I don't have anything wrong with me, but no one has confronted me about it. God help the person who does, as in my opinion it is between the State, my doctor, and myself if I am deserving of the parking place. Though I will not park in a HPS if there is another space anywhere close to nearby.
I was under the assumtion that everyone my get their HP renewed, if not just replaced. Mine never has to be renewed by my doctor, but must be replaced every three years here in the State of Louisiana. If those people have an up-to-date HP there may be something wrong with them that you don't see. In my opinion Figaro is right in that it would be best to contact the police. With the way people react today it would be best to not provoke an altercation, but to let the polce deal with it.
I am glad I have been informed about the van spaces. I do remember seeing the "van" sign but I don't believe that I have ever parked in one. I will keep an eye out from now on.

Steve

 

[Mskanga]

I have contacted the Division of Motor Vehicles and they told me they have to renew the parking permit every three years and as long as the doctor keeps signing the report , they have to issue the permit, as I said before , I am not a disabled person but it really bothers me people taking advantage of this, I work in a place where the handicaped parking spaces are right outside of my window and everytime I see someone parking there without a permit I tell them they have to move or I will take their license and turn them in, I have gotten yelled at and cussed at many many times but this is something I feel very strong about and so is my employer, they like me enforcing this rule on other people who abuse those spaces.
I feel useless in these two people's cases that are abusing these plates but I am confident that what goes around comes around and they will pay one day for this abuse.
Yes I am very sensitive with disabled and elderly people , they are very special people to me.

 

[mamajoan]

Kanga, YOU GO GIRL!!!!!

 

[plugnickle]

I agree that is is repulsive to see people without a HP parking in HPP. The only problem, as in these peope you refer to, is the possibility that they may have the hidden disability. Have you went to them to see if maybe the spouses have developed a disability that you may not know about?
In LA, we are issued a picture ID with a number that matches the registration number on the HP. The person issued the permit must have the ID card on their person to park in a HPP or else they are breaking the law. If these women are not the person issued the HP then they could get a ticket if checked by the police.

Steve

 

[SueM in MN]

We don't have pciture IDs for our handicapped permits, but there is a name on the permit and if you are using it to park, you better have the person with you who is named on the permit. I think most areas only have the name on the permit, not any kind of picture ID. It seems to me that requiring someone to carry a handicapped permit and another special piece of ID that says they are the person authorized to use that permit is a bit of a uneccessary inconvenience.
It is possible that someone developed a hidden disability, but if that is the case, they should be getting their own permit and not just deciding that it is OK to use the one that belongs to thier spouse.

 

[Figaro]

Hi Sue!

I just pulled out my Minnesota Handicap placard and there is a six digit number on it and the name of the state but my name is nowhere to be seen(smile).

I've never been asked to produce any identification by anyone (including when the meter reader accidentally gave me a ticket because snow had covered the windshield and she couldn't see the handicap placard).

Although someone did ask me the other day why I was sitting in the car with the handicap placard up (sigh). I showed him the palms of my hand, which were scraped and bleeding from the fall I had taken in the parking lot and told him I was trying to get it to stop bleeding before I left. He did apologize at least(smile).

 

[SueM in MN]

Ok, I wrote that quick from work without having the handicapped permit in front of me. Since we bought a wheelchair accessible van last year, we have the license plates on the van and I don't have to look at the hangtag any more. I DO know it expires in 2003 because I saw that when we took it along to Florida to use. I also know that when we lived in Wisconsin, their hangtags had the person's name on. Someone I knew was using one with her DH's name on it. She had health reasons to get her own (and her doctor had even encouraged her to do it, but she never did. I worried that we would get picked up a couple of times when I rode somewhere with her.
Anyway, the number that's on the card still leads back to the person the card is issued to. That's how they found out that some University of Minnesota college athletes were the ones parking in handicapped spots near the sports areas. And I still think that having a separate ID card that matches the number is a little much. If the police are ticketing someone, they can get the information about who the card belongs to without making the person carry an extra card with them.
I better stop writing now. It's getting late and I would really be embarrassed to give out wrong info again.

 

[Figaro]

Sue, please, please don't be embarassed! I went and looked because I'm such an airhead that I couldn't even remember what was on my placard except for a little blue wheelchair! I remember a while ago there was a big push to require the placard number to match the license plate, which would mean no moving the placard from one vehicle to another. Which would have been a total pain in the rear for me, as I often have a friend who drives me to pick up my daughter at the airport and other places. Fortunately, nothing was ever done about that.

And I really appreciate all of the time and hard work you put into making this board as good as it is. THANK YOU!!