Q. In our neighborhood there are posted signs, “NO STOPPING ANYTIME except with valid permit.” The city issues residential parking permits if a certain percent of residents on the street agree to them and pay a fee. Well, there is a vehicle that is parked here daily with a handicap placard. The vehicle does not belong to any person who lives in the tract (so he or she doesn’t have a residential parking permit). The driver has been seen walking either into the tract or from the tract to where they live. Is it legal to used the handicap placard in this manner?
– B. Cagle, Santa Ana
A. Probably.
State law allows those with a valid disabled-person license plate or placard to park under conditions that others cannot.
And this is one of those instances if the placard is being used properly, said Cpl. Sonia Rojo, the spokeswoman for the Santa Ana Police Department. She added that if anyone believes the handicap credential is not valid, a call to Santa Ana P.D. on a non-emergency line will get a traffic officer, if available, to check it out.
There are countless disabilities that warrant the privilege, and it can be difficult to tell by sight if a person should enjoy it. A medical professional must sign off on a driver or a passenger getting such a plate or placard; there are restrictions to ensure the disabled person is benefiting from the plate or placard.
Besides being allowed to park in handicap parking spaces, and where residential permits are in play, those properly using the plates or placards can:
— Park alongside a blue curb, unlike others.
— Park alongside a green curb, which carries a time limit, for as long as desired.
— Park for free on a public street with metered parking.
Q. Honk, I need your fatherly advice. A couple of weeks ago I received my new registration sticker in the mail and put it on my truck the same day. Problem is … the sticker was for my Chevy Corvair. Not my Chevy truck. Oops. I’ll ruin the sticker attempting to remove it.I don’t want to fib and claim I never got it, hoping for a free replacement. Also, I would rather not waste some officer’s time with a traffic stop and having to produce my valid registration. Nor do I want to swap the truck plate to my car to go to a car show. I know you’re laughing about my error – as I am. Hope you can help me out.
– Greg Czopek, Long Beach
A. Honk is laughing with you – not at you. A few weeks back, he was worried he had made the same mistake while tending to his fleet.
He popped your question up to the Department of Motor Vehicles’ headquarters in Sacramento and was told you simply have to fork over 23 bucks and get a replacement registration sticker.
Greg, you can do it online at the official site, dmv.ca.gov – don’t bother with a private business that charges an added fee. Or you can go through the Automobile Club of Southern California if you are a member.
You can also visit a DMV kiosk for such a task; among the places you can find one is in some grocery stores. For locations, search for “kiosks” on the DMV website or Google “DMV kiosks.” The machine will spit out your new sticker.
Interestingly, Greg, each registration sticker has a unique number “that can be identified (with) that car,” said Tino Olivera, an officer and spokesman based in the California Highway Patrol’s Santa Ana station house.
To ask Honk questions, reach him at honk@ocregister.com. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk
Source: Orange County Register
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