Local News in Brief : Handicapped Must Get New Parking Placards

To cut down on illegal use of placards that permit handicapped people to use special parking spaces, the state Department of Motor Vehicles has issued new placards.

The switch to new signs, however, has confused handicapped motorists in the San Fernando Valley and has led to some of them being ticketed, said Dominic Bartalone, office manager of DMV’s Winnetka office. Those cited have not obtained new placards, he said.

The old placards are blue; the new ones are white. When the conversion was made to cut use of counterfeit placards, placard owners were not notified individually because no permanent state record of them existed, Bartalone said.

Applications for the placards, which cost $6, may be obtained by calling any DMV office, he said. When returning the applications, motorists must submit medical evidence of disability unless they already have license plates for the handicapped, he said.