Disabled Placard

Alternatives are available to Helen M. Weiss (Letters, July 31), and her “$6 Fee” experience.

She and her husband could avoid the Department of Motor Vehicles Department line for obtaining a disabled person parking placard. A phone call to any DMV office (busy signals are rare lately) generates the necessary application form by mail. The caller may arrange a recommended appointment to submit the completed application and the fee, an option to standing in long lines. More important, the application may be mailed in, and the placard will be delivered within a few days. Also, groups of eligible applicants may make arrangements with a DMV field office to conduct a placard “clinic” at a remote site convenient to that group.

Finally, it should be explained that the $6 fee pays for the administration of a revised placard program that will effectively prevent abuse of the placards by those who are not legitimately disabled. We wish to ensure that the limited number of parking spaces designated for the handicapped are actually reserved for those who need them.

ALVIN J. LIVINGSTON

Chief Deputy Director

Department of Motor Vehicles

Sacramento