Some Drivers Abusing Handicap Placards

Parking in downtown Seattle isn't cheap, spots are hard to find and tickets can be pricey. The City of Seattle is expected to collect more than $25 million this year alone in paid parking.

KIRO 7 Consumer Investigator David Quinlan exposes how some commuters are cheating the system and costing you money.

Drivers who own a handicap placard should consider it a golden ticket. You can park anywhere you want in the city, for however long you like, and it won’t cost you a dime. But our investigation found numerous examples of people abusing handicap placards and getting away with it.

It's no secret that finding a spot to park in downtown Seattle is tough and expensive, but display a handicap placard and consider it a free pass.

Jan Chaussee is disabled and relies on her placard to make her medical visits. The problem is she can never find a spot that's open and often times misses her appointments.

"You have to go around the block and look and look and look," Chaussee said.

In just one afternoon at 9th and Howell in downtown Seattle, there are a total of nine cars in two blocks all with handicap placards.

We decided to monitor different high traffic areas throughout downtown Seattle to see just how many people use placards and how many abuse them.

We watched one man park his van at 6:51 in the morning, 10 hours later he returns. And according to the Department of Licensing, the handicap placard he was using was licensed to an 81-year-old woman.

He had no comment when asked about using a placard that didn’t belong to him.

Then there was a car that the driver parked in one place for most of the day using a placard that was registered to a 77-year-old woman.

DAVID: "Hi there, we're with channel 7.” MAN: “I’m sorry.” DAVID: “You look good for a 77-year-old woman.” MAN: “77-year-old woman? I'm sorry.” DAVID: “Why are you using a fake placard?” MAN: “I only did this one time.” DAVID: “Sir, we've seen your car out here for a few weeks now.” MAN: “Sorry.” DAVID: “You're sorry? C'mon man you're parking for free and everyone else is paying to park."

The City of Seattle Parking Enforcement Division started cracking down on placard abuse in 2004, but each year the city still loses millions of dollars in parking revenue.

We found drivers who were using placards that were inactive, registered to someone who was deceased or belonged to people who were older than 80.

While we found clear placard abusers, we did hear our share of excuses.

DAVID: “We're doing a story on handicap placard? Is that yours?” MAN: “It is.” DAVID: Well according to the state, it belongs to a 58-year-old woman.” MAN: “OK” DAVID: “So is that really yours?” MAN: “I do have one. That one is my mom’s. It might be in the other car.” DAVID: “So you're not abusing the placard, you just got them mixed up?” MAN: “No, I have arthritis in my hands and knees. It’s probably in the other car."

As for Chaussee, she's less than sympathetic. The placard abuse has been going on way too long she says little is being done to stop it.

"I just wish people would enforce it more," Chaussee said.

Seattle police admit that it's tough to enforce. They have a handful of parking enforcement officers whose sole job it is to find and ticket handicap placard abusers. It's a $306 fine.

Unless they're caught in the act, parking enforcement can't always issue a ticket.