Karl Nordstrom
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8 votes
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7 votes
An error occurred while saving the comment Karl Nordstrom
commented
If I am from Michigan (and have a placard) and then I get in the car of my friend whose car has Indiana plates, why shouldn't I be able to legitimately and legally use my handicapped placard if we travel over to Ohio? To the best of my knowledge, there is reciprocity in all 50 states for handicapped plates and placards. And, as others have said, a placard is dependent on the individual, not the vehicle.
I recently went into Canada and asked the Canadian customs agent if my U.S. handicapped placard was valid in their country. He laughed at me and said that Canada would not want the U.S. news reporting how a handicapped American citizen was ticketed in Canada for using their American placard in a Canadian handicapped parking spot. He told me not to worry about it since why shouldn't I be able to use it? Granted, that was not necessarily a legal opinion but it certainly made sense.
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10 votes
An error occurred while saving the comment Karl Nordstrom
commented
When we approach someone who we question whether they can legitimately use a handicapped parking spot, we take a significant risk. And I don't just mean that person's reaction being violent. More importantly, what about the disabled person who doesn't appear to have an issue? Is being a do-gooder and interrogating them and humiliating them in public really the best course of action? Don't you wind up hurting the very type of person you are allegedly trying to help by trying to force them to disclose their very private personal medical issues in a parking lot when you have no legal right to do so... when they legally have a placard or handicapped license plate authorized by a medical professional? All that is accomplished is to make handicapped people want to stay locked up in their homes for fear of being publicly confronted by some do-gooder who has no business questioning them. I have had many handicapped voice concern over being ambushed by do-gooders.
I can pretty much guarantee that 99% of the people who are brazen enough to park in a handicapped spot will NOT change their habits after being confronted. Instead, they will go onto Facebook and make a joke to their friends about you and how you were truly powerless to do anything. You then turn it into a game and make them want to do it again. The bottom is that the only thing accomplished by confronting someone is to let you post on your own Facebook page what a crusader you think you are so that people can praise you.
The question to ask yourself is how many legitimately-disabled people are you willing to harrass, intimidate, and humiliate in a public setting just for the slight chance of causing one illegitimate parker to stop? As they say in the justice system, it is better to let 100 criminals go free than to sentence one innocent person to jail.
Those of us who are disabled and who can legitimately can access those parking spots should be the most understanding and compassionate people when it comes to not doing anything to make a fellow handicapped individual afraid to go out in public out of fear of a do-gooder inappropriately confronting them. -
10 votes
An error occurred while saving the comment Karl Nordstrom
commented
Dawn, I don't mean to start something, but... Do I understand correctly that you feel handicapped individuals who can walk should not be able to use a handicapped parking spot? Surely you are well aware that many handicapped people are ambulatory but still have a legitimate need for that parking... yes, me being one of them. What about people on oxygen or those with heart problems, severe back issues, or the many, many other legitimate reasons for needing a handicapped spot? The laws have nothing to do with the ability to walk per se and if I were approached by a do-gooder who saw my handicapped plate and placard yet still wanted to give me a hard time because I am able to walk, my reaction might not be very polite.
I understand your frustration if you are unable to walk and need a spot yet one is not available. But, beside there being no guarantee that a spot will be available to you at the time you need it, the laws don't give an order of priority among handicapped people and all of us who qualify for such parking are considered equal unless the signage specifically states restrictions (e.g., the parking is only for those in wheelchairs).
If they are actually in a handicapped parking spot, I would imagine you would report them with this app as you would normally do.
If you meant that they were not in the handicapped spot but were blocking your access to it, I am guessing that is a different type of violation that is related to, but separate from, illegally parking in a handicapped spot and may possibly be subject to different methods of proof than simply a few pictures.