WATCHDOG REPORT: Handicap placards make it easy to cheatMany able-bodied folks want to avoid feeding downtown parking meters The Post and Courier
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Melissa Haneline Video
The Post and Courier Watchdog team recently hit the streets of Charleston to gauge the abuse of handicapped parking system. Watch » BY THE NUMBERS-- In 2007, the state issued nearly 137,000 blue permanent placards for the handicapped to South Carolina residents. -- That's up by nearly 24,000 issued in 2003. -- Last year, the state issued 21,302 temporary placards compared with 17,489 in 2003. -- More than 63,000 permanent and temporary placards were issued in Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester counties alone. -- According to Census Bureau records, 87,678 people in these counties have some form of disability. Parking Cheaters: The seriesMonday: People without disabilities using DMV-issued handicapped placards Today: The state's lax record keeping helps placard cheaters get away with it. Wednesday: Stopping the cheaters. Here's how. Thursday: Misuse harms the legitimately disabled. Other stories coming soon on Watchdog: P-Tags: People misuse P-tags, too Coin Jammers: How cheaters jam meters and rip off taxpayers Airport scammers: How people use placards to get free parking at airports Market cheaters: Vendors at City Market say people use placards because of frustration. And more ... People who misuse those familiar blue-and-white handicap placards may save themselves hundreds of dollars a year or more by parking for free at meters or in public garages. But these able-bodied cheaters are costing the city big bucks. Day after day on Glebe, Wentworth and King streets near the College of Charleston, metered spots are filled with cars sporting disabled placards and College of Charleston decals. One recent morning, for instance, two young men parked a Cadillac at a metered spot on Wentworth in downtown Charleston and walked toward the college. According to state records, the placard hanging in the car's windshield belongs to a woman in her 70s. Another day at Charleston's City Market, 22 vans, trucks and other vehicles parked next to the stalls had handicap hang tags — free parking in the heart of the city's busiest tourist area. "I'd say half of the vendors do it," said one, who asked that his name not be used "because a lot of these guys are my friends." He said most do it so they can park for free. "They save eight dollars a day if they had to feed the meters. The woman next to me," he said, lowering his voice. "She's not handicapped. If you can unload your truck, you probably shouldn't get one of those (handicap hang tags.)" A few stalls away, Pamela Polk unloaded her van. Polk is an art dealer and said her doctor signed off on a handicap placard because she has "high stress." She said parking enforcement around the Market had become so intense, it caused her blood pressure to spike. Now that she has the placard, her blood pressure has improved, she added. Another vendor, Jim Antosca, stood at his stall selling costume jewelry, not far from his car, which had a red temporary handicap placard. He said he had a problem with his sciatic nerve, and the handicap parking issue has irked him for years. On a slow winter's day last year, he surveyed the Market and spotted 16 handicap tags parked in metered spaces. He estimated that each of these spaces could generate $1,687 a year if people weren't trying to beat the system. "The city is losing a lot of revenue," he said. How much? City officials aren't sure. They don't keep records on how much money specific meters take in, said Steve Bedard, the city's chief financial officer. But he acknowledged that placard cheaters are a problem. "We'll look at it," he said. Doing a little math shows how the misuse can add up. The city loses as much as $6.75 per meter per day when someone with a handicap placard uses the space. If 100 cheaters take these metered spots each of the six days they are enforced, that's $675 in lost revenue — or more than $200,000 a year. That's a potentially big hit when you consider that the city's 1,800 parking meters will bring in about $935,000 this year. How big a problem Is the problem that widespread? On any given day around the medical complex, more than 120 vehicles with handicap hang tags occupy metered spots, a Post and Courier survey showed. The newspaper recently examined placards in this area and three other downtown Charleston neighborhoods. Reporters recorded placard numbers, license tags and other information. Using data from the Department of Motor Vehicles, the newspaper found that about 60 percent of the placards were registered to other vehicles. This mismatch is not an automatic indicator of fraud because placards are issued to people, not vehicles. But DMV officials say it's often a strong indication that a motorist is using someone else's placard, especially when a vehicle parks for hours in front of a meter, or is seen day after day in the same area. For city parking enforcement officers, a mismatch is usually not enough evidence for a $100 parking ticket. They have to catch violators in the act, or spend hours investigating state motor vehicle records, officials said. The state's lax record-keeping doesn't help. The newspaper analyzed the state's database on placards and found it had major holes. The DMV data, for instance, had no license tag information on nearly half the placards issued in the tri-county area. The agency asks for license plate info on its application forms but won't turn down applicants if that space is left blank, said Beth Park, communication director for the Department of Motor Vehicles. She said many disabled people don't have vehicles but may still need a handicapped placard when a relative or friend drives them somewhere. But the absence of license plate information makes it more difficult for parking officers to target potential cheaters. Free parking wrong? Indeed, local parking officials say the state could do more to curb the abuse. Anthony Dunbar, director of public safety at the Medical University of South