# Habit of not displaying a valid placard, despite having one. Why? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 6, 2017, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/habit-of-not-displaying-a-valid-placard-despite-having-one-why/788319 "2017-06-06T23:04:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/habit-of-not-displaying-a-valid-placard-despite-having-one-why/788319/1 "2017-06-06T23:04:44Z")
Hopefully my thread title was not too convoluted. Anyway, I’ve mentioned on this board the fact that the only time I approach a person parked in handicapped parking is when they lack any placard or license plate ID. And I do so politely, presuming that they simply didn’t realize where they had parked. A phenomenon that I see very regularly in the context of me asking a person who is parked in handicapped sans permit is after angrily chewing me out for even asking such a question, they produce a permit from somewhere inside the car (usually the glove box). However, rather than display that permit as required by law, they just throw it back in the glove box and go on their way. For the life of me, I cannot understand this. People seem to think that they are legally allowed to park in these spaces simply if there exists a valid permit with their info on it. They don’t have to display it. This happens with enough regularity that I see a pattern here. But I don’t understand it, so I want opinions here. Why would a legally disabled driver not only not put up their placards when parking but go out of their ways to _not_ display it even after producing it. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/habit-of-not-displaying-a-valid-placard-despite-having-one-why/788319/2 "2017-06-06T23:12:07Z")
80% of people are idiots. I don’t know how else to explain it, sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/habit-of-not-displaying-a-valid-placard-despite-having-one-why/788319/3 "2017-06-06T23:13:57Z")
To keep it from being stolen, maybe? ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/habit-of-not-displaying-a-valid-placard-despite-having-one-why/788319/4 "2017-06-06T23:15:56Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > 80% of people are idiots. > > I don’t know how else to explain it, sorry. Yeah you’re probably right. What’s that saying about ‘never presume…something something…that can be explained by stupidity’? ---
**Author:** ![carlotta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@carlotta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlotta)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/habit-of-not-displaying-a-valid-placard-despite-having-one-why/788319/5 "2017-06-06T23:20:43Z")
“Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity”? ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/habit-of-not-displaying-a-valid-placard-despite-having-one-why/788319/6 "2017-06-06T23:21:35Z")
> [@carlotta](#): > > “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity”? Yes! Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/habit-of-not-displaying-a-valid-placard-despite-having-one-why/788319/7 "2017-06-06T23:35:18Z")
Presumably they can get a ticket for not displaying the placard, so sooner or later, this is going to cost them money. Perhaps then they’ll learn to display it. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/habit-of-not-displaying-a-valid-placard-despite-having-one-why/788319/8 "2017-06-06T23:35:43Z")
I had one of these experiences today, which inspired me to start this thread. I was stopping at my pharmacy to pick up a prescription. As I was pulling into a handicapped parking spot, a man in the next spot over was getting out of his car. He had no placard/ID, so I merely asked him if he knew where he was parked. I told him this is was a handicapped spot that required proof of legality in order to be used lawfully. He responded very belligerently, “I am legal!” He then opened his glovebox and grabbed the placard, waving it around in his hand. After this, rather than doing the legal and _easier_ thing of hanging it from the rearview mirror or even just throwing it up on the dashboard, he then leaved back over to his passenger side and returned the placard to the glovebox. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/habit-of-not-displaying-a-valid-placard-despite-having-one-why/788319/9 "2017-06-06T23:39:50Z")
Disability alone does not give someone the right to park in these spots. The _only_ people who have that right are people with valid disability ID. I get annoyed at the disabled people who seem to operate on the assumption that all they need to do to be legal is be disabled. Because they fail to do even the simplest action to comply and then indignantly cry foul when this error is pointed out. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/habit-of-not-displaying-a-valid-placard-despite-having-one-why/788319/10 "2017-06-06T23:42:13Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > To keep it from being stolen, maybe? Huh? Just lock your doors. And if someone is so concerned about having a placard stolen then they need to get a license plate with that info. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/habit-of-not-displaying-a-valid-placard-despite-having-one-why/788319/11 "2017-06-06T23:42:19Z")
