Parking permits

Ever wonder what disabled parking permits look like in other parts of the globe?

Here in the US, disabled parking permits come in several different forms, a placard that hangs from the mirror in the windshield, or a special disabled license plate, or both.

Things are a little different over in the UK, and today I just happened to hit the "blip" jackpot by spotting a disabled parking permit issued in Wales, and recognized in the US.

I was also lucky enough to get to speak with the owners, who visit the Seattle area for part of each year, and were more than happy to fill me in on the differences between the UK system, and the US system.

While both placards are displayed in the front windshield, the UK system is a slight bit different in that the driver sets the little clock indicator to the time that they ARRIVED in the parking spot. Here in Seattle, the Washington placards allow a vehicle with a disabled permit to be parked for as long as is needed, and NO parking fee is required.

In both countries, disabled placards are issued to the person who is DISABLED, and not the vehicle, which means that the registered individual must either be a passenger, or driver to qualify for the disabled parking spot privileges.