Able-Bodied Drivers Misusing Parking Placards for the Disabled

Too many drivers around Los Angeles are using parking placards for the disabled and city officials are trying to ferret out the fakers.

The placards--obtained legally by anyone with a physician-approved application and $6--are being abused by able-bodied relatives who “inherit” placards when a legitimate holder dies, or by chauffeurs who drop off their disabled charges and attend to personal business, transportation officials say.

Doctors have been accused of falsifying applications for patients, friends, relatives and themselves. Black markets for bogus and stolen placards--some selling for as much as $400--have taken root in Los Angeles and San Francisco. They are even sold at swap meets.

“These things are like gold--a gold parking pass,” said Steve Schnaidt, a consultant to the state senate committee on transportation. “You can go anywhere and you don’t have to pay.”

So far, attempts by the city’s Department of Transportation to catch scofflaws have been as unsuccessful as they are unpopular.

Earlier this year, parking enforcement officers went to areas throughout the city where placard-bearing cars were concentrated and ticketed all vehicles showing the plastic, license plate-size signs on their dashboards. The burden of proving the placards were valid was then on the car owners.

“That seemed sort of backward,” said Norma Vescovo, director of a service center for the disabled in Van Nuys, who attended a recent city hearing on the ticketing policy. “They gave you a ticket for using a placard that you applied for and paid for. Then they give out tickets that say you are already guilty. Only after you prove you are disabled, you become innocent.”

The policy was in effect for one month, until several legitimate placard holders complained to the Department of Transportation. Alternatives are being considered.

During recent state and city hearings, police, advocates for the disabled and state officials testified about placard abuse.

A Department of Transportation administrator said vehicles with placards often dominate the metered and restricted areas on congested downtown streets and in Westwood, where UCLA police severely limit parking.

“On one morning, I walked around the block surrounding Parker Center, and I counted 38 placards in the cars parked along the curb,” said Jesse Johnson, head of parking enforcement for the city. “You have to wonder why so many disabled people would have business downtown, all at the same time.”

The Department of Motor Vehicles defines a disabled person as anyone who is paralyzed or has lost one or both legs or both hands. Also included are the blind and anyone suffering from debilitating heart or lung disease, or with a disease substantially affecting movement.

Advocates for the disabled estimate that 12% of Los Angeles’ 3.5 million residents are handicapped. The number who actually use the placards is substantially less, somewhere between 2% and 10%. The DMV has issued 650,000 placards, about one-fourth to Los Angeles County residents. While officials differ in estimating the extent of the parking fraud, state legislators said as many as half of all placards are being used unlawfully.

“Many times the problem is with placards that have been issued properly,” said Bill Gengler, DMV spokesman. “This person’s grandson may throw it on his dashboard and use it to go play tennis.”

The abuse has put a squeeze on the limited parking for the disabled.

Advocates say the lack of parking has been a public issue since the mid-1970s, when legislators set non-mandatory city guidelines on designating parking for the handicapped. The recommendation has been about 1% of all parking, far less than required to serve the disabled, advocates say.

Johnson said concern for the disabled has been the primary motivation behind the crackdown, but he acknowledged that the city loses revenue whenever people use fake placards.

Janet A. Neal, a member of the mayor’s Commission on Disability, said of the department’s efforts, “They wouldn’t be looking at this if it wasn’t tied to money.”

Disabled Parking Placard Applications

Disabled applicants for parking placards can obtain registration forms from any Department of Motor Vehicles office. The form must detail a physical handicap qualifying the applicant for a placard and must be signed by the applicant’s physician. Placards are valid for two years and are automatically renewed for applicants with permanent disabilities. The permit is transferable only to those transporting a disabled person. Fines up to $1,000 may be levied for improper use.