Carolina, said he and his officers are hesitant to pursue violators because of the time-consuming verification process. "A law enforcement officer cannot check a hang tag and see who it belongs to. You have to contact DMV, and it takes several hours," he said. Janet Schumacher, the city's expert on disability issues, trains parking enforcement officers to catch violators. The officers can check a person's driver's license to verify whether their date of birth matches the expiration date on the placard. It's supposed to match. But the city does not allow its parking officers to ask about a person's reason for having a placard, she said. "You can't say 'What's your disability?' It's a medical privacy issue." Still, the city issued 1,083 citations for misuse of handicap placards last year and 623 so far this year. This widespread abuse raises a question: Should people with disabilities automatically park for free in the first place? Schumacher, who is disabled and has disabled children, wonders whether it's time to change the law that gives disabled people this financial perk. The law should make it easier for disabled people to move about, she said, adding that being disabled doesn't automatically make you poor. "Once the barriers have been removed, we should pay the same bill." NEXT: PARKING CHEATS: WHAT CAN BE DONE? Contact Tony Bartelme at tbartelme@postandcourier.com or 937-5554. Contact Ron Menchaca at rmenchaca@postandcourier.com or 937-5724. |
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Comments
This article has 14 comment(s)
Posted by LadyTarHeel on May 13, 2008 at 8:50 a.m. (Suggest removal)
What doctor would give someone a handicapped placard for "high stress"? Now I understand why so many people get upset about healthy looking people parking in handicapped spots. See it's people like that that make it hard for people with real invisible disabilities to park without being harassed. I think the government should start cracking down on these doctors that give the things out like candy during Halloween. Seriously, this erks my nerves!
Posted by mstaterhed on May 13, 2008 at 10:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
If you have an appointment at the hospital, they validate your parking ticket from the garage. Stop the free meter parking and most of the abuse will go away, period. I am disabled, although I have good days and bad days. On good days, I don't use a handicapped space unless I'm going grocery shopping; the walk wears me out and I can't unload the cart without help at that point. I have no problem paying at a meter; I didn't even realize that I didn't have to. I've paid at every meter I've ever parked at. I've paid at garages, and as I said, I get my parking ticket validated when I'm at the hospital. I don't expect 'freebies'. To all you cheaters; I'll gladly trade my Rheumatoid Arthritis, SLE, and associated pain with your parking fees...
Posted by Larz13 on May 13, 2008 at 11:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Change the law to make the disabled people pay for the metered/garage spots.
Make the fine higher for using fraudulent placards. This will make it more worthwhile for the police to perform varifications.
Also...pull the business licenses from the slackers working in the Market who use bogus placards.
Posted by willbillbedamned on May 13, 2008 at 12:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The best that we can hope for is that Karma, in it's way, comes to pass for those who abuse the passes.
Posted by CathyTYoung on May 13, 2008 at 1:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I live on Bennett Street and fume daily at the renegades parking with handicap cards. I just thought no one really cared that they were breaking the law. They even park in my off-the-street parking lot designated for townhouse owners across from "Canine" Park. If you need any watchpuppies, I'd like to help the cause.
Posted by mred98 on May 13, 2008 at 3:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I have seen and have talked with people who have used the handicapped placards. People are traveling to work in the mornings and sitting in traffic, get pressed for time, have supervisors that could care less if there was an accident, and a hospital that "offers" bus discounts. Offer at what price? If you work for this hospital they should provide parking-they provide it for their patients(oh-that's right those are the one's they are getting money from!).I wonder is this new parking garage going to be for only the employees who are high on the totem pole? Will this garage also be for patients? The park-and-ride helps workers get NEAR the work location but if you are pressed for time or have an emergency and have to leave who suffers? The people asked their employers for help, did not get it, and seeked other ways to reach their goal. Yes, this is terrible. Rutledge Avenue and all the side streets around it are filled with abusers. I believe if you have a handicapped placard then there SHOULD be a car linked to it. I realize that there is not just one group to blame-this problem could be handled if everyone tried to solve it. I have written plate numbers down-especially when I have to feed the meter and I see someone that I personally speak with and they relay to me that they are committing fraud. I believe that all people want parking at their worksite that is convenient and free. I do feel that the people abusing the placards should be punished-don't get me wrong.
Posted by RTC on May 13, 2008 at 4:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Just saw it this afternoon. I wish I had known to get the placard and tag # to send in to the P&C.
Location: Mt. Pleasant Super Wal-Mart.
Woman got out of her car yelling into her cellphone. She paced back and forth, slapping her hand down on her car, and yelling away at the person on the other end of the phone.
Did she have one of those invisible disabilities? I don't think so, as she was still pacing and yelling after I parked and went into the store.
If she was in such poor health then where did she get so much energy from? She wore me out just watching her.
