Is it legal to park in a handicapped spot?

[Deja Q]

Today I went to a remote office. I saw not one but TWO cars parked in handicapped spots. They were clearly marked as such.

Neither car had proper identification.

Both cars had "Department of Defense" stickers.

Does the shiny DOD sticker give them the right to do what they want? :shrug:

[kiahzero]

1. DoD stickers don't mean the vehicles are property of DoD

It's most likely that the cars in question were owned by military families - the stickers are necessary to gain access to some military bases.

[Warpy]

2. Call the cops and complain

Tell them you work with a handicapped person who had to park far away and struggle.

Those stickers may scare the cops off. Then again, they may not. You never know until you try.

[davidinalameda]

3. better yet

leave them a note saying you took down their license plate number and will contact the cops with the info

keying the cars gets the point across as well

no, I'm not advocating vandalism

[Deja Q]

7. I love talking about it, but I haven't the nature to key a car

I should have written the notes.

But I suspect there will be further days...

I mean, our state does need money. $200 per violation would come in handy...

[ezee]

4. I am disabled

and to my knowledge it is wrong to park in a reserved handicapped area unless you are handicapped. Not only must you display the proper license or card on the vehicle, you must also have an I. D. card which is numbered, and referenced to the license or card.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. In your state

Hawaii gives the card, I had to get a temp card

When we moved to Cali we got a secodn card, no card, and I thought
the card was an incredibly good idea

That said,

It is llegal to park in a spot if the car is not properly authorized, but calling the cops takes forever these days

[ezee]

9. I live in Washington

and have two vehicles. One that carries a license plate on it stating that it is a handicapped vehicle. The vehicle is registered to me. I also have a card that hangs from the mirror, this is transferable to any vehicle. However, the hanging card has a number on it and is referenced to my "handicapped ID" that I carry in my wallet. Any one caught using a handicapped card without also having the proper I.D. can be fined.

[ProfessorGAC]

18. It's A $300 Fine In Illinois

It's a clear and unambiguous law. Park in a handicap spot without proper certification and you are liable for up to $300 in fines, towing and impound charges. Happened in my little town about 2 years ago, and the total charge for the jerk who did it was around $500.

Hopefully, that will dissuade future transgressions.

As someone with MS, who will NOT, accept the privilege of parking in those spots (in case someone worse needs it), it galls me when people do that. NOBODY is so important that they can't walk the other 50 or 100 feet.
The Professor

[Renew Deal]

5. Did you call the cops?

You should have.

[Deja Q]

8. I didn't. Here's why:

There were 4 other spots that were left blank. It seemed silly to whine when 4 spaces were available.

"The Rule of Law" vs "The Spririt of the Law".

I was HIGHLY tempted to make a stink about it. But I didn't. It was a military installation too (hence the DOD chaps...)

If I go back tomorrow, they may not be so lucky. Our society currently runs under the strict rule of law, and doesn't live under its spirit. I ought to play the game by their rules. I'm tired of being Mr. Compassionate. Not when I've finally seen the world for what it truly is.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

10. But the spaces available...

may not have worked for a disabled person.

My best friend is in a wheelchair with spinda bifida. He uses a large van with a side door that requires a LOT of extra space on the passenger side for the unloading of his chair, which he does himself. Because of this, he can't park between cars in regular spaces in a lot.

That is one reason why handicapped spots have such a large footprint -- folks often need that extra space.

[0007]

22. Please do it!

[KamaAina]

11. Governor Goodhair Perry (R-Naturally) did it too

http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/534757.html

A driver for Gov. Rick Perry parked the governor's official vehicle in a handicapped parking spot Thursday when taking Perry to file papers to put President Bush's name on the Texas Republican primary ballot.

Perry spokesman Robert Black says that it was unintentional and an honest mistake.

Uh-huh. So if someone parked in a spot at the Capitol in Austin marked "Reserved for Governor Goodhair", and s/he said "It was unintentional and an honest mistake", they'd just shake their heads sadly and ask the person not to do it again, right? Ri-i-i-i-ght. </sarcasm>

The space Perry's vehicle was parked in was marked with a green and blue sign with a wheelchair emblem. It warned: "Reserved Parking $50 to $200 fine without vehicle permit."

Below that it read: "unless of course you're a good little repuke who's only trying to get Our Great pResident Bush* on the ballot, in which case you don't have to take responsibility for anything, anything at all." </sarcasm>

[outinforce]

12. Of Course!

There are two places I NEVER park in -- no matter how desperate I think I might be for a parking place.

1. A Handicapped Space -- Someone who is handicapped might need it.

2. In front of a fire hydrant -- There might be a fire.

To my mind, parking in a handicapped space if you are not handicapped is about the same as parking in front of a fire hydrant.

The fines for doing either of those things are never stiff enough, if you ask me.

[Morning Dew]

13. And please...

if you see a "handicap parking only between signs" sign on a side street, try to give it a little extra room - they're often not big enough for paratransit vans to pick up or drop off passengers with disabilities.

[immoderate]

15. I had to beat up on a handicapped person the other day...

I caught him parking in one of OUR spaces.

--IMM

[outinforce]

16. Funny?

If this post was intended to be funny, the humor somehow eluded me.

But then, I have often been accused of being humor-challenged.

In my view, handicapped people are always more than welcome to park in what you call "our spaces".

[immoderate]

19. No man, I always beat up handicapped people

--IMM

[outinforce]

20. If You Are Interested,

I know of some really quite good anger management folks.

They have helped people cope with emotions that cause them to want to beat up handicapped people.

In case you are interested.

Man.

[immoderate]

21. OK, I'll type this real slow...

I admit to attempting humor. I heard that line originally from a card carrying stand up comedian. I thought it was silly enough to not need the usual tags that accompany arcane humor. If it was lost on you, I apologize.

--IMM

[outinforce]

23. No. I'll Apologize

No need to you to apologize to me.

I'm the one who missed your humor.

Seems to me that I ow you an apology.

Here it is:

"I'm sorry I missed your humor".

Friends?

[immoderate]

24. Asolutely!

And I have definitely turned off the sarcasm.

--IMM

[TankLV]

14. Ususally yes - with big fines attached.

Depends on where you live.

Have yet to see a state/local where it wasn't illegal w/big fines, and I've been around a lot of states and locals.

[Oddman]

17. My Mom is handicapped and it drives me crazy!!!

Leave them a note. They are obviously mentally handicapped!


As President Bush put it, they are an exceptional "few bad apples"
whose actions "do not reflect the nature of our country."

[Lugnut]

25. There is nothing more despicable

Than seeing a non-tagged vehicle in a handicapped parking space. To see a goverment vehicle in one of those spaces is beyond contemptible. I have a spinal cord injury and while I can walk I do so with a great deal of difficulty. Enforcement is mostly sporadic in my area of PA. It's very disheartening to those of us who actually need one of those spaces.