Quote:
Originally Posted by villagetinker
My wife qualifies for a handicap placard, and she does bowl, so to answer your question it is the DISTANCE that is involved as well as possible breathing conditions in very hot weather.
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My late wife had COPD and other health issues from rheumatoid arthritis that affected her ability to breathe and walk. In the summer she had a lot of difficulty with the hot humid Florida weather. The shorter walk from the handicap space made it easier for her to get to an airconditioned building to go shopping, a doctor appointment, etc.
My dad had Parkinson's Disease. He didn't have the shaking hand type, he had difficulty walking. In the early stages, there were times where he could walk with no problems but all of a sudden it would hit him and he could hardly walk. He would park in a handicap space even though he was functioning properly, but he had to plan for a relapse of not being able to walk very far. He got a lot of criticizing looks from people when they saw his placard and he was able to walk back to his vehicle with no problem when he was able to function normally.
He also had heart failure and was limited in how far he could walk, even though he looked able.
There are healthy people who use a family member's placard just to be able to park closer because they are lazy, opportunistic and entitled. There needs to be extremely punitive fines for doing this and even driver's license revocation.