I have a theory that at least some of these people are not the holders of the placard. They are using that person’s car and are keeping the placard where that person expects to find it. Don’t know why they don’t put it up to avoid the ticket though. Obviously I’m a cynical sort. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/habit-of-not-displaying-a-valid-placard-despite-having-one-why/788319/12 "2017-06-06T23:45:11Z")
Maybe the next time it happens, you can remind them that they need to display the placard so they don’t get a ticket. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/habit-of-not-displaying-a-valid-placard-despite-having-one-why/788319/13 "2017-06-06T23:47:47Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Maybe the next time it happens, you can remind them that they need to display the placard so they don’t get a ticket. Oh I do. Every-single-time to no avail. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/habit-of-not-displaying-a-valid-placard-despite-having-one-why/788319/14 "2017-06-06T23:58:17Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > 80% of people are idiots. > > I don’t know how else to explain it, sorry. I’d say 80% of people are self-centered assholes. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/habit-of-not-displaying-a-valid-placard-despite-having-one-why/788319/15 "2017-06-07T00:06:10Z")
Perhaps some of them are aware that their placard is not valid and think that it will not withstand even the casual scrutiny of a parking control officer. Perhaps it has an expiration date? (I obviously know nothing about the actual information on a placard, but I know my father had one that was temporary while he was recovering from back surgery). Which is funny because it seems to me they are more likely to get a ticket from no placard at all than from an expired one. Which puts them back in the stupid/idiot category. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/habit-of-not-displaying-a-valid-placard-despite-having-one-why/788319/16 "2017-06-07T00:15:09Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Which is funny because it seems to me they are more likely to get a ticket from no placard at all than from an expired one. Which puts them back in the stupid/idiot category. Exactly. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/habit-of-not-displaying-a-valid-placard-despite-having-one-why/788319/17 "2017-06-07T00:24:49Z")
I don’t know if this is how it works for you, but in my state (NM) you’re supposed to hang the placard from the mirror when parked; but if you forget to remove it, you can get a ticket for _displaying_ it when driving. Seems like a dumb system, because it’s easy to forget to either put it up or take it down. A disc that sit’s in a sticky pouch on your windshield would be a better arrangement. Semi-permanent, but you can take it out if you’re using somebody else’s car or something. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/habit-of-not-displaying-a-valid-placard-despite-having-one-why/788319/18 "2017-06-07T00:30:15Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > I don’t know if this is how it works for you, but in my state (NM) you’re supposed to hang the placard from the mirror when parked; but if you forget to remove it, you can get a ticket for _displaying_ it when driving. Seems like a dumb system, because it’s easy to forget to either put it up or take it down. A disc that sit’s in a sticky pouch on your windshield would be a better arrangement. Semi-permanent, but you can take it out if you’re using somebody else’s car or something. Yep, it’s the same way here in MI. Technically driving with a hanging placard is illegal but I doubt too many people have ever actually been ticketed for this (IMO). Especially when most of such offenders are old people. ---
**Author:** ![DeepLiquid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deepliquid/32/14893_2.png) [@DeepLiquid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeepLiquid)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/habit-of-not-displaying-a-valid-placard-despite-having-one-why/788319/19 "2017-06-07T01:04:21Z")
I’d guess most don’t do it because it requires a whole extra movement to reach over and get it. Or they have to stop texting for a second. Either way, it’s annoying. I have one and hate having to have it, but I cannot imagine failing to hang it if I’m in a handicapped spot, that seems rude somehow. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/habit-of-not-displaying-a-valid-placard-despite-having-one-why/788319/20 "2017-06-07T01:22:47Z")
> [@DeepLiquid](#): > > I’d guess most don’t do it because it requires a whole extra movement to reach over and get it. Ok but if economy of movement is the driver, how does it explain the people who, once having produced the placard, choose to take the time and effort to return said placard to the glovebox? It would require less action, less movement, to just move your arm forward a few inches and hang the damn thing from the rearview mirror. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/habit-of-not-displaying-a-valid-placard-despite-having-one-why/788319.md?page=2)