A 3-minute lesson from the New York course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Reserved parking for people with disabilities is a legal requirement. It gives safe, equal access to goods and services that many people take for granted. Misusing it, or lying to get a permit, brings real fines and penalties.
Reserved parking sign for people with disabilities
Know the rule
You can park in a reserved space only if you have a permit or plates for persons with disabilities, and only when the person who received them is in the vehicle.
It's illegal to park, stop or stand in a reserved space without DMV disability plates, a NYS Parking Permit for the Disabled issued by a city, town, county or village, or a similar plate or permit from another state. The vehicle must be transporting the person named on it.
The law covers reserved spaces set by local ordinance on streets and highways, and those required by state law in shopping centers with five or more stores and 20 or more off-street public parking spaces.
Reserved spaces must be marked with signs and may also have pavement markings. Don't park in the diagonally striped spaces next to them; they give access to wheelchair users and vehicles with special equipment.
Making a false statement on an application for disability plates is a misdemeanor: mandatory license revocation, a possible fine and/or jail, plus a mandatory surcharge.
False information to get a disability parking permit brings possible civil penalties of $250 to $1,000 plus a mandatory surcharge. The penalties apply to the applicant and to a doctor who provides certification.
Your grandmother has a disability parking permit, and you're running into the store alone to pick up her prescription. You may not use the reserved space, because she isn't in the vehicle. Park in a regular space instead.
Check your understanding
Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.
Who may legally park in a space reserved for people with disabilities?
Anyone briefly running an errand
Any car with a temporary parking pass
Delivery vehicles making a quick stop
A permit vehicle carrying the permit holder
Answer: A permit vehicle carrying the permit holder
You can park in a reserved space only with the correct plates or permit, and only while the permit holder is being transported.
