Parking People

It must be stressed that people can have a legitimate need for a handicapped parking placard even if their disabilities are not obvious, but that it seems like so many people abuse them system so casually (either by using placards despite not having a disability or just parking in the spots completely illegally) shows we are a nation of lazy assholes.

And, like countless California motorists with severe disabilities, particularly in congested Los Angeles, Kovic often has trouble finding a handicapped parking space. After he does, some thoughtless driver just might park illegally in the adjacent restricted space, despite the painted crosshatched lines, and block his reentry.

“I cannot tell you how many times we have seen people illegally parking in the ‘Van Handicapped’ space,” Kovic’s girlfriend, TerriAnn Ferren, emailed me. She wrote after reading my May 1 column reporting on State Auditor Elaine Howle’s investigation into disabled parking placard abuse.