Questions: Floida Disability Parking Placards/GAC

[barkley]

Does anyone know if florida reccognizes and accepts out of state (california in particular) disabled parking placards for their desiganated parking spaces? if not-how do you go about getting a visitor's placard?

On GAC-if 2 members of a family have medical conditions should you bring letters from doctors on both (i've read that it is very subjective on what is and is not accepted as necessery for GAC).

thanks for any help you can provide.

 

[Sue & Co.]

I do not know about the rest of Florida but in Orlando they do accept out of state handicapped placards (and the European blue badge).

As you live in California are you able to tell me if California will accept others and if not how to go about getting a temporary one? (We are coming to LA and San Diego next year).

Sue

 

[Cheshire Figment]

The only place in the country that does not accept other jurisdiction's handicap tags or plates is the District of Columbia. They will require you stop in at their DMV and get a temporary DC tag.

As far as GAC, a doctor's letter is not required (or desired). You just have to be able to describe the needs. If you do bring a doctor's letter a diagnoses has no meaning and a request for "front of the line" access will be ignored.

 

[JudithM]

I have used my handicapped hanging tag several times at WDW without any problems. Last summer I used it in various places around the Los Angeles area - Santa Monica city parking garage, Hollywood Bowl, Universal, etc. - again no problems.

One thing I learned in Charleston, SC & Santa Monica, CA - in city parking garages in both cities, I did not have to pay for parking. In Charleston I had to sign my name, & in Santa Monica they wanted my state & tag number.

 

[HopperFan]

Go to this site that gives the Provisions of the Law of Florida. http://www.co.hernando.fl.us/tc/pdf/HSMV_83039.pdf
What is interesting is it says all states agree to reciprocate. It is very clear from the wording that Florida accepts your existing tag/permit. Because I could not find this clearly defined in California I investigated prior to our trip.

I was instructed I must bring my state permit to one of the CA motor vehicle offices (and I needed an appointment) and they would issue me a temporary one for our trip as they would not recognize our State's permit. I guess that still falls within the agreement to reciprocate, they were just making it alittle more difficult. We decided that it wasn't worth that much time out of our trip as most places we were parking were not going to be a major problem......

This was a quote "If you have an out of state or country disabled parking permit you can take this to any California Department of Motor Vehicle and they will issue you a temporary placard good for 90 days for a $6 fee."

I guess it depends on who you talk to, what local authority and who is writing tickets that day...

 

[barkley]

thanks for all of the information-i think we will be fine as far as our parking in orlando goes.

i gave a call to our local (california) dmv-yes they gave me the line about california "recognizes"...but you have to check with the locality of the area in california you will be traveling in to see if they will honor it. so the upshot is you are better off to get a california temporary.

in california we can park in metered areas without paying but there is no provision for any free or reduced fee parking in public or private garages.

 

[Schmeck]

Are there actually states that mandate that handicapped placard-bearers get free parking in private lots?

Here in MA, in the parking lot I worked at, everyone pays - it is a private lot, a privately run business, and so everyone is expectd to pay for the service given.

 

[pugdog]

It was always my understanding that the ADA made the states accept tags from other states because there is now ONE national set of conditions you need to meet to get a tag to start with.
I've never taken the time to look this up, but I do know that all tags now have to have a 3 inch symbol and must hang from the mirror and some other things I can't recall right now.
I know about DC and their thing with outside tags but I'm not sure how the ADA addresses that and how other states can try to do that.

 

[barkley]

It was always my understanding that the ADA made the states accept tags from other states because there is now ONE national set of conditions you need to meet to get a tag to start with.
I've never taken the time to look this up, but I do know that all tags now have to have a 3 inch symbol and must hang from the mirror and some other things I can't recall right now.
I know about DC and their thing with outside tags but I'm not sure how the ADA addresses that and how other states can try to do that.

at least in california (can't speak for other states)-you can have either an interior or exterior identifier. a lot of us opt for the interior (hanging style) because it can be transfered from auto to auto (whereas the special lic. plates cannot). i don't know about the standardized national conditions-when i looked at the florida site they mentioned that florida no longer accepts certain mobility issues (some distance issue), as far as i know california still does.

even if the states are supposed to accept it i would not want to get into a situation where i received a ticket out of state and had to try and fight it from home (and i dont know how much other places ding illegal parkers in the handicapped spots for, but out here it is in the hundreds of dollars + you can be legaly sited if you park and do not put the placard on the rear view mirror).
i'm thinking check with the dmv in the area you will be parking in-better safe than sorry.

 

[BillSears]

I've only been to California once but I do go to DC every now and then.

I had heard that California "officially" did not honor out of state permits. But I decided that since I was only there for a couple of days I'd risk the fine. It worked out without any problems. I only had to park in a handicapped space once during the trip and I did not recieve a ticket.

I've parked in DC many times and parked in handicapped parking spaces. I've alos parked at the meters and not paid the meter. I've never recieved a ticket for these. BTW the meter thing is something I thought was universal for HP plates/placards, so I'm guessing it's that way in DC too.

Really to expect someone who is passing throught California to make an appointment and stop at a DMV office during thier open hours just so they can park in a handicapped spot is unreasonable. Unless I get a wide enough spot for me to get my wheelchair out of the car I can't get out of my car....So how can I park at the DMV without using the handicapped parking space? How can I even park at a rest stop while passing through California to go to the bathroom?

