Handicapped Parking Permit

[apple19]

I've had a handicap hang tag for years for another condition before my MS diagnosis. I used it only when I really needed it. Never felt guilty about it. I knew I had problems and needed it. Now I walk with a cane and have obvious walking difficulties. I have a permanent handicap plate and park in handicap spaces all of the time. It is important to conserve as much energy as possible.

Take good care!

[Thinkimjob]

Got one, use it, love it. Why feel guilty? I can't walk very far at all.
Mind you, our town only has two handicapped parking spaces on the main street, one on each block. The parks are in the middle.
There are no lights, only roundabouts, and no pedestrian crossings, so if I want something from a shop on the other side of the road, I do laps in the car until I can park out the front.
Or I forget about it.
The ones out the front of the supermarkets are very useful.

[JayEm]

It's funny. When I'm picking my partner up from the train in the evenings, I usually wait in one of the handicapped spots, because there are usually several of them empty by the time the evening trains are coming in. And most days, there is a woman who comes running out of the station ahead of everyone else, and jogs the short distance across the parking lot to get to her car... parked in one of the handicapped spots.

Having watched her, I feel *no* guilt about using the handicapped tag, because I can't remember when I was last able to jog any distance, let alone do it at the end of the day or on uneven surfaces.

[wkikta]

I have both the Plate and a Placard. Just because I have them doesn't mean I have to use them. There are many days I just park close. I got the Plate because there were times I forgot to put up the Placard, never leave it hanging when driving since it is Illegal to do so. Generally the Police don't enforce this since they think disabled people have Diminished Mental Capacity.

[gomer]

My hang tag says to remove it from the window before driving. Not a big deal for me, I also have a H/C lic plate as well.

PROBLEM.... A couple years ago I was going thru DC during the Cherry blossom fest. I TRIED to get into the H/C parking lots, but the police at the entrances refused to let me in. I spoke with another officer away from that area, told him my problem. He said to HANG my H/C tag from my mirror. After driving with my hang tag on the rear view mirror BINGO, That was the ONLY way I got into H/C parking.

Gomer Sir Falls-a-lot

[Tracelyn]

I have perm plates on my vehicle and a hanging tag for my husband.

I am with many that have said that if they did not use the spots they would not have been able to enjoy their outing as much.

The small grocery store is not a problem, but if I have to walk from the north forty to the store, I can assure you that I will not be able to endure the shopping trip at WalMart. I tend to use the grocery cart's to help keep my balance and lean on when walking through the store.

[JayEm]

I tend to use the grocery cart's to help keep my balance and lean on when walking through the store.

You know, I've done this for years, and it has only been in the past year or so that I understood *why*. It's SO much less tiring to walk with the cart than to walk unassisted. (Maybe this is why I pretty much only shop in places where there are carts?)

[Scooter24]

[QUOTE I got the Plate because there were times I forgot to put up the Placard, never leave it hanging when driving since it is Illegal to do so. Generally the Police don't enforce this since they think disabled people have Diminished Mental Capacity.
][/QUOTE]


Got a replacement hang tag a month or so and it no longer says take down when driving, so they must have changed the rules at least in NC

[kriscake]

Thanks everyone. I feel better now.

So I just need to ask my neuro for the process for getting a tag and he will send me in the proper direction?

[AnneLouise]

Your neuro should know...but your state (if you live in the united states) should have a website and info on obtaining a parking permit.

[laina]

I've had my tag for years - it expires this fall. I use it often but I find that when I go to the grocery, its easier to park next to the cart return so I have some support on my way to the door. If I park in the handicapped spot, I need to wobble my way to the door with my cane.

Just an observation - there are never any handicapped spaces or mobility scooters at my local big store that starts with a W. Anyone else experience that.

[Milhous]

I felt no guilt when I was walking and used it -- Remember we have to continually make choices about how we want to expend our energy. If the permit makes it so you can spend more time at the mall or grocery store then use it. If it helps make it so that after you are done shopping or eating out and you are not spending the next few hours recovering at home from your time out of the house then use it. People can be cruel esp when your handicap it not very visible, I have not had much experience with those kind of people as I guess it was obvious when I could walk that I had difficulty so people did not confront me, the biggest hurdle is getting over the fact that you need one and that it can help make your life more manageable.

[JayEm]

Your state DMV website most likely has instructions for how to apply. Mine had all of the forms available online, and I just had to print them out, fill them out, and take them to my doctor--your GP or neurologist or any other medical doctor can sign them.

Then I had to take the paperwork to the police station, and they issued the hang tag. It took a day or two, but that may have been because the person who did the tags was out the day I went in.

[Mamabug]

Yes. In the state of Kansas, my doctor signed a form. I filled out a little more and checked a blank or two. And, I took the form down to the county tag office and they issued me the hang tags. They gave me a choice between 2 hang tags, or 1 hang tag and one license plate. I chose the 2 hang tags because I won't usually need to use them, so I didn't want them on my license plate.

My doctor had a choice between authorizing a permanent one or a temporary one. He issued a permanent one, even though I don't have a lot of mobility issues (mostly for long distances and when in flares). Probably because MS is permanent.

~ Faith

[cosake]

I got a hang tag at my PCP's urging during my last flare. She could not complete the paperwork as she is an NP and not an MD.

I downloaded the form from the state website, completed it and mailed it to my neuro's office. They signed it, mailed it back to me, and then I mailed it to the state. Tag arrived about 2 weeks later. It went through as a permanent tag; I'm assuming because we never know when I will need it. Even though it is permanent, the current tag expires in 2013. I will need to get a new tag then. I believe the way it works is that I have to get a new tag when my license is renewed (every 5 years), but I won't have to go through the application process again.

I have rarely used the tag, but feel better knowing that I have it in case I need it.