Non-marked "handicapped" spot

[kyla39]

What is the name of your state? Indiana

I was parked at a regular meter which was located directly behind a handicapped meter/parking space. The handicapped meter at the space in front of me was painted blue and had a sign with the universal handicapped symbol attached. The meter I was at had no handicapped designation, no curb designation, was regular color, etc, like all other meters on the street. There was no sign on or near my meter that it was a handicapped space. I learned after receiving a $100 ticket and chasing down the attendant to ask, that a faded white handicapped symbol was on the road, under my car, that had not been visible as I backed into the space to parallel park.

Did she bend down and look under my car? Is this just a trap for city revenue? I don't think that this can actually be a handicapped spot if that's the only marking, especially when the meter was unmarked with no designation visible above street-level. Should I contest?

[The Occultist]

If you were honestly mistaken because the spot was not clearly marked, then by all means contest it. Make sure you take plenty of pictures of the spot to show that it wasn't marked.

[patstew]

Originally Posted by The Occultist

If you were honestly mistaken because the spot was not clearly marked, then by all means contest it. Make sure you take plenty of pictures of the spot to show that it wasn't marked.

Also check to see what's required to mark a handicapped spot. In my state, it's either a sign OR the symbol on the ground -- both aren't required.

We don't have meters for HC spots, so I can't speak to that.

As for someone getting down and looking under the OP's car, surely you realize, OP, that officers know where the HC spots are.

[justalayman]

I cannot find where in Indiana statutes or administrative code where it lists the required marking for a handicap parking spot.

What was the statute cited on your ticket? It might help finding the dang requirements.

[kyla39]

Thank you for your reply. I do not see a statute cited on the ticket. The ticket printing machine actually didn't print very well and it isn't even clear what the ticket was for (which I later found out only by asking the parking attendant herself).

As far as requirements for marking handicapped spots, I can find some relevant things, but I don't know if they apply directly to parking meters. I did find (in the Revised Code of the Consolidated City and County Indianapolis/Marion, Indiana) Title 3, Ch. 621, Article I Section 621-110 that specifies how parking spaces will be marked when someone specifically requests a permit for handicapped parking outside their work or residence - it requires curb painting and a sign restricting use to the permit holder. But for the metered spaces (621-111) it just says that the board of public works "shall reserve metered parking spaces."

There are also regulations for parking meters themselves (Title 3, Ch. 621, Article II) but nothing mentions how handicapped metered spaces will be marked. The definition of "parking meter space" says that people may park in such spaces "as indicated for each such space upon or near the parking meters." But most of the regulations focus on time of parking, not any other restrictions.

It seems like I have an argument that the city showed me how handicapped spaces would be marked when they marked the space directly adjacent to my space in a particular way, and mine wasn't marked that way. But I would definitely prefer to have a statute to back that up.

P.S. to Patstew - I'm not sure what an OP is - offensive person? opportunistic parker? However, the image of someone having to bend down and look under a car (be it the person parking in the space or the attendant issuing the ticket) to know whether they're legally parked was merely a poor attempt at humor and an effort to illustrate why I feel that the spot--I'll call it an "alleged" handicapped spot-- was insufficiently marked.

[Happy Trails]

OP = Original Poster

My search yielded the same information you found. I don't think we'll find any more information that would be more specific.

Give it a shot and take pictures as Occultist mentioned.