Help Me Hank: Help Me Hank! Handicapped placard panic

When Bill Melanson pulls into a parking lot there's always a spot just for him under the big blue sign marked handicapped.
 
Bill Melanson, disabled driver
"I need that space."
 
Bill is permanently disabled, but not discouraged. He's got his buggy, his wheelchair, and his car. And that includes this most important dashboard feature: a handicap ID card from the Mass Registry. The expiration date says indefinite.
 
Bill Melanson, disabled driver
"It's extremely important to someone like me."
 
Bill got this card more than 25 years ago and has always used it to park legally in handicapped spots. And he's never had a problem until one day when he left the grocery store.
 
Bill Melanson, disabled driver
"I noticed there was an orange ticket on my car."
 
It was a $150 ticket for parking in a handicapped spot. Huh?
 
Bill Melanson, disabled driver
"I was shocked."
 
After all he'd used it for years. So he tracked down the officer who issued the ticket and he was told your card isn't valid. Huh?
 
Bill Melanson, disabled driver
"I says, it says right on the placard, expires indefinitely."
 
But he was told the ticket is correct! If you don't like it, go to court and appeal it.
 
Bill Melanson, disabled driver
"I was very upset."
 
Bill tried Town Hall and the Registry, but he got the same answer, this placard is no good. Fill out a form to apply for a new one. In the meantime Bill wondered how he was going to manage.
 
Bill Melanson, disabled driver
"There's no denying I need my placard."
 
And that's when he picked up the phone.
 
Bill Melanson, disabled driver
"I called 'Help Me Hank' right away."
 
How could an indefinite placard expire? And a handicapped man fined for parking in a space allotted for him?
 
We called the Registry of Motor Vehicles and they told us nine years ago they changed their rules.  Since then, a handicap card must be updated every 5 years. Bill's card was old.
 
We told Bill you need a new one. Fill out this form and get a temp until the new one arrives.
 
Now how about that ticket? We called the Chief of Police. He told us he wanted to enforce the law judiciously but not ridiculously. And so, he said, he'd ask the town clerk to dismiss it.
 
New Placard, no ticket, all good. But Bill is still a bit worried.
 
Bill Melanson, disabled driver
"What bothers me now is I know that there are hundreds, maybe thousands of people out there that still have the old placard."
 
The RMV tells us they sent more than 100,000 letters about the change to disabled drivers, but they know there are still some old placards out there.

(Copyright 2007 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)