Dead's Handicap Parking Placards Being Abused

BOSTON, MA - Would you use a dead person’s handicap placard just to get a day of free street parking? If you answered “yes” you’re not alone: some Bostonians are doing just that.

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a report Wednesday that outlined the insane abuse of handicap parking permits, which allow valid holders to utilize handicap-designated spots and to park in metered spots for free, in Beantown.

In some of these cases people were using placards belonging to now-deceased friends and family, according to the report.

In 2015, OIG’s Internal Special Audit Unit (ISAU) staked out the Theater District, Copley Square, the Fenway neighborhood and parts of Back Bay for more than a month to catch placard-abusers.

“The meter-fee exemption and the convenience of parking close to work can act as incentives to misuse placards by, for example, using a relative’s placard to park for free at a parking meter all day,” the OIG wrote in the report. “This incentive is particularly strong in urban areas, where parking is both expensive and hard to find.”

The unit caught 325 people displaying handicap placards that were not their own, according to the report. In four of these cases the offenders were using placards belonging to someone who was deceased.

One guy used a deceased person’s placard to park outside of his office for free. He was a state employee who earned nearly $110,000 in 2015, according to the report.

The thought of using a dead person’s privileges might seem morbid, but it’s actually not a crime in the city of Boston. It is, however, a crime to use a handicap placard belonging to another person. The punishment for a first offense is a fine of $500, which is close to the cost of a month of parking in a city garage.

The investigation also noticed some very suspicious people who worked in physically taxing jobs, such as in construction or serving, using handicap placards to avoid the meter fee.

Under the federal guidelines those eligible for handicap placards: cannot walk 200 feet without stopping or resting; cannot walk without assistance from a device or prothetic; are restricted by lung disease; use portable oxygen; have a severe cardiac condition; or have an arthritic, neurological or orthopedic condition that inhibits their ability to walk, according to the report.

The ISAU saw eight staff members of Boston Hospital and neighboring medical facilities using other people’s placards to park for free near the hospital, taking parking spots that could have been used by legally disabled who were visiting the hospitals.

“Placards are intended for persons with true disabilities and not as financial relief for commuters,” the OIG wrote in the report.

In a sneakier move, disabled Bostonians have been reporting placards lost or stolen and then giving them to their friends or relatives once they get a new one. When a placard is reported lost or stolen the RMV cancels the placard number in its database and notifies the local parking commission of the cancellation but can’t stop people from displaying them anyway.

During the investigation, the ISAU observed 42 vehicles parked at meters where the drivers had improperly concealed portions of the placard, including the placard number and expiration date.

Placards have also been put up for sale on sites such as Craigslist. The report said non-disabled people using these placards not only take the spaces away from those who are truly disabled, but also potentially cost the city of Boston millions of dollars in revenue from parking meters.

The handicap impersonators may have ruined it for people who are legally handicapped. In the report, the ISAU recommended eliminating the meter-fee exemption or imposing a four-hour time limit on parking for free at a meter for placard holders.

The ISAU also made the request that the use of a dead person’s placard become a punishable crime.