Phony parking placards net Lynn thousands

LYNN – Whether a handicap placard was borrowed for the day or kept for 25 years, hundreds of Lynners have been caught red handed either abusing or misusing placards.City Parking Director Jay Fenton said 443 fines were issued from July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008 at $100 a pop to those who were in a quest for the closest parking spot or the chance to beat the parking meter fines.Of that amount, Fenton said $44,300 could have been collected if all of the fines were paid and not appealed, but in the end, the city ended up netting $37,200.One of the tricky tactics drivers have been found to use to beat the system is creating fraudulent placards.According to Parking Department Assistant Director Bob Stillian, violators frequently make copies of valid placards and laminate them to appear authentic.The fine for fraudulent use is $1,000 and includes the loss of the placard, and a 30-day operator suspension.”Oh you can definitely tell when the placards are fake and I’ve caught people many times doing it,” he said. “It’s just a blatant disregard of the law.”Stillian said while some violators immediately confess their wrongdoing when approached, others are quick to place the blame on someone else or try to weasel their way out of the situation.”I’ve had people tell me the placard is their aunt’s, but when I say she has to verify it, they’ll say she’s deceased,” he said. “Or other people will say they parked there for five minutes to pick up food or their laundry. But either way, it’s still illegal to park without a valid placard.”Stillian said while the state is currently pushing to get the fines increased to $300, drivers with outstanding fines would face penalties at the Registry of Motor Vehicles when renewing their driver’s license.”A lot of people think their car is sacred with a placard, but it’s not,” he said. “For the life of me I don’t understand why people do this.”Catching offenders for the past 14 years, Stillian said the number of offenders have remained somewhat consistent, but admitted they have gotten more brazen in recent years.”Some people are repeat offenders, some make copies, some drive their elderly relatives around and keep the passes,” he said. “Other times you can look at a person and not think anything is wrong with them who have passes, but they’ll have, say, a heart condition or breathing problem, so you can never tell.”However, Stillian said there have been instances where a valid placard fell off of a mirror or an elderly person forgot to put it in plain view, but that doesn’t happen too often.”I had a person come in for a hearing about six months ago with a placard from 1996, and another instance where a widow was using her husband’s placard who had been dead for 25 years,” he said. “Some people think they are entitled to use another person’s placard because they had surgery or were sick, but you just can’t do that.”A form is available on the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles Web site at www.mass.gov to report suspected handicap placard abuse.