Disabled Parking Permits: Do’s and Don’ts

Arthur Brower, 75, a disabled veteran from North Ft. Myers, FL invented a hook that helps people take their placards on and off easily.

By: Sharon Aron Baron

South Florida has a large population of elderly drivers and Tamarac is no exception. In fact, for a handicapped driver, it can be a real challenge to find a disabled parking spot at a major shopping center on any given day.

Florida Statutes provides for disabled parking permit placards to be issued for use by disabled persons who have long-term, permanent or temporary mobility impairment, or who are legally blind or temporarily sight-impaired. The part about being legally blind seems troubling, as we have enough bad drivers on the road today. Although being legally blind is a true handicap, I can’t imagine how a doctor would recommend their patient continue driving.

On a typical South Florida commuter drive, you can count several disabled parking placards hanging from rearview mirrors obscuring the driver’s vision. Just this morning as I gave directions to a man that was lost in my neighborhood and noticed that the placard hanging from his rearview mirror was impeding upon his ability to see the street signs. This is dangerous and impairs one’s vision when the card is left there. Don’t these people realize it becomes more of a handicap because it limits their field of vision?

Why would anyone drive around with their placard hanging from their rearview mirror? Like a graduation tassel, disabled drivers don’t need to brag about their limitations.  And they certainly don’t need to give each other high fives because they belong to the same club.”

Despite the obvious advantages of of handicapped parking for our disabled citizens, there is still a measure of debate. Some argue that handicapped parking does more harm than good because sometimes handicapped parking minimizes safety, for instance when  there is a road between the spaces and building entrances. Other arguments focus on the abuse of handicapped parking by those deemed not handicapped enough to justify special parking and that handicapped parking increases accidents and results in fewer parking spaces.  Also, those that have handicap parking permits are allowed to park at metered parking spaces for free, as well as gain entrance to many parks. 

In 2012, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles stated that any person issued a blue permanent disabled parking permit must renew the permit every four years and, when doing so, provide a certificate of disability completed and signed by a certifying authority within the last 12 months. That means every blue disabled parking permit holder will, at least every four years and within 12 months of the date of their renewal, fill out Form HSMV 83039. This aims to reduce abuse and the fraud of obtaining Disabled Parking permits. This came as welcome news to the many disabled people forced to park elsewhere because parking spaces were occupied by people who don’t need them.

The new law does not affect red temporary disabled parking permits, nor people who have disabled (wheelchair) license plates. Before this change, blue disabled parking permit holders had to renew their parking permits every four years, but they did not have to submit certificates of disability when renewing.

What are the do’s and don’ts for driving with a disabled parking permit once you have received one?

Do’s

Always take down your handicap placard when driving

Correct use of a disabled parking permit:

Not in use? Take it down!

DON’T

Incorrect use of a disabled parking permit:

I also want to add to the list that if you or a loved one doesn’t need the placard for medical reasons any longer, and you can get from the parking lot to Costco with no problem, let alone walk the entire store, then be proud enough to get rid of it and let other drivers have those desirable spaces. There aren’t enough of them in our area.

Medical Qualifications

If you have one of the following medical conditions then you may qualify for a disabled permit.  Read carefully as they are specific.

2013 Florida Statutes 320.0848 says that: persons who have disabilities; issuance of disabled parking permits; temporary permits; permits for certain providers of transportation services to persons who have disabilities.—

(1)(a)?The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles or its authorized agents shall, upon application and receipt of the fee, issue a disabled parking permit for a period of up to 4 years, which period ends on the applicant’s birthday, to any person who has long-term mobility impairment, or a temporary disabled parking permit not to exceed 6 months to any person who has a temporary mobility impairment. No person will be required to pay a fee for a parking permit for disabled persons more than once in a 12-month period from the date of the prior fee payment.

(b)1.?The person must be currently certified as being legally blind or as having any of the following disabilities that render him or her unable to walk 200 feet without stopping to rest:

a.?Inability to walk without the use of or assistance from a brace, cane, crutch, prosthetic device, or other assistive device, or without the assistance of another person. If the assistive device significantly restores the person’s ability to walk to the extent that the person can walk without severe limitation, the person is not eligible for the exemption parking permit.
b.?The need to permanently use a wheelchair.
c.?Restriction by lung disease to the extent that the person’s forced (respiratory) expiratory volume for 1 second, when measured by spirometry, is less than 1 liter, or the person’s arterial oxygen is less than 60 mm/hg on room air at rest.
d.?Use of portable oxygen.
e.?Restriction by cardiac condition to the extent that the person’s functional limitations are classified in severity as Class III or Class IV according to standards set by the American Heart Association.
f.?Severe limitation in the person’s ability to walk due to an arthritic, neurological, or orthopedic condition.
2.?The certification of disability which is required under subparagraph 1. must be provided by a physician licensed under chapter 458, chapter 459, or chapter 460, by a podiatric physician licensed under chapter 461, by an optometrist licensed under chapter 463, by an advanced registered nurse practitioner licensed under chapter 464 under the protocol of a licensed physician as stated in this subparagraph, by a physician assistant licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459, or by a similarly licensed physician from another state if the application is accompanied by documentation of the physician’s licensure in the other state and a form signed by the out-of-state physician verifying his or her knowledge of this state’s eligibility guidelines.

(c)?The certificate of disability must include, but need not be limited to:

1.?The disability of the applicant; the certifying practitioner’s name and address; the practitioner’s certification number; the eligibility criteria for the permit; the penalty for falsification by either the certifying practitioner or the applicant; the duration of the condition that entitles the person to the permit; and justification for the additional placard pursuant to subsection (2).
2.?The statement, in bold letters: “A disabled parking permit may be issued only for a medical necessity that severely affects mobility.”

3.?The signatures of:

a.?The applicant’s physician or other certifying practitioner.
b.?The applicant or the applicant’s parent or guardian.
c.?The employee of the department’s authorized agent which employee is processing the application.

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