handicapped-parking

Coley, 52, of Columbia Heights, feels conflicted because in a few weeks, he too will have his own blue handicapped-parking pass, legitimately obtained after he suffered a heart attack last year.

Misuse of handicapped parking placards is widespread Annys Shin 2010

Anger over abuse of handicapped-parking placards boiled over last week when Martena Clinton, the Maryland woman whose Lexus went missing for 24 hours after Secret Service moved it during an appearance by President Obama at the Washington Convention Center, said she had parked the car in a handicapped space using her husband's placard.

Misuse of handicapped parking placards is widespread Annys Shin 2010

Anger over abuse of handicapped-parking placards boiled over last week when Martena Clinton, the Maryland woman whose Lexus went missing for 24 hours after Secret Service moved it during an appearance by President Obama at the Washington Convention Center, said she had parked the car in a handicapped space using her husband's placard.

Misuse of handicapped parking placards is widespread Annys Shin 2010

He is still using his father's handicapped-parking placard even though the father died years ago.

Misuse of handicapped parking placards is widespread Annys Shin 2010

Coley, 52, of Columbia Heights, feels conflicted because in a few weeks, he too will have his own blue handicapped-parking pass, legitimately obtained after he suffered a heart attack last year.

Misuse of handicapped parking placards is widespread Annys Shin 2010

The lack of enforcement has led to the rise of handicapped-parking vigilantes.

Misuse of handicapped parking placards is widespread Annys Shin 2010

Disabled residents and their caregivers in the Washington area said some of the worst spots for handicapped-parking violations are at Metro stations, around government buildings, and at big-box outlets such as Target, Wal-Mart, and Costco, where the combination of tight parking and unwieldy 36-roll packages of toilet paper seems to intensify the temptation to park illegally.

Misuse of handicapped parking placards is widespread Annys Shin 2010

He is still using his father's handicapped-parking placard even though the father died years ago.

Misuse of handicapped parking placards is widespread Annys Shin 2010

Mike Birdsall said the site gets about 5,000 hits a month; about 50 reports of handicapped-parking misdeeds are posted each week.

Misuse of handicapped parking placards is widespread Annys Shin 2010

He is still using his father's handicapped-parking placard even though the father died years ago.

Misuse of handicapped parking placards is widespread Annys Shin 2010