Are doctors getting careless who they give out Handicapped tags to?

[realjd]

I once saw a pick-up truck jacked up on monster truck tires with a handicap hang tag parked in a handicap spot.  Somebody please tell me what medical condition allows you to climb in and out of a truck like that but necessitates that you have a handicap spot.

I'm pretty overweight and out of shape but otherwise able-bodied and have never even thought about applying for handicap plates/tag, but I'm not sure I could have climbed into this truck.

Something like MS maybe where they can use the step and handle to climb into the truck but not to walk very far? It could also be for a handicapped person's caregiver. They can help the disabled person into and out of the passenger seat but still get to park close if the person they are driving can't walk well. Or for a temporary issue. Someone isn't going to sell their car just because they have a temporary disability.

[OCGuy81]

Kind of on a related topic. 

What's your opinion on places that have parking places for "Mothers to Be" (also worded as Expectant Mother Parking)?

I can see these really being abused.

My wife is currently pregnant, but only in her first trimester, so it's not like she'd use that spot since she can get around just fine.  Even when she was having our second, I don't think she used them even in the last month.

I just see these being open for abuse.  Couldn't essentially any woman say she's 5-6 weeks along and use the spot?

[jwolfer]

I have a mom who is handicapped, and we have lots of trouble finding an empty parking stall as she desperately needs one for her illnesses.

It seems you see people who are being issued the special tags to park in these spots when they are in no major pain or even no minor pain either.  I knew a guy who had a heart attack and for fear of stress his doctor issued him a tag.  The guy did other things stressful including eating fried foods and getting angry (as he loved to yell) and lived many years before passing away 6000 miles away in the Phillipines.

It is obvious that the definition of the word handicapped has changed from when it  first meant those who are wheel chair bound to basically any illness for a person over 50 nowadays.  Do many of you think that doctors are going overboard or do you think times have changed an we need more spaces?  Right now handicapped space numbers  are governed by the amount of units or persons, or even offices in a complex.  For example, if is a hotel, then the amount of rooms tell the law how many stalls are needed.

Much over issued. I am a Doctor of Chiropractic and I can issue permits for handicapped spots.  I had some patients who are in wheelchairs and drive a van with a a chair lift.  There is nothing that annoys me more than seeing those patients having to park in the hinterland of my parking lot because some fatass( sorry if I offend but I know the patients history/conditions) wants takes up a handicapped spot.  The whole point of the bigger spaces is for people who have wheelchair lifts.  And if you cant walk to the front door you sure as hell cant walk around Target shopping for 2 hours.

And yes there are conditions that are not obvious, so don't make spot judgements.  I had a friend who had cancer and was going thru chemo.. she would be exhausted walking into her office from the parking lot.  But if you have granny at home who is handicapped and you are not. There is no reason for you to take up a handicapped spot.  If there is an emergency the 50 more feet from the door at Walgreens is not gonna make a difference.  The placard is for the patient and when that person is not with you there is absolutely no excuse for taking a handicapped spot from a person who actually needs it

The way my parking lot was set up there were spots closer to the front door that were open, so if walking long distances is the issue why not take the closest spot rather than the one with the curbcut for wheelchairs.

I had patients that would ask for placards just for the convenience aspect.  And they had a neck sprain.. yeah they were in pain but they could still ambulate.  The doctor can tell them no. 

You can be issued a temporary permit for something like a broken ankle.  I had a guy who was in good shape and even after his broken bones had healed he still used the handicapped spot because it was still valid for another 4 months.. An asshole move for sure.

[formulanone]

I just see these being open for abuse.  Couldn't essentially any woman say she's 5-6 weeks along and use the spot?

Well, I'm no doctor, but 5-6 weeks along isn't "expectant". Third trimester could be, but then again...my wife (and some of her friends), basically told me that getting in/out of the car was tricky, but once walking, it wasn't much more difficult. Now, getting a newborn in and out of the car seat base and swinging it into the stroller (easier of you have a "travel system") takes a little more room. And trying to do it with a 4-year-old in tow who wants to help but really should stay in her seat takes a lot more time than just parking and hopping out of your car.

[agentsteel53]

What's your opinion on places that have parking places for "Mothers to Be" (also worded as Expectant Mother Parking)?

I find it vaguely disturbing that there is such parking in front of a local liquor store.

[OCGuy81]

I find it vaguely disturbing that there is such parking in front of a local liquor store.

I haven't seen that, but wow!! That's a bit disturbing, yet funny in an ironic sort of way. 

[NWI_Irish96]

What's your opinion on places that have parking places for "Mothers to Be" (also worded as Expectant Mother Parking)?

I find it vaguely disturbing that there is such parking in front of a local liquor store.

If this is anywhere near you, please snap a picutre of this and post it.

[realjd]

Kind of on a related topic. 

What's your opinion on places that have parking places for "Mothers to Be" (also worded as Expectant Mother Parking)?

I can see these really being abused.

My wife is currently pregnant, but only in her first trimester, so it's not like she'd use that spot since she can get around just fine.  Even when she was having our second, I don't think she used them even in the last month.

I just see these being open for abuse.  Couldn't essentially any woman say she's 5-6 weeks along and use the spot?

It seems like a nice service IMO. Since it's not legally enforceable and is simply a private store trying to do a nice thing, a little abuse is expected. Most people seem to follow the rules though. I see more people parking illegally in fire lanes at stores than I do abusing expectant mother parking.

[NE2]

I am a Doctor of Chiropractic

No offense, but you're a quack

[jwolfer]

I am a Doctor of Chiropractic

No offense, but you're a quack

Tell me why you think that?  It is an uniformed and ignorant opinion. I feel sad that you are so closed minded.  



 

[formulanone]

I am a Doctor of Chiropractic

No offense, but you're a quack

Tell me why you think that?  It is an uniformed and ignorant opinion. I feel sad that you are so closed minded.

Ignore him, he's just mad that breaking into your office won't yield any drugs. 

[ftballfan]

I think some people get handicapped tags due to obesity without having another health problem

[hbelkins]

Since my dad lost a leg in the Korean War, I spent all my life with a handicapped person. Up until about 10 years ago or so, my dad could outwork me.

We never had a vehicle with any kind of handicap tags until my dad bought a '79 Chevy Caprice and got a Kentucky "handicapped vet" plate for it. Even then, he often would park elsewhere and leave the handicap spots for someone else. He walked with an odd gait because of his artificial leg, but his handicap was not visible otherwise.

When he bought a '90 Chevy pickup, he got the standard-issue Kentucky handicap plate because he was beginning to slow down, and he also had begun taking his elderly mother to more and more doctor's appointments. He also began using handicap parking spots. When he bought a '98 Chevy pickup, he opted for the mirror hang tag.

He quit driving anywhere other than right around home in '06 or '07, and my brother or I took him to his doctor's appointments in Lexington. We used handicap parking spots everywhere except, oddly enough, the parking garage in the VA Hospital in Lexington. It was easier to find an isolated spot in the bottom level of the garage and then go get a wheelchair for him to use. In late '07 he quit walking and quit driving completely.

He was completely entitled to a handicap plate, but in his youth and middle age, if you saw him, you wouldn't know that.

I think doctors generally are pretty conscientious as to whom they will write a "prescription" for a handicap plate or tag for. If only the "pill mill" doctors were more conscientious as to whom they give pain pill prescriptions to...

[US71]

I think doctors generally are pretty conscientious as to whom they will write a "prescription" for a handicap plate or tag for. If only the "pill mill" doctors were more conscientious as to whom they give pain pill prescriptions to...

You'll have to discuss that with the pharmaceutical companies.