Published on Sunday, February 11, 2007
in the WESH News

Police Crack Down On Handicapped Parking

Police are warning NASCAR fans attending Speedweeks not to park in handicapped spaces without a placard.

Drivers are being waved over by Florida Highway Patrol officers who are checking handicapped placards against photocopies of handicapped permits from all 50 states, WESH 2 News reported.

According to FHP, those who are caught using wrong, fake or expired placards can get ticketed or arrested.

If the vehicle's handicapped tag is legitimate, it gets a special sticker and is allowed into the parking lot.

Troopers said they started their crackdown on handicapped placard users three years ago after noticing the coveted close-to-the-track-parking spots were filling up with people who clearly didn't belong there.

"We've had anybody from using their family's deceased placard when the person's actually passed away," FHP trooper Timothy Wood said. "We've had people from other states, an actual legislator, that's using their family's placards to get in."

Authorities said the handicapped placard has to be issued to someone who's actually in the car and officers said they'll have to show ID to prove it.

It's not meant to hassle the handicapped, but rather to protect them from those who might illegally use their parking, police said.

One couple had Tennessee plates, a Georgia placard and a South Carolina license. The FHP trooper let them through but with a warning.

"That has to match your Georgia driver's license or it has to match your South Carolina. it says it right here," Wood said. "I used to be a deputy in Georgia and you're violating Georgia law, I guarantee you. You better check when you get back."

FHP said the crackdown will continue as long as the races do. Officials urge people to use the free parking in nearby lots that offer free shuttle service to the pedestrian walk-over on International Speedway Boulevard.