To further elaborate on disabled parking placards: In the past, a license plate for disabled parking could be obtained along with one placard, or two placards could be issued to a single applicant. Now a sticker can be requested that is placed on a license plate plus an additional placard for a single applicant. This allows the disabled person’s vehicle to be labeled (tab on license plate) as well as allowing the disabled individual to ride in another car and utilize disabled parking privileges.
In this day of technology and abundant smart phones, I would like to see placards, tabs and license plates bar coded with information that could then be scanned and submitted to the state DOT site to confirm validity or ownership. For those with the authority to view such information, ownership could be confirmed and ticketing could be meted out as necessary. This would apply to law enforcement and other volunteers (like our senior citizen group in Snohomish County that currently issues the tickets).
And, as far as reporting violations, citizens should be able to submit the same bar code scan along with a time stamped picture of the vehicle parked in violation to the same state DOT site. This process could also include the sending of an automated letter, text or email to the vehicle owner advising them of the reported violation and potential for fining for a first offense.
I am handicapped and use my disabled parking permit whenever I can. It is disheartening at times to see misuse, but misuse is in the minority. Please consider how any new rules would affect the majority of honest users of these permits.
Jan Palmer
Everett
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