Trying to Park in the Handicapped Zone? You’d Better Have Your Paperwork Ready

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Drivers at the NASCAR Races in Sonoma, California, who wanted to park in the disabled parking, were greeted by a sign that said, “Checkpoint Ahead.” As they headed in, they were approached and asked if the holder of the disabled placard was the driver or in the car.

The Sonoma County Sheriff’s office and NASCAR officials set up a disabled placard checkpoint every year. Drivers are approached by staff and asked for not only the placard but the paperwork that states who the placard belongs to.

  

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Displaying a handicapped placard that doesn’t belong to you is a misdemeanor traffic violation. When information is given to the staff, it’s verified and if it checks out, you’re given a parking permit and sent on your way. But when your information doesn’t check out you’re given a citation. The maximum fine in Sonoma County for this citation is $1,075.

According to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s office, 40 tickets were issued in 72 hours with 27 issued on the last day. All the placards were confiscated from the  drivers that were issued citations. The sheriff’s office also said the the number of citations was down from last year. They issued 83 tickets in one day at the raceway last year. While it definitely is a headache for some, the revenues collected will certainly be in the red for the districts issuing fines to those who have handicapped parking permits- but who are in fact abusing the system.

Image Credit: CBC.com & clker.com