Editorial: Program is just the ticket

Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2006 | 7:09 a.m.

It is fortunate that volunteers are willing to cruise parking lots around Henderson and cite drivers who illegally park in spots reserved for people with handicaps. But it is a shame that the community needs such volunteers.

According to a story in Saturday's Las Vegas Sun, the Henderson Police Department's two-year-old Citizen Corps, which provides residents with an opportunity to give back to the community, uses specially trained volunteers to ticket drivers whose vehicles fail to display the license plate, windshield placard or tag that authorizes them to park in handicapped spots.

Drivers sometimes pull into these spots illegally, then "pull out fast" when they see members of the parking detail approaching, one volunteer told Sun reporter Mike Trask.

It is hard to imagine what goes through the minds of able-bodied drivers who decide to park in handicapped spaces. Are they really in that much of a hurry? Do they feel they are somehow entitled to such spaces? Do they figure that no one who has a handicap is going to need that space right away? Or do they simply think of no one other than themselves?

Our money is on the last reason. People who illegally use these spaces are selfish. While we are glad these volunteers are willing to spend their free time citing errant motorists, it is a shame that Henderson police don't have the resources to do it. Illegal use of handicapped spaces is only one of many traffic violations that occur daily because, unfortunately, there never seems to be a shortage of inconsiderate motorists.