SACRAMENTO – Investigators with the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) caught 131 people misusing disabled person parking placards during 19 enforcement operations in March. Offenders had their placard confiscated and face fines that range from $250 to $1,000.

“Citizens are becoming increasingly impatient with the abuse of disabled parking placards,” said California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) President Alan Barcelona.  “Evidence of that can be seen in Los Angeles where the city council recently voted to hike the penalty from $343 to over a thousand dollars.”

Since July 1, 2018, DMV investigators have verified 14,958 disabled person parking placards and found 1,379 being misused. The DMV holds as many as 24 enforcement operations each month throughout the state targeted at curbing disabled person parking placard abuse.

Anyone who suspects a person might be misusing a disabled person placard is urged to report it using an online complaint form or by contacting a local DMV Investigations office. Submissions are confidential.