Handicapped parking perk for riders as well as drivers

Question: Will you please explain how it is even possible for someone who doesn’t drive to obtain a handicapped parking placard?

Answer: We weren’t certain from the tone of your voice mail whether you want to apply for a disability parking permit or whether you are annoyed that disabled people who don’t drive themselves are able to get them.

So we’ll start with some background: A person need not be a licensed driver to obtain a disability parking permit. The permits are intended to help people with disabilities maintain active lifestyles and mobility in the world, whether they are driving themselves or being driven by a friend, family member or caregiver.

“Many elderly folks have long given up their license and are transported by caregivers or family members. In fact, their disabling condition often is what has stopped them from driving themselves,” said Francine Wai, executive director of the state Department of Health’s Disability and Communications Access Board.

Disability parking permits may be issued in the form of special license plates, when the person has a long-term disability and is the registered owner of the vehicle; or in the form of removable windshield placards, which hang from a vehicle’s rearview mirror and are issued in cases of short- or long-term disability, according to the DCAB website.

Parking spaces reserved for vehicles displaying a permit are generally near the entrance of a facility and provide extra space via an access aisle, which should never be blocked by adjacent vehicles.

With the permit on display, the vehicle can park conveniently so as to ease the way of the disabled person and whatever equipment he or she might use, including wheelchairs, walkers and oxygen tanks; this holds true whether the disabled person is the driver or a passenger. Not all people with a disability need such equipment, and its use is not required to be eligible for a permit.

The DCAB website provides detailed instructions about how to obtain a permit, as well as a downloadable application form (you can also get the forms at satellite city halls and some other locations). For the most extensive information, go to health.hawaii.gov/dcab/parking. If you lack Internet access, call DCAB at 586-8121.

A physician licensed to practice in Hawaii must certify your eligibility, based on at least one of the following disabling conditions:

>> You are unable to walk 200 feet without stopping to rest due to a diagnosed arthritic, neurological, orthopedic, renal, vascular or oncological condition.

>> You are unable to walk without the use of, or assistance from, a brace, cane, crutch, another person, prosthetic device, wheelchair or other assistive device.

>> You have lung disease that restricts breathing to a specified extent (see the DCAB website for the specifications).

>> You use portable oxygen.

>> You have a cardiac condition to the extent that functional limitations are classified in severity as Class III or Class IV according to the standards set by the American Heart Association.

Q: Is it legal to park in a cul-de-sac?

A: No. It is illegal to park within the turnaround area of any dead-end street on Oahu, per Sec. 15-14.1 (27) of the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu. No signs are required to alert motorists of this prohibition, which is considered a standard traffic rule. Cul-de-sacs must be kept clear so that emergency vehicles have room to maneuver should they be called to respond to the street, according to the Honolulu Police Department.

Mahalo

Early part of this year, a young man from Mililani came all the way to our house in Pearl City looking for our grandson. He found our grandson’s wallet on the road in Mililani. Thanks to him our grandson got his wallet back. Nothing missing. Although it’s late, hope he gets to see this message. May God bless him. Merry Christmas. — Thankful grandparent

Mahalo

After falling in the upper deck of a parking lot Monday, I failed to get the name of the man who helped me get back onto my feet. Other than minor scrapes I am uninjured, but without his help I don’t know how long I would have lain there unnoticed. He was truly a Christmas “angel” to this octogenarian, and I sincerely thank him for his kindness. — Grateful senior

Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.