 

[pugdog]

I was just doing googling info on this and it does seem to be totaly diferent by state. Alot of them are the same but alot are not.
But I did see on the DOJ/ADA site that states are not suppose to charge you for the sticker above what is resaonable. So California making out of staters do that sounds like a violation of the ADA.
Maybe some day the ADA will make the qualifacations universal to make everyones tag the same way.

 

[barkley]

i would think you would have no problem at disneyland proper (or any of the theme parks)-they are all private property, and police do not ticket on private property unless the owner instructs them to do so (not the best p.r. move for a place trying to draw visitors from around the real world). if you are staying off site i would give a buzz to the hotel you will be at and see if they will honor your placard for their lot (some hotels out here waive the daily parking fees for handicapped placard holders).

you are right it is rotten of california to put people through this-what makes it even worse is that appointments are not convenient, rarely on time, and offices are not always in the same town you will be staying

 

[Cheshire Figment]

i would think you would have no problem at disneyland proper (or any of the theme parks)-they are all private property, and police do not ticket on private property unless the owner instructs them to do so (not the best p.r. move for a place trying to draw visitors from around the real world). if you are staying off site i would give a buzz to the hotel you will be at and see if they will honor your placard for their lot (some hotels out here waive the daily parking fees for handicapped placard holders).

The parking lots at WDW are patrolled by either Orange County or Osceola County Sheriffs (depending on what part of WDW). They will definitely ticket for violations. That is how they handle the enforcement.

About two years ago I forgot to put up my hang tag and got a ticket at the lot at Downtown Disney. I called up the court and was told if I sent in a Xerox copy of my permit I would only have to pay a $20 fine for not displaying the tag as opposed to the $250 fine for illegal parking. It taught me a lesson that could have been very expensive.

 

[SueM in MN]

if you are staying off site i would give a buzz to the hotel you will be at and see if they will honor your placard for their lot (some hotels out here waive the daily parking fees for handicapped placard holders).

Your permit will be honored anywhere in Florida (so no concern about the hotel not honoring it). But, if they charge for parking, they may or may not waive the fee.

There was legislation in 1998 encouraging states to adopt a uniform definition and regulations for handicapped parking. Most did adopt it and along with adopting those things, they adopted an agreement to honor the permits honored by other states (the reciprocity that has been mentioned). There is some variety in how things work - the law just says that handicapped parking spots of a certain size, etc. have to be provided. Some states have added other things, like waiving parking fees, but the the general definitions and provision of spots is the same. I can't find a link of the reciprocity, but I believe Florida recognizes every state, plus Canade and the UK.

 

[Talking Hands]

Yes Florida accepts every state disabled placard. At least in my area Canadian is allowed accepted. We get a lot of snowbirds from Canada.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Are there actually states that mandate that handicapped placard-bearers get free parking in private lots?

Here in MA, in the parking lot I worked at, everyone pays - it is a private lot, a privately run business, and so everyone is expectd to pay for the service given.

On the other hand, Massachusetts law does mandate that vehicles with handicap plates or placards may park in any metered space at no charge. So, to theorize on your question, I'd say no, your lot owners are within their rights to charge ALL vehicles/drivers for parking there.

 

[Schmeck]

Thanks for the response - I really would like to know which states allow handicapped parking in private garages/lots, because in the past I've encountered quite a few people who thought that parking was free, even in a private lot. Was just wondering where they might have come from...

 

[SueM in MN]

Thanks for the response - I really would like to know which states allow handicapped parking in private garages/lots, because in the past I've encountered quite a few people who thought that parking was free, even in a private lot. Was just wondering where they might have come from...

I know that private lots are required to provide handicapped parking spaces, but as far as I know, no states have laws that mandate those spots need to be free. The owner is free to charge or not charge people with disabilities as they see fit.
i have seen a lot of hotels that provide free valet parking to people with disabilities or to people with disabilities if all the handicapped spots are full. That's less of a perk and more of a "there are only so many close spots" type thing though.
A lot of states allow free parking for people with disabilities at parking meters, but I'd like to challenge anyone who disagrees with that to try paying a parking meter from a wheelchair. If they are able to do that, then they can try paying a parking meter from a wheelchair, with a walkerr or cane when there are 6 inches of melted slush or 6 inches of melted and re-frozen slush around the meter.

 

[Schmeck]

Thanks Sue - I agree with the parking meter situation as well - a city could try to have accessible-sized metered spots, but they wouldn't be near every destination, and that wouldn't work for many disabled people. The closest spot could be blocks away! The fact that meters aren't accessible to all is terrible, although not having to pay is fine.

The lot I worked at had 7 designated/posted HP spots, but we always ran out by midmorning on the weekends. I tried to save end spots in rows for people needing a more accessible spot - we tended to squeeze those cars in like sardines!

A national placard would make so much sense - of course our government isn't always about making sense...

 

[Sue & Co.]

Posting again on this because I have just been speaking to Virgin Atlantic to sort out my special requirements for next year and asked about parking in our two hotels. They assured me that California and Nevada have now agreed to accept European blue badges without the need for anything else.

Sue