Call for drivers who abuse disabled parking bays to be prosecuted

• Misuse of disabled parking bays is still widespread, according to the latest survey by charity DMUK
• Nine in ten (93.2 per cent) think that abusers of the Blue Badge scheme should be prosecuted
  
• DfT statistics show a 49 per cent decrease in prosecutions last year

Not enough is being done to tackle disabled parking bay abuse, findings from the latest annual survey by charity Disabled Motoring UK (DMUK) show.

About eight in ten (81.9 per cent) of the 1,028 motorists who responded to the Baywatch survey said they ‘very often’ or ‘often’ see disabled parking bays at supermarkets being abused.

What’s more, around two-thirds (68.7 per cent) said that when they reported abuse to supermarket staff they didn’t take action. 

Similarly, 78.1 per cent of drivers think local authorities are not doing enough to tackle disabled parking abuse, although this figure is lower than last year’s 95.9 per cent. 

 

More than nine in ten (93.2 per cent) think that abusers of the Blue Badge scheme should be prosecuted. 

It is a crime under Section 117 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to misuse a Blue Badge and if you are prosecuted you could be fined up to £1,000.   

However, the latest Department for Transport (DfT) statistics show a 49 per cent decrease in prosecutions in the year ending March 2021 compared to the previous year. 

The DfT said this could be due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, local authority enforcement practices and availability of resources. 

A freedom of information request by DMUK earlier this year found that two-fiths of councils fail to record misuse of disabled parking bays. 

Even where local authorities have a policy in place, prosecutions are not taking place. DfT figures show more than half (56 per cent) had no prosecutions despite having a policy. 

Motorists told DMUK they would like to see more inspections, higher fines and pictures on the front of Blue Badges (rather than the back) to help better enforce the scheme. 

Use of technology, such as cameras and scanners, could also aid enforcement, respondents said. 

Offenders could take 'Blue Badge awareness' course

Some would like to see more councils giving offenders the option to take a 'Blue Badge awareness' course, like the one run by East Sussex County Council. The course features a video which highlights how important Blue Badge parking is to disabled people with real life case studies showing the impact on their lives when the scheme is abused. This is followed by a discussion with the offenders led by the East Sussex’s Blue Badge investigations officer.

The Council says that it rarely sees re-offending once a person has gone through this process.