Posted by LadyTarHeel on May 13, 2008 at 6:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
RTC: Maybe she did. It's called crazy! :o)
Posted by fromfolly on May 13, 2008 at 9:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This amazes me. Until I saw this article, I always considered those in the medical profession to have a higher degree of integrity and more compassion than the average person. Boy was I wrong! Cheating the system at the expense of the handicapped is pretty low. And shame on MUSC for not taking a more aggressive stand against these blatant law breakers. Meanwhile, the rest of us who work downtown will continue to pay all those miserable $8.00 fines for meter feeding, or getting there 2 mintues late too move the car to another location. Boy, have I been naive.
Posted by jabjr58 on May 13, 2008 at 9:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Thank you for this Watchdog feature! Perhaps if doctors were held accountable for diagnoses such as "high stress." Perhaps if photos were put on hangtags? Also, I'm wondering if there's any way you could do a Watchdog on "Litterbutts" - people who toss cigarette butts out their car windows?
Posted by onesuperb on May 14, 2008 at 8:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Perhaps all those "handicapped" drivers should look up the definition of the
word handicapped. While I applaud your articles, it is actually a waste of ink
and paper. It is politically incorrect to question people about "their" handicaps.
To be truly effective at solving the problem, its the doctors who need their
hands slapped. I say void all current hanging handicapped placards and start
over. Make them all reapply under new rules that specifically spell out handicapped. Once they have a VALID placard then they should be allowed to
park only in handicapped designated parking spaces. If one is not available,
tough, park at a meter and pay. Being handicapped doesn't mean free parking.
As for the market vendors, what they are doing is absolute fraud and they should
be charged. And as for the vendor named in your story, Pam Polk, what nerve she
has. She seems to think it is her right to have the handicapped status. I wish she
could be boycotted for her actions. Your articles have totally stressed me out and
I'm pretty sure my blood pressure is up, should I be calling my doctor now so I too
can have a handicap placard?
Posted by ceecee on May 14, 2008 at 11:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I wonder if the "doctor" who gave Pam Polk her placard would give a discount to patients who have "high blood pressure and stress" because of the parking situation at his office or long waits before appointments.
Posted by robwpolk on May 15, 2008 at 2:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I am Pamela Polk's husband. What the article does not say about her is that she has a stent in her heart and has had 3 medical procedures (so far) to save her kidneys, heart and her life. The slant that the article took with her was to mention only hypertension and stress. Physical exertion, of course, exacerbates stress levels and and hypertension. Her prescriptions to keep her alive are in excess of $300 monthly without prescription coverage so it is all out of pocket. So, in short, she is legitimately disabled and is continuing to attempt to continue to work despite the odds against her. She has been in business at the Market for almost 30 years. Don't believe everything you read in the newspaper as gospel truth or the whole truth. She cried when she read that article and the newspaper printed more of the truth the next day. Unfortunately, the damage to her reputation is done. The police have already tried to hassle her. Anybody else want to take a shot at her?
Posted by chazzie45 on May 18, 2008 at 9:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)
My mother is 83, handicapped and cannot drive. My sister and I both have a placard for our cars because we drive our mother to dr. appts., the store, etc. I am over 55 and have a back condition that creates problems for me but not enough for my doctor to sign off on a handicapped placard of my own. Do I use the placard sometimes for myself? Yes, not because I don't want to pay for parking, but simply because my back and hip hurts so much it is hard to think about walking any further than I have to sometimes. Like the woman who delivers pizza, I sometimes have good days and sometimes bad, and I try not to abuse the use of the placard. Now, because of this series of articles I have gotten an anonymous letter regarding this situation that implies I am being watched. I feel threatened and scared; I live alone. Is this the purpose you wanted for these articles?
If you are going to police the misuse of handicapped placards and put into place avenues to which people feel they can confront people about this on their own(and God knows maybe create a bad situation) why not take this self-policing situation a step further. There is another problem where people don't do as they should (it's the law) that can hurt everyone and the environment. And that is picking-up after their dogs! I see dog waste wherever I go? It is horrible and disgusting; it hurts the environment and eventually decomposes and can go into the ground water. There is usually no confusion as to who's dog is depositing waste. So why don't you write an article regarding about that situation and get people to start policing others about that as well? If you feel you can set-up a situation where people can confront others regarding something that really isn't their business, you need to support that philosophy in other law-mandated situations as well, where people see others doing something wrong. Oh yea, I am on the road all of the time; you wouldn't believe the traffic violations I see (constantly!) How about sites where I can report, as a citizen, those types of violations? If rousing citizens to report violations in parking, you might as well rouse them to report violations in other areas which can create truly harmful situations and consequences.
I guess I feel there are truly so many other issues that create so much harm to others that I wonder why don't your reporters take the time to investigate the issues that really make for difficulties in the lives of the people of this city.