Question: I saw an ABC news report that said law enforcement officers in Los Angeles and across the nation were clamping down on people illegally using disabled parking placards with fines of hundreds or thousands of dollars. What is Honolulu doing to enforce this law? What is the ratio of disabled parking permits issued to the total number of vehicles registered? In the Chinatown area alone, practically every vehicle parked in a metered stall on the street seems to have a handicap placard. Some cars are parked for hours and, in some places, all day while the owners go to work.

Answer: There are various ways to illegally use disabled parking placards, including using another person’s placard or obtaining a placard fraudulently, noted Francine Wai, executive director of the state Disability and Communication Access Board.

"There is abuse, but we have no way to quantify the abuse" in the use of the placards, she said. "However, it is fair to say that many people who have a placard do not need an accessible stall because they park in a regular metered stall all the time, giving the impression (real or not) of abuse."

Wai said her agency is doing public education and outreach to private parking companies about the law, "but clearly, the police are the mainstays of enforcement."

However, she noted, "We are aware that enforcement is sparse, particularly on the neighbor islands."

Citing drivers who improperly or fraudulently use disabled parking placards is difficult, said Sgt. Ben Moszkowicz, with the Hono*lulu Police Department’s Traffic Division.

That’s because a police officer or a volunteer special enforcement officer must see a driver exit or return to a car that has a placard displayed and is parked in a handicapped or expired meter stall.

At that point the driver would be asked to provide his disabled parking placard identification card, which then can be matched to the placard, Moszkowicz said.

If the driver is unable to provide the special ID card, the driver could be cited, he said. (If the placard is registered to someone other than the driver, such as an elderly parent, the officer could ask to see the placard registrant.)

However, Moszkowicz said these types of situations are "extremely rare."

In 2014 only two citations were issued for fraudulent use of a placard, 11 citations were issued for improper use of placard, and 16 for not having a valid placard ID card, he said.

Citations for not having a visible placard are much more common. In 2014, volunteer special enforcement officers and police officers issued 1,842 and 423 citations, respectively.

HPD does not have citation statistics for parking beyond the maximum free time limit or a geographical breakdown of where the citations were issued.

Placards Issued

There are approximately 94,000 disabled parking placards in circulation in the state.

Regarding the number of placards issued compared with the total number of registered vehicles: Wai said it would be more accurate to compare the number of people who have the placards compared with the total population.

"It is a more accurate analysis to say that there are about 94,000 people who have a permit out of a total population of 1.4 million, for a percentage of about 6.7 percent of the population," she said.

The ratio of accessible parking stalls to regular stalls is about 4 percent, based upon design guidelines set by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Mahalo

To a kind person. I was shopping in the Inspiration store on Kapiolani Boulevard on Saturday, Jan. 10, and left my wallet on the counter during the busy transaction. It was gone when I came back. My heart sank. Thankfully, someone turned it in to the front desk. Please contact Kokua Line because I would sincerely like to thank you in person. God bless you. — Inspiration Customer

Write to "Kokua Line" at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.