Today at the University where I go to school (I am a Non-Traditional student) I get a parking ticket on my bike.

I am ticketed for parking my bike in a Handicapped parking space, because they also ticket bikes for parking in those white-line (not to be confused with the blue-lined areas) next to the handicapped parking spaces. You see, I got one of those several days prior (parking in the white-line area), in-which I knew the LEO, he just did not realize the bike was mine, so he took care of it.

At this point most people would say Yea! You deserved it, parking your bike in a handicap parking space.

Here's where it starts getting interesting. As disabled veteran our state issues special MC handicap tags to disabled veterans who ride.

Although this year they changed from the old tags, DV - XXXX (which stood for Disabled Veteran), to VH - XXXX (which now stands for Veteran Handicapped) and right below it is in plain sight is printed Disabled Veteran.

Now at this point I get on the bike and ride on over to the campus police station. I walk into the front desk lobby area and the desk clerk/communication officer asks could she help me? I ask to speak with the Chief (by the way he rides a Harley also), she says he just left for the day.

She proceeds to ask if there was anything she could do for me, I said yes. I'd like to have this ticket rescinded, where she reaches out for the ticket, looks at it and said Oh, no! You parked in a handicap parking space, with this tone of disdain for me to ever even con-tinplate such a horrad act of contempt and total disregard for the law and or disabled people.

I started laughing, and asked? Is the Capitan anywhere to be found, which she replied; not this afternoon. OK, is anybody here I can talk to, about this situation? (she doesn't get it either) Well the shift Sargent is available, but I doubt he will do anything about it. She radios the Sargent with all those numbered codes so I would not know what she was communicating to him about.

He walks in the station after just a couple of minutes and (I knew this one too) he sticks out his hand and says just give him the ticket and get out of here. He apologized for his duty officers overzealousness in writing the ticket and not stopping to fully read the plate.

Now I am not bashing the Officers as it was the first week of the semester, and things are crazy with all the new incoming Freshmen students. But jeez, it just makes you wonder.

Sorry for the long post, I just got long winded

 

Don't ya just hate the hassles?

I have DV plates on my vehicles but not my bikes. We have three types here (bikes included); DV with the wheelchair pic, plain DV (both are only issued to 100% permanent and totally disabled vets), and HV, for veterans rated at less than 100% permanent and total. Mine have the wheelchair, because that's the only ones you are allowed to park in handicapped spaces with. I feel a little weird about having the wheelchair on the plates at my age, sometimes tough.

 

At a college football game a few years back I asked a security guard directing traffic about a parking area. He would not tell me until I put my seatbelt on. I just took it off when we pulled in. Total dick. I found it myself.

 

First of all - thanks for your service & sacrafice(s) in defending our great nation. Glad to see the campus LE staff understand & acknowledge your situatuin - just gotta train those ping'n ticket writers. Maybe you could get a couple of handicapped placards & hang from the handlebars - so they take better note of your plate...;-)

 

Too many people assume things without looking. They see what they expect to see but don't actually think about what they really saw.

 

I had a similar situation happen to me, I have a California issued custom plate on my one ton truck, which I registered as a commercial vehicle, because I tow a trailer. So I parked in a loading zone to pick up some equipment, and this lady in those little three wheeled golf cart looking things pulls up and proceeds to write me a ticket. So I asked her what the ticket was for, she replies with you are parked in a commercial loading zone. I said yes I am here to pick up some equipment for my job. She said this zone is for commercial vehicles only. I said mine is a commercial vehicle. She said you dont have commercial plates, you have custom plates. I said you can have custom plates on a commercial vehicle. And she said no you cant. I said go ahead and write the ticket while I get you my registration. She looked at my reg and still wrote me the ticket. So I took the ticket to her police station and got her some training. And the ticket was torn up.

 

Man, how true that is.

 

Rental, you should not feel bad having a wheel chair plate on your mc. You are eligible for a HC plate so get it.

It's not cool to be HC, but it is cool to be able to still ride a mc and display such a plate just to see the looks you would get.

 

In MA, all commercial vehicles must have a commercial plate, if it is a custom (vanity), it still says commercial on the bottom of the plate. If you do not have one, then it is not considered a commercial vehicle, and of course any vehicle that can only be commercial due to weight or other restrictions can only have a commercial plate. Not sure how other states work....

 

Guess I don't understand why the lined area is OK for you to park in, I thought that was left open so a person with a wheel chair had room. Are you saying it is OK to deny them that ability as long as you also are handicapped? Would you have parked a 4 wheel vehicle there?
Do you think you would have gotten the ticket if you had parked in a regular handicap space?