The Crittenden Automotive Library

$250 Parking Spot

$250 Parking Spot

Gus Philpott
Woodstock Advocate
June 20, 2008

Why, oh why, do drivers pull into handicapped parking spots, when they don't display either the special license plates or the special placard that indicates they have the privilege to park there?

I know - they are running into the Post Office "just for a minute". Then there is a line or a delay, and they are there 2-3-4-5 or more minutes.

Early this afternoon the parking lot was almost empty, but the proud owner of this with the Illinois license "BOFFIN 1" felt entitled to swing right in and take up one of the two handicap parking places. I thought about walking back into the lobby and saying, "The police are out there writing a $250 ticket on that grey Jeep in the handicapped parking spot." Let's see; would that be Disorderly Conduct?

You may have seen some of the drivers who make it to the Post Office and properly use these two spots. Some of them can barely make it from the car into the Post Office and back. They need these spots.

Now, if this driver has a placard, it belongs on the inside mirror, not on the dashboard or the passenger seat or the floor. If it is not displayed properly, then it is not displayed.

I wonder ... how many tickets has the Woodstock Police Department issued this year to violators of handicapped parking restrictions?