SOUTHWEST LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — An 85-year-old Las Vegas woman says she learned an expensive lesson about how to properly display a handicap parking placard after her car was towed from a Walmart parking lot.
Judy Mayer says she was driving her new car, which she had owned for about a week, when she went to the Walmart near Fort Apache Road and Tropicana Avenue.
Mayer says she parked in a designated handicap space and placed her valid handicap placard on the dashboard because it would not fit around her rearview mirror.
“It wouldn’t go around my mirror, you know, the rearview mirror, cause it’s too big,” Mayer said.
WATCH | Las Vegas woman learns hard lesson about displaying handicap placard
When she returned from the store, Mayer says her car was gone. She says she was charged $656.94 to retrieve it.
“The wrecking company says it was not there,” Mayer said.
Mayer says she later found the placard in the back of her vehicle.
“I think when they lifted it up, it fell, because we found it in the back,” she said.
The Nevada DMV says there are specific rules for displaying special or temporary parking placards.
Under Nevada law, the placard must be hung or attached to the vehicle’s rearview mirror while the vehicle is parked. If a vehicle does not have a rearview mirror, the placard can be placed on the dashboard, but it must be positioned so it is clearly visible from outside the vehicle.
The DMV also says it does not handle towing disputes. Whether a placard was sufficiently visible is ultimately a matter for the property owner or towing enforcement involved.
For drivers using a handicap placard, the key takeaway is to make sure it is properly displayed and clearly visible whenever the vehicle is parked in a designated handicap space.
Mayer’s experience serves as a reminder that having a valid placard is not the only consideration, how it is displayed also matters.
