Yet Another Reason To Be Disgusted With Some People

fmdog44

fmdog44

Well-known Member
Location
Houston, Texas
Reading from Car & Driver: The black market for disability placards in vehicles is alive and well on the streets and online. The lowlifes see the placards, smash the windshields and steal them. They sell from $50 to $2,600. A person can save $10,000 a year in free parking in big cities. Some states require photos on the placards. Why not all states? In New Jersey drivers caught using them face up to $10,000 in fines and 18 months in jail. People with disabilities experience problems finding parking places ever day.
 

Here in Canada, we have reserved parking stalls and spots for those with disabilities or limited mobility, and the placards come by way of a stiff, heavy paper, bright orangey/red sign that drivers hang from the rear-view mirror of their vehicles so the meter-man can clearly see them, and parking is free for those who possess them.
 

I think he's saying the thieves are stealing the cards and selling them so that people can save money illegally on parking fees by stealing those cards you hang in the window from the handicap folks that need them. And the folks using the stolen cards are facing fines and jail time.
 
RadishRose said:
Are you saying that because someone is handicapped, they don't have to pay normal parking fees?

Why is that? A handicapped person can be just as wealthy or rich as anyone else....
Click to expand...
RadishRose, John has a handicapped license plate on his pick up and a placard for our car. At first he didn't believe me when I told him he could park free in the city. I'm talking about metered parking, I doubt he could park free in those big covered parking garages that charge. He can park in the 10 or 20 minute parking for longer time periods I think. I might be wrong about that, but we do it sometimes.

Also when we visit our daughter you have to have a placard issued by the city to park in her neighborhood. She has a couple of them hanging by her front door for guests to use. Since we have the handicapped license we don't have to have the city parking placard which surprised her.

I was surprised to find out a couple days ago that the semi truck drivers who are handicapped can use the handicapped placards when they park their trucks in certain paid parking areas. Where that would be I have no idea. I'd think truck stops have free parking.
 
There are some. You can't always tell by looking. My youngest son was rear ended twice on the LA freeways and was in a bad roll over accident a few years ago and has a lot of back pain and trouble walking very far so his Dr gave him the handicapped license plate (He got it at the DMV of course.) and a handicapped placard. He didn't think of using it in a truck till he saw one on the east coast a few days ago.
 
RadishRose said:
Are you saying that because someone is handicapped, they don't have to pay normal parking fees?

Why is that? A handicapped person can be just as wealthy or rich as anyone else....
Click to expand...
Hi RadishRose, I have one because of my back and the reason
I asked for one was to get parking nearer the entrance to malls
and supermarkets, they put the "Disabled" spaces near the entry.

As for paying or not depends on the local Council, many/most grant
free parking, but lots insist that you pay in a carpark. Parking on the
street is free normally, except in central London, you pay the meter, but
get one hour extra parking over others who don't have a permit.

We call it a "Blue Badge", though it is an A5 size piece of plastic with all
details and a picture of the user on it.

Mike.
 
Many Handicap placards have a registration number on them, so when they are stolen, we can detect them by scanning their barcode, if their placard has one or we have to type in the code to a website we use. All in all, it only takes about 15 seconds to run the code either way. There are heavy fines if the driver is caught using a stolen handicap placard. The owner is responsible, not the driver of the car here in Pennsylvania.

I had to fix the wording after I reread my post.
 
Last edited:
win231 said:
Wow, I know people abuse those placards around here, but this is the first I've heard of breaking into a car to steal them.
Click to expand...
I never heard of those placards being stolen before either, but nothing surprises me anymore.
We see a lot of abuse around here. The worst, in my opinion, is healthy teenagers who use their parents or grandparents placard and take a parking spot that disabled people need.
 
Pecos said:
I never heard of those placards being stolen before either, but nothing surprises me anymore.
We see a lot of abuse around here. The worst, in my opinion, is healthy teenagers who use their parents or grandparents placard and take a parking spot that disabled people need.
Click to expand...

Yes, that happens around here too.


911 said:
Many Handicap placards have a registration number on them, so when they are stolen, we can detect them by scanning their barcode, if their placard has one or we have to type in the code to a website we use. All in all, it only takes about 15 seconds to run the code either way. There are heavy fines if the driver is caught using a stolen handicap placard. The owner is responsible, not the driver of the car here in Pennsylvania.
Click to expand...

Some people just don't care about that I guess ... I've seen handicap license plates stolen off cars in the parking lot where I live.
 
As someone who had to transport disabled groups of people on field trips and shopping trips, this infuriates me! You have no idea how frustrating it is to have a vanload of folks and no handicapped parking spaces available. I often considered just blocking the fakers and the abusers without handicapped signs in and waiting for their return. What I did instead was pull up to main entrances, park, move my folks off the 'bus,' and drive around until I found a parking space. Then, I went straight to management. A few people did get towed, but it's hardly enough satisfaction.
 
I can't walk great distances. Even then, I have to use a walker. You don't know how much it irritates me to see able bodied people, with placards using handicapped spaces, and there aren't any for me. I noticed that most of the obviously able bodied people using handicapped spaces are women with minivans, and a bunch of kids. I'm not buying the bit that all those people have some mystery disease, which is not apparent. If you can run out of a grocery store, pushing a loaded cart, carrying a kid; you can use a normal parking space. And that goes for the guys, who drive monster trucks, and are obviously working out doors. I know it's not "the Crime of the Century" to use a placard, when you aren't handicapped, but just want to save a few steps, but depriving me of that opportunity does cause me physical pain. It pisses me off. This is becoming more and more a problem.
 
Last edited:
Linda said:
I was surprised to find out a couple days ago that the semi truck drivers who are handicapped can use the handicapped placards when they park their trucks in certain paid parking areas. Where that would be I have no idea. I'd think truck stops have free parking.
Click to expand...

I have seen those handicapped spaces back where semi's park at the Flying J and other truck stops. Special marked spots close to the buildings.
 
I had mine stolen in an Ikea car park last year.

The inconvenience is terrible, I now have a "Companion" badge
which has my car registration number on it but it is only valid in
the borough where I live, anywhere else then I need to use the
"Blue Badge", displayed in the windscreen.

Mike.
 
Pinky said:
Perhaps they will come out with something that will adhere to the vehicle window. It would be impossible to steal.
Click to expand...
Or possibly a programmable micro-sized electronic chip than can be placed anywhere in ones vehicle, directly linked to parking places that are outfitted with special electronic readers.

ROFLMAO! Can you tell I'm a homemaker? :giggle:
 
Aunt Marg said:
Or possibly a programmable micro-sized electronic chip than can be placed anywhere in ones vehicle, directly linked to parking places that are outfitted with special electronic readers.

ROFLMAO! Can you tell I'm a homemaker? :giggle:
Click to expand...

if they did that...it would still have to be visable.
 
yeah but marg if they can't physically see something reflecting that then people think you're parking there when you shouldn't and they get bent about it. :)
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top