Challenge Disabled Cheaters – and See What Happens

My hiking buddy and I were walking up the street to the trail head in the Santa Monica Mountains near Hollywood Sunday when we came across a number of SUV’s parked in a residential permit only area. They all had Disabled placards. I was about to comment when a car drove up with four strapping young men and a woman. My buddy said “Watch, I bet they pull out a Handicapped Sign.”

Sure enough, the driver hung a “disabled placard” on the rearview mirror and they started to walk up to the hill. Now this is not a stroll through the park. Even the paved fire road is steep and certainly takes it out of you. (Of course we take the second most difficult route, five grueling miles of steep hills, some so vertical they have put railroad ties in as steps, but I digress).

So I decided a challenge was in order. I went over to the group and told them that using a Handicapped Placard to park there was illegal, and immoral. I was told in no uncertain terms that I should keep my nose out of other people’s business. Since this is a family blog, I can’t use the exact quotes but you get the idea. I was also told that the driver was handicapped and would be staying on the road and not taking the steep trail. I reiterated my complaint and said they should move their car or the police would be called.

At that point the verbal threats become more heated, by my masculine physique (and winning smile) saved the day. We walked off but noted that we weren’t followed. A couple of minutes later I heard the car start up and move. We made our point and all was right with the world.

In telling this story to a friend, I added that Chad Lynn, Parking Guru in Beverly Hills, had told me that he had a similar problem in the area surrounding Cedars Sinai Medical Center. People with handicapped placards could park on the street free, but had to pay in the garages. There were many reserved handicapped spaces in the garages, but they were seldom used. The Streets, however, were filled with cars with “temporary” handicapped placards. This took spaces from paying parkers (Chad’s problem) and also space that might have been needed by the legitimate disabled.

When he asked local doctors about issuing “notes” so these could be picked up from the DMV, he was told that many doctors were blackmailed into giving out the permits. They were told by their patients that if they didn’t give them the placard, they would go to another doctor. The MD folded like a bad suit and that was that. Why make waves?

My friend noted that this was similar to shopping doctors for bogus prescriptions. They wouldn’t give a script to a person who didn’t need it, why would they give disabled parking to someone who didn’t need it. In doing so, they were taking parking from the legitimate disabled and blurring their ethics.

It all goes back to the fact that parking with a disabled sticker is “free” on street in California. This creates a market for these blue hangtags. It’s my understanding that there are certain blocks in LA where you can purchase these tags like you would fake ID’s or a lid of grass.

Shoup and his gang are doing a study of disabled placard abuse and should have a report soon. His boots on the ground report that abuse is endemic throughout the city.

JVH