After your recent article, the Double Bay Chamber of Commerce conducted a brief survey in Knox, Bay and Cross streets (in the heart of Double Bay) and established that on Tuesday afternoon there were 26 vehicles showing disabled stickers out of about 70 parking spaces checked. That is more than one car in three. — Greg Prior Double Bay Chamber of Commerce, NSW Recent trips to Adelaide and the Sunshine Coast made me determined to look into just why Sydney has so many more cars displaying the mobility permit than the equivalent card in those areas. Last week I approached the Roads and Traffic Authority for the answers to questions, such as how many were on issue, etc, and was informed that to have those questions answered I would need to pay $280 or have a letter from an organisation explaining how such information would assist both the organisation and the RTA. One piece of information that slipped through the lips of the RTA officer rang alarm bells. He said that the authority had sent letters to certain doctors to remind them that they were the "gatekeepers of the scheme". Apparently there had been a disproportionate number of applications verified by those doctors. — Deborah Solomon Cremorne, NSW Try Chinatown, virtually anywhere. Outside Paddy's Market, look for a sleek two-seater sports car with P plates in Harbour Street near the corner of Hay Street. — Ian Hamilton St Ives, NSW You might like to investigate the driver of a dark-coloured Lexus. The car is frequently parked in Alfred Street, Milsons Point, on a two-hour parking meter. It generally arrives at 8am and leaves about 5.30pm. On several occasions, I observed the driver and if he is disabled, I am the Queen of Sheba. He is in his late 20s, early 30s. I suspect he knows that he is cheating and behaves strangely, always sits in the car and looks around if someone is watching, then quickly places the disabled driver pass on his windscreen, jumps out of the car and walks very quickly to the station. No limp, no walking stick, no wheelchair, nothing. I have checked his sticker - it is valid till December 2008, which means it had to be renewed last month. On several occasions I pointed the car out to a parking ranger from North Sydney Council, only to be told rangers are aware of such occurrences but are powerless to do anything about it. — Paul Kohout Milsons Point, NSW I have been reporting abuses of this flawed system for years, both to the RTA and City of Sydney Council. I live and work in Pyrmont, close to the casino. I have no off-street parking and as I spend an inordinate amount of time trying to park my vehicle I become very aware of all the other vehicles in the surrounding streets. Sometimes there are 10 disabled sticker cars in a row. Many of the culprits are either employees or customers of the casino. — Kim White Pyrmont, NSW Last year I undertook my own campaign of "naming and shaming" people who I thought were abusing the scheme. I lived in Llandaff Street, Bondi Junction (which is next to Westfield) so parking was always at a premium and restricted to one hour for non-residents. Some days nearly every space in the street would be taken by cars displaying mobility parking permits. I noted employees and shop owners in Bondi Junction who would park in our street all day using a mobility parking permit. I placed a polite note on the windscreens of a couple of repeat offenders informing them I had noted that they parked in our street yet seemed to commute to the CBD/or work in the Junction, and questioned whether they were using the permit legitimately. I also let them know that I had recorded the mobility parking permit number and car registration and reported them to the RTA and Waverley Council. Both the RTA and the council informed me that they were powerless to prevent any abuse of the system. Needless to say that those people whom I left notes for seldom parked in Llandaff Street again. A tightening of this scheme is totally justified. — Nigel Lusk Bondi Junction, NSW Until recently, I worked in The Rocks for a number of years and saw something that would make my blood boil. Every morning an attractive lady in her early 30s would park her silver convertible BMW with a disabled permit and stroll shamelessly across the road into her office, leaving it parked there all day long. I am sure that she would still be there - on Kent Street outside the Lord Nelson Hotel. Argyle Street is also a favourite for people in the city to leave their cars then wander up George Street to work. Almost every car has a disabled permit on the window and sits there all day. Disgraceful. — James Dorney Randwick, NSW I am constantly amazed by the number of luxury cars with disabled parking permits displayed parked outside St Vincent's Hospital. Could the cars belong to wealthy patients or, as I suspect, poor doctors who can't afford the price of city parking? — J. Buckley Kirrawee, NSW I have spina bifida and use a disabled parking permit to access city parking as needed. Many times I have missed out on a spot and have seen a fit person using a permit. The blame for this outrage lies mainly with doctors. They are the ones who issue these permits to patients knowing full well they are not eligible. It is time the Australian Medical Association put a stop to this; the Government must ensure that permits can be issued only by government medical officers who don't have a long-term doctor/patient relationship. — Robert Ellis Fairlight, NSW A classic area of abuse is in the legal heartland, in Phillip Street between the Law Courts and Wentworth Chambers (eastern side). There are six one-hour parking spaces, and six limited CBD resident parking spaces which are monopolised by dishonest legal eagles with disabled stickers. They of all people should know better. — Stephen Taylor Sydney, NSW I have noticed a rather large number of disabled parking stickers on CBD cars lately, especially along Charles Street in Parramatta, near the police headquarters. — Robert Peake Chatswood, NSW Arthritis affects my mobility and ability to carry small amounts of weight. I do not limp and the pain I experience is not usually apparent to others. I'm used to able-bodied people's incomprehension of my medical condition. Instant discrimination (as faced by wheelchair users, for example) doesn't occur, as I pass. But people can't tell - and often don't believe - that I'm ill or incapacitated, because I look normal. Arthritis is associated with older people. My friend Bob is a brain tumour survivor. Surgery required cutting through his cerebellum, affecting his balance, and therefore mobility. This is not immediately apparent to onlookers. Recently on alighting from his car, he was abused by another motorist for parking in a "wheelchair spot". The 10 per cent or so of Australians with some kind of disability are not a homogeneous group. Certainly we don't all use wheelchairs. How then to identify if an able-bodied person is usurping a disabled space? Readers who are genuinely concerned should politely ask the cardholder/driver. While not obliged to show passers-by identification, they'll probably show you proof of their condition. — Catherine Everett Petersham, NSW Source Sydney Morning Herald, 4 February 2006 ###