“Over the years, we’ve really gathered quite the collection of stories with the confiscated placards.” DiPietro said, “(It’s) Unbelievable the lengths people will go to.”
Springfield Police Lt. Jeff Meyer said officials patrol the streets daily looking for violators, but there hasn’t been an increase in recent years.
“We’re always going to have a certain number” of people who just don’t care, Meyer said.
The number of Ohio motorists issued handicapped placards soared to 320,000 last year, up about 87 percent from 2001 when only 171,000 permits were issued, according to the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
Geoff Dutton, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Public Safety, which oversees the BMV, said the increase is due in part to Ohio’s aging population and also the law’s requirement that permit- holders reapply more frequently for the placards.
The permits can be issued for between 60 days and five years and require a doctor’s note each time they are renewed, he said.
“Even if you have a permanent disability, you need a doctor’s note every time,” Dutton said. “It reduces the chances placards are abused by people who don’t need them.”
The permits allow drivers to park in designated spots closer to businesses and facilities.
Handicapped permits are issued for specific reasons defined by state law, such as a motorist or passenger not being able to walk 200 feet without needing a rest.
Nearly 1.2 million Ohio residents, or 10 percent of the state’s population, held valid handicapped parking permits in 2010.
Mother and son Barbara and Marty Fitzwater of Springfield have had handicapped parking permits for years.
Both say they get upset when motorists abuse the parking tags.
“Since I’m disabled it gets pretty hectic when all of (the parking spots) are taken and I know some of them aren’t legit,” said Marty Fitzwater, who has had a handicapped placard for about 10 years due to vision problems caused by diabetic retinopathy.
His mother, Barbara Fitzwater, 78, needs the placard because she can only walk a short distance due to problems with her hips.
She said there needs to be more enforcement to prevent abuse.
Jennifer Rousculp, superintendent of the Developmental Disabilities of Clark County, said family members of people with the parking permits are often unaware they cannot use the placards, too.
“Sometimes they don’t realize it’s not assigned to the vehicle, it’s to that person and that person only,” Rousculp said.
Donna Frederick, executive director of Elderly United, said many of her clients cannot enter businesses if they have to park too far away.
She said grocery stores and shopping centers are areas where she hears most people complain that the placards are being abused.
Sheila Rice, deputy registrar for the BMV on Sunset Avenue, said her office has issued more than 1,600 placards to area residents during the last two years.
Rice said people who misuse the tags can be fined $250 and law enforcement officials don’t hesitate to go after violators.
“It’s like a license plate number. It belongs to Judy, and if police see Joe come out of the car they’ll know that it doesn’t belong to him and they’ll write him a ticket,” Rice said. “So many people complain, but there are nonvisible disabilities,” she said. “There are people with breathing problems, people who have children with disabilities. You just don’t know by looking at them.”
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