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In Florida, a "permanent" handicapped parking permit is good for three years. This requires your doctor to fill out the paperwork every three years to renew your "permanent" permit.
If your placard is lost or destroyed, you need the same paperwork from your doctor to get a permit that expires on the same date as the lost or destroyed one.
They cite abuse of the system by people who aren't handicapped as the reason for making the honest people jump through additional hoops.
I am getting sick of this paradigm.
I think the people who should be most affected by laws are the people breaking them and not additional burdens on the law abiding.
How's this one for size: Unlawful use of a handicapped permit results in loss of license for 10 years and seizure of the vehicle used. Forfeit of said vehicle if the owner used the permit illegally. Hefty fine for the owner to recover their vehicle if they loaned it to the violator.
I want deterrence, by the gods!
It's probably even simpler than that. There are already some pretty serious penalties for abusing handicapped spots by the non-handicapped in most states. The problem, like a lot of things is entirely likely to be lack of enforcement. Enacting even more harsh penalties if they also are not going to be actively enforced will probably not help much. If a significant number of people are getting ticketed now and it isn't helping then adding to the penalties might be of benefit, but I'm not sure how much it is really a problem. I don't see that many vehicles in handicap slots without handicap plates or a placard. However, I do see a lot of people who seem to be capably ambulatory operating those vehicles. I know that some people may not be obvious or may have such plates/placards because they share a vehicle with someone who has a legitimate need but I would also guess that there are a lot of people who either have fake placards or have found a Dr who will sign off on them even though they aren't legitimately handicapped. For what it is worth, my mother has handicap plates, but she's legitimately disabled and uses a walker, etc. She's 85 and has had falls. However, when I am visiting her and driving her car I do not park in handicap slots unless she is along or I am picking her up.. I'm not the most spry person myself, but there are a lot of other people who need the close spots more than I do. And probably most of the time a little extra exercise isn't going to hurt me.
ReplyDelete-swj