same here in Jersey Tim. the placard is good for 4 years, and must be accompanied by a DMV issued registration card.

 

Hard to tell who has BP meds prescribed to them unless they tell ya, Tim.....And I don't know too many folks with high BP who are granted a handicap placard for that particular 'infirmity'......I'll go one further.....There's so much info. out there on BP control that ONE of the big things any doctor worth their salt will prescribe to a high BP person is to get off of their ***(es) and exercise......

I think having a placard so as to park CLOSER would be contraindicated.....

Not sure what you mean here.......They are marked as disabled or 'handicapped' with high BP or cardio issues?

I don't know where you're going with the 'costing us money' thingee.......Unless somehow the BP and heart stuff is service-related....but it's not even about that. Hey....if someone has high BP and a bad ticker and they want to continue smoking and drinking (moderate drinking isn't necessarily contraindicated with cardiovascular conditions......HEAVY drinking, however, is....for that and for BP.....)......then have at it. Kill yourself. Same thing with the obese gentleman I described in the OP. You can't save everyone, nor should you try........People can put into their bodies whatever they want......

 

You totally missed my point Steve. While I appreciate and even agree with the rant over handicapped parking and who should / should not said parking, the point is, who are any of us to judge who is using the parking. The parking pass, like any non-OTC drug is doctor prescribed, period.

So if a person uses a doctor prescribed parking pass to park closer to a store just to go in and add to his obesity, then it's legal. He likely also uses his pass to park closer DMV, doctor's office and other city services.

My wife might actually fall into to the ranting of the original post. As I mentioned, she's had both knees replaced, two years apart. The years leading to her replacements were painful and agonizing for her. But, for her it became a double edged sword. Knees ache, can't exercise without extreme pain. Post knee replacement and she doesn't hurt as much but enjoys reduced mobility and it's difficult at best to walk long distances. A long distance for her is through a walmart parking lot. So, she gains weight and is struggling with it now.
So, if you were to see her and having never met her, you may prejudge her as an abuser of the parking pass. She's not elderly, (55) no longer needs a cane or walker but she's slow and methodical in her steps. I intend to see to it that she gets her pass renewed in 2013.

 

Obese and Obese with legitimate medical issues are two different things. Individuals know themselves in which category they honestly belong. Shame on those who dishonestly claim disabled status.

My medically disabled, WWII veteran, 80+ year old Grandfather would drop my Grandmother at the doorway of a store than go park his car with the handicap placard (they reserved that use for when Great Grandma who passed at a young 103 was with them) out in the unreserved stalls of the parking lot and walk back to the store to join his wife.

 

I'm going to play devil's advocate here, and say that healthcare has become one of the most widely consumed consumer products in our country. It seems every perfectly healthy person here has some kind or another of some unique, possibly terminal condition. People really get a kick out of the whole game, and the industry that dreamed up the whole marketing and sales structure has never been better off.

So although the placards are M.D. prescribed, that isn't saying much. Unfortunately, nowadays, that something is "Rx" means about as much as if it comes highly recommended by your second cousin.

 

Great thread Steve. I agree with you completely, and also with a lot of the other posters, so I won't repeat what they've said. I'll just add a few thoughts of my own....

I was going to make a joke about this... until I remembered how I felt when I had anxeity attacks. If one would hit me while I was in a store, I couldn't get out of there fast enough. Having my car close to the door would have been very helpful but I really couldn't see myself, or anyone else using this condition as a reason to get a placard.

I wonder if your friend would have been treated so badly if he was open carrying?

I can only speak for myself, but when I am encumbered I don't like people to know it, or see it. I don't like to appear vunerable. When I can barely walk at times because of my sciatica and piriformis syndrome I stay at home, but with living alone there are times I have to go to the store and I must admit that the handicap spot sure does look tempting, or when it's raining, super cold, I'm in a hurry, lazy ... or any of the other excuses all of the unqualified people use that I've confronted in the past. And, yes, I do confront people. One day I saw a lady who didn't look disabled get into her car. I stared at her. She stared at me. I gave her a dirty look. She gave it back to me. I was just about to give her the riot act and she snaps at me that she is legit and has proof. So I said back to her, "I was just trying to protect people like you." We both smiled.

If I would see your wife walk in a store and get 4 snicker bars, a big bag of chips and 2 mountain dews (not diet) I would think the same thing about her as Steve thought about the guy in his OP.

 

Kudos to YOU, Steve. Actually, I had planned to look these up for you, but I wanted to see if anyone else had done it first.

 

Michelle,

Maryland has NO open carry provision(s), unless you are a LEO, performing your lawful duties.
When "Plainclothed", a 'badge' or 'shield' must be displayed on the belt near the sidearm.

Concealed carry permits are very difficult to get in Maryland.
In Maryland, 'concealed' means. . . . concealed.

This particular friend is a retired U.S. Marshal.

 

Just FYI....

I don't go LOOKING for handicap violations.....but we get the calls all the time. I'm happy to oblige. Easy ticket to write and $100 on top of all that.

See? I'm protecting the disabled too!

 

Can an officer right a ticket for the offense in a parking lot?

I have been told by other LEO's that it is considered private property and that they can not determine at fault or write a ticket for accidents or open container while on the property. All they can do is write a report.

 

Then why have handicapped parking at all, since no one can enforce it? I have also been told by LEOs that they generally won't write a ticket in a parking lot unless the store requests them to do so. The LEO also told me that if someone was driving recklessly in a parking lot, the police can write them up for it.

Someone told me a long time ago they'd seen a bumper sticker (or a sign) that says "I'd glady trade my parking space for your legs" Or something like that.

As far as what Tim posted, I see what you're saying. You simply cannot know what the person is going through by looking at them. However, if the person is shuffling and in obvious pain, it makes sense that they should be in the handicapped space. You gotta admit that there are a lot of people that really shouldn't have them, though. Maybe like the guy in the OP?

 

police here in Jersey can write tickets anywhere. private property or not.
if a police officer tells you he can not write because it is private property, he is just telling you "i will not write because am lazy"

 

went to a buffet last night, the guy at our table was telling us he just had a triple bypass. i was thinking he must have a death wish.

 

Original post asks for fat content in addition to caloric intake.

His fat intake was...

15 grams from the chips

14 grams per Snickers bar so 14 x 4 = 56
Total: 71 grams of fat

And you didn't ask for it but sugar would be...

77 grams per 20 oz bottle of mtn dew so 77x2 = 154 grams
29 grams per snickers bar so 29x4 = 116
Total: 270 grams of sugar

 

Yes. (I hope this helps)

Separate writing parking tickets from writing moving violations........We're more limited with the latter.......DWI and Careless/Reckless Driving are 2 we can write on private property........anywhere and anytime.

The handicap space just has to be properly marked (and with the proper general statute on the sign).....You can't just paint a blue sign and put an 'H' on it and call the cops when someone 'unauthorized' parks there......