Fraudulent Use of Handicapped Placards

I read with sad fascination your article regarding the use of handicapped placards by valet parking attendants in Brentwood (Dec. 14). I have observed and reported similar misuse in Old Town Pasadena, all to no avail. However, the most insidious and obvious misuse of these placards is by the numerous stretch limos that sometimes occupy multiple handicapped spaces at the Los Angeles International Airport and other public facilities.

Misuse of any state-issued license should be addressed aggressively and promptly. Otherwise, we once again find ourselves on the slippery slope of disdain for law.

DAVID PAUL BLACHER

Pasadena

* While on a weekday stroll on Camden Drive in Beverly Hills, my husband and I started to count. One, two, three, four . . . 10! Out of 20 cars parked at the meters, 10 displayed handicapped placards.

How could this be? The answer came to me the next day, as I lunched with a friend. A smartly dressed young lady, keys in hand, chatted with a business associate as they walked briskly to her snazzy luxury car. “Do you need some coins for your meter?” he asked.

“Oh, I never need coins anymore!” she chided him. “I have one of those placards--so you can park anywhere and never pay the meter. One of my doctor friends wrote me a letter so I could apply.”

My own mother possesses a handicapped placard. She does not make her way briskly down sidewalks. She can barely walk, thanks to a debilitating stroke she suffered last year. On those rare occasions that she gets to go somewhere, if the handicapped spaces are all filled, she must risk her life being left in the red zone so I can drop her off close enough to the entrance.

Meanwhile, back in Beverly Hills, we are on another weekday stroll. Fully 50% of the cars parked on side streets in the office-building areas possess handicapped placards. These folks are double thieves. Not only do they rob a truly handicapped person of a much-needed spot, but they also rip all of us off by not paying for parking at meters.

HELENE LESEL

Los Angeles