Throughout the month of August, investigators with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) cited 106 individuals — including eight from Santa Clarita — for misusing disabled parking placards, officials said Wednesday.

The DMV holds up to 24 enforcement operations each month throughout the state targeting illegal use of disabled parking placards, according to officials.

In May, DMV investigators cited eight individuals for misusing disabled parking placards and contacted 40 individuals, according to officials.

“Disabled parking placards are issued to a specific person, and the person to whom it is issued is the only person that could use it,” said Jaime Garza, a spokesperson for the DMV, in a previous KHTS article.

When a disabled placard is issued, it has a number that matches a number on a registration card.

The investigators conduct placard checks, and when they see an individual pull in to a disabled parking area, they make sure that the placard number matches the same digits on the registration card and ask to see the person’s identification.

“If the three don’t match, we confiscate the placard and issue a misdemeanor citation,” Garza said.

However, drivers are able to drop off a passenger with a disability close to a door and then park in a disabled spot, according to officials.

If a parking enforcement officer asks a driver in this situation for proof of disability, requiring the identification of the disabled person, the driver must then go get their passenger, according to officials.

Because not all disabilities are visual, officials urge residents not to assume someone is misusing disabled parking spots just because they don’t see them using a walker, wheelchair or cane, according to officials.

“Some people may have heart or lung problems, which is not visible,” Garza said.

DMV officials are also reminding the public that it is illegal to use “no parking” areas next to a disabled spot for loading or unloading vehicles.

“These spots are used for vans that have ramps used to get people with wheelchairs out of the car,” Garza said.

Those who illegally use disabled parking placards and are caught can face fines that range from $250 to $4,000 depending on the jurisdiction of where the citation was issued, according to officials.

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