‘It’s not right,’ shouts disabled driver who received $200 fine for using disabled space – he was only at Walmart for 5 minutes

A disabled veteran was fined $200 for parking in a disabled space despite having a disabled veteran license plate.

Vietnam veteran Bobby Prater first noticed the note on his windshield after a quick stop at Walmart.

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But Prater was confused as to why he got a ticket for parking in the space reserved for people with disabilities.

“That’s where I always park,” he told local NBC affiliate KCBD-TV.

In fact, he had been parking in handicapped spaces since 1972, when he was honorably discharged as a disabled veteran, serving since 1969.

But what Prater didn’t know was that he was actually no longer allowed to park in those spaces.

In 2022, the Texas state legislature approved a law no longer allowing disabled veteran license plates access to disabled parking spaces.

Prater said he and many other veterans knew nothing about this change until they got a ticket two years after the bill passed.

The legislature’s explanation for the change is that a disabled veteran license plate “may utilize disabled parking regardless of whether or not they have mobility issues.”

They went on to say that organizations like the Paralyzed Veterans of America and Disabled American Veterans have been pushing for change for this reason.

They said this is why there is often a lack of handicapped parking, especially at Veterans Administration facilities, and they wanted to ensure that handicapped parking is available for those with limited mobility who truly need it.

But Prater disagrees with this idea.

“They are disabled for a reason,” he said.

The law now requires veterans like Prater to apply for a new license plate or poster that displays the disability sign.

Prater said that this was not a problem and that he would have gladly agreed.

But the biggest problem it has is that this change was not adequately communicated to the people it would affect beforehand.

Prater said he received no advance notice or indication that this change was happening.

“If a letter was sent, I never received it,” he said.

“I’ve never heard of it,” he continued, believing he’s not the only one who hasn’t been informed and is in for a rude awakening.

Prater said he now makes it his mission to spread the word and inform other veterans about the change before they too are stuck with a $200 ticket.

“The elections are approaching and I have a feeling this will have repercussions,” he said.