(a) The owner of a vehicle registered in Delaware and described in subsection (b) of this section may apply to the Department for the issuing to the vehicle a special license plate for persons with disabilities which limit or impair the ability to walk if a licensed physician, a physician assistant who is supervised by a licensed physician, or an advanced practice nurse who is employed by or who has a collaborative agreement with a licensed physician, certifies that the applicant or a household member has 1 or more of the following disabilities that are permanent with no prognosis for improvement:
(1) Cannot walk 200 feet without stopping to rest;
(2) Cannot walk safely without the use of or assistance from a brace, cane, crutch, another person, prosthetic device, wheelchair or other assistive device;
(3) Is restricted by lung disease to such an extent that the applicant’s or household member’s forced (respiratory) expiratory volume for 1 second, when measured by spirometry, is less than 1 liter or the arterial oxygen tension is less than 60 mm/hg on room air at rest;
(4) Uses portable oxygen;
(5) Has a cardiac condition to the extent that the applicant’s or household member’s functional limitations are classified in severity as Class III or Class IV according to standards set by the American Heart Association; or
(6) Is severely limited in that person’s own ability to walk due to an arthritic, neurological or orthopedic condition.
(b) This section applies only to passenger cars, station wagons, pickup trucks, motorcycles, panel van trucks and other motor vehicles that are reasonably used by persons with disabilities which limit or impair the ability to walk and that have a gross registered weight which does not exceed 14,000 lbs.
(c) A special license plate may be issued under this section only if the applicant submits proof satisfactory to the Department that the applicant or a household member has a disability that is permanent with no prognosis for improvement as described in paragraphs (a)(1)-(6) of this section. Satisfactory proof prior to issuance must include the signature of a licensed physician, a physician assistant who is supervised by a licensed physician, or an advanced practice nurse who is employed by or who has a collaborative agreement with a licensed physician, on a Department special disabled license plate or placard applicant form on which the physician, a physician assistant who is supervised by a licensed physician, or an advanced practice nurse who is employed by or who has a collaborative agreement with a licensed physician, certifies the applicant’s or household member’s permanent disability. Renewal of the registration for the vehicle to which the special license plate is assigned shall require the applicant to submit a written certification that the applicant continues to require the special license plate for the reason or reasons it was initially issued; a new certification is not required. The issuance of a special license plate does not preclude the issuance of 1 removable windshield placard pursuant to § 2135 of this title.
(d) The fee for the issuance or reissuance of a special license plate may not exceed the fee charged for the issuance or reissuance of a standard license plate for the same class of vehicle.
(e) A special license plate issued pursuant to this section must display the internationally recognized wheelchair symbol of access in the same size as the numbers and/or letters on the plate.
(f) (1) A person for whom a special license plate is issued under this section or under a similar statute of any other state or country may park in parking spaces or zones as follows:
a. Restricted for use by persons with disabilities which limit or impair the ability to walk.
b. For an unlimited period in an unmetered parking space or zone restricted as to the length of parking time permitted.
c. In a metered parking space for no less than 1 hour.
d. If a parking space is assigned to a specific person with a disability as that person’s residential or business parking space, that person may use the space without any time restriction.
(2) A person who is driving a vehicle with a special license plate issued under this section or under a similar statute of any other state or country may not park in any of the following places:
a. In a space or zone where stopping, standing, or parking is prohibited to all vehicles.
b. In a space or zone which is reserved for other special types of vehicles.
c. In a space or zone assigned to another person for the other person’s residential or business use.
d. Where a local ordinance prohibits parking during heavy traffic periods in morning, afternoon, or evening rush hours.
e. Where parking clearly would present a traffic hazard.
(3) The person for whom a special license plate is issued under this section or under a similar statute of any other state or country must be the driver of or a passenger in the vehicle bearing the special plate whenever the vehicle parks in a parking space or zone restricted for use only by vehicles with a special license plate or placard for persons with disabilities which limit or impair the ability to walk.
(g) (1) A person who intentionally presents false information to a licensed physician, a physician assistant who is supervised by a licensed physician, or an advanced practice nurse who is employed by or who has a collaborative agreement with a licensed physician, or to the Department in an attempt to obtain a special license plate under this section shall be guilty of an unclassified misdemeanor. For the first offense, the person shall receive a mandatory fine of $100. For each subsequent like offense, the person shall receive a mandatory fine of $200 or be imprisoned for not less than 10 nor more than 30 days, or both. Any other violation of this section is a violation. Justices of the peace have jurisdiction over violations of this section.
(2) A summons may be attached to an unattended vehicle found in violation of any of the provisions of this section by any police officer or State Police Academy cadet authorized to issue a summons for a violation of this section. It is prima facie evidence that the person in whose name the unattended vehicle is registered is responsible for the violation.
(h) The Department may adopt rules and regulations that are reasonable or necessary for the implementation of this section.