Writing or posting about disabled parking violations is like chumming the internet for outrage. As a power wheelchair user who depends on my side-entry rampvan, I get the outrage, but it bothers me that literally thousands of people will take the time to express their outrage about a post documenting some jerk’s inconsiderate parking and only a few of those same readers will even take the time to read an article about how our healthcare system is being fundamentally dismantled by soulless bureaucrats who make the parking jerk look like a saint. 

That said, when ads for ParkingMD started popping into my feeds, I had a feeling I was going to have to break my self-imposed writing ban. In one video short, an overly eager woman (possibly AI) celebrates how quickly she got her disabled parking placard thanks to ParkingMD’s online doctor assistance. She practically hyperventilates explaining how easy it is and how she doesn’t have time for doctors or anything else. 

Watching her shill for ParkingMD, I could feel my muscles tightening as I envisioned her pulling into the last disabled spot in front of me, hopping out of her vehicle and skipping to the store. 

We are already facing a profound shortage of disabled parking that is exacerbated by the rampant abuse of the placard system by people with expired, fake and unneeded permits. If you don’t believe me, check out the excellent work done by United Spinal’s working group on disabled parking. Who surveyed this landscape and came up with the brilliant idea of making it easier to take advantage of the system and create even greater gridlock? 

I finally got around to investigating when another ParkingMD ad popped up in my timeline. Instead of AI, this one had a photo of a friend of mine, sitting outside a truck in the snow in his wheelchair. I felt pretty confident no actual wheelchair user — much less one I knew and respected — would support ParkingMD, so I reached out. He told me he had never heard of ParkingMD (the photo was a stock photo the company had licensed) and was just as triggered as I was when he found out what they do on their website. 

ParkingMD claims that in their first year they’ve already helped over 33,000 people get their placards online via their network of doctors who review disabled claims and submit the necessary paperwork. 

In our system, having a doctor verify your disability when applying for a placard is the last finger in the dyke. Moving these evaluations online with rent-a-docs who have no history with the applicants and no tangible way to verify their claims is like chopping that finger off and sticking in dynamite to blow the whole dyke up. 

ParkingMD is basically issuing placards on the honor system. Forgive me for doubting that has a chance in hell of working, but I’ve seen how unscrupulous people take advantage of the pre-existing flaws in disabled parking. Now ParkingMD is opening up the biggest loophole yet and all but directing traffic into those already-contested disabled spots. 

Despite ParkingMD’s altruistic claims, the only reason to do this is obvious: money. All that stood between them and collecting thousands of application fees needed was a set of online doctors and a program to connect placard-seekers and online docs. 

To find out who was willing to blow up the disabled parking system for a quick buck, I reached out to ParkingMD via the phone number and support email listed on the website. Unsurprisingly, no one got back to me.  

Now even more motivated, I dove headfirst into an afternoon of ChatGPT sleuthing, LinkedIn snooping and general internet surfing. Long story short, I eventually discovered a work tie between a Pakistani engineer and a Chicago area company that helped me find the LinkedIn profile of a woman who was listed as the contact on the lone ParkingMD press release I could track down. 

According to her LinkedIn profile, she worked for the Leafy Group, a company “attacking cannabis with tech from innovative new angles.” Under older posts I found the smoking gun that made everything make sense – a job posting looking for “Remote Physicians Telemed Medical Marijuana Evaluations.” 

During the pandemic many states temporarily legalized telehealth for medical marijuana evaluations so patients could maintain access during the lockdown. As telehealth visits surged from 11% of patients in 2019 to around 46% in 2021, a market emerged for finding online doctors and connecting them with patients. 

Four years later, I’m guessing that market isn’t quite so hot. What do you do if you’ve got a list of signature-happy doctors and a proven online platform ready to go? You find a new thing that needs doctor approval: Hello, disabled parking placards. Hello ParkingMD. 

Between placard abuse, parking spot shortages and multiple states debating legislation to open up disabled parking to pregnant women, it’s hard not to feel like the system is on verge of collapsing. ParkingMD feels like a shortsighted money grab that could have a devastating long-term effect. 

Based on their tone-deaf ads and callous business model, I’m confident the executives behind ParkingMD don’t give a shit about what the disability community thinks, but that shouldn’t stop any of us from giving them hell. I’m guessing that ParkingMD is fully aware of how shady their company is and wants nothing to do with thousands of outraged wheelchair users. Take a minute to let them know how you feel about their brilliant plan to make getting a placard “fast & easy” by emailing, calling (786-744-4303) or commenting on their social media ads. 

And if you have any doubt about ParkingMD’s intentions, or you are worried that maybe they are just misguided, I’ll leave you with this…