Dear Mahatma: I want to take a photo of cars parked illegally in a handicapped spot and send it to someone who can issue a ticket. Can I do this with a signed statement? -- Duty Calls
Dear Duty: You can, but to negligible immediate effect. Police have to personally witness most misdemeanors to write a ticket. Best thing to do is call the local police department and ask for an officer to hustle out.
In a perfect world, this would result in a ticket. Oops -- the world is imperfect.
Much to our surprise -- who knows everything? -- there is a state agency eager to know about this problem. It's the Arkansas Spinal Cord Commission.
Patti Rogers, the executive director, explained that the agency had so many complaints from its clients with spinal cord injuries that an Accessible Parking Task Force was formed to educate the public and law enforcement officials. Ten agencies and organizations that serve the disabled are part of the task force, as are several law enforcement folks.
Citizens who get riled up over drivers parking illegally in handicapped spots should go to the commission's website -- www.spinalcord.ar.gov -- and fill out a complaint form. Rogers also asked that a photo be taken and sent with the form. Send to patti.rogers@arkansas.gov, or fax to 501-296-1787.
Rogers said the agency averages five to 10 complaints a month, although over one 60-day period it got more than 50 complaints from one town in northeast Arkansas.
What the commission does, she said, is contact local law enforcement agencies about the complaints and offer training on accessible parking laws.
"Although we do not have the authority to issue sanctions, it is our goal to work with law enforcement officials in hopes of increasing their diligence in issuing citations," she said.
Also available for download on the website is a flier to put on the windshield of a car parked illegally.
"Parking here for just a minute ... is 60 seconds too long," the flier says, and it further explains the law.
It also points out that parking is forbidden in the striped access aisles next to handicapped spaces.
"Access aisles provide room for wheelchair users to transfer safely to and from their vehicles," the flier says.
Dear Mahatma: The west end of Fairway Drive slopes down fairly sharply at the stop sign at Valley Club Circle. At this spot, there's a metal plate with Entergy emblazoned on it. Every time it rains and I come to this stop sign, my right front tire hits this plate and tries to slide onto Valley Club. What can be done about this? -- Slip-sliding Away
Dear Slip-sliding: Gosh, we relayed this to Julie Munsell, Entergy spokesman, who a couple of days later said Entergy would have a welder go out and weld beads across the plate and put anti-slip paint on it.
Footnote: Our reader says job already done.
Vanity plate seen on a pickup: LVMIWIF.
Mahatma@arkansasonline.com
Metro on 06/06/2015