Cars with a disabled tax disc

Invasion

Surely only letting people with a disabled tax disc park in disabled bays makes them a little pointless?!

I can't drive, I'm giving up learning to drive for the time being as I'm just too ill, and my mum uses her car to get to work, and for her benefit more than taking me out.

My blue badge makes the difference between being able to hobble round part of a small shop on crutches, or get to a wheelchair in a store to save mum getting mine out for a quick whizz round a shop (I don't get out enough and find any shops exciting ) where normally I'd have to stay in the car, because it's not worth her getting it all out for a 5 minute trip, the car's not big enough to keep it assembled. On road bays are utterly impractical, mum assembles my wheelchair at the back of the car, and brings it round to the side, it just doesn't work by the side of the road, plus, people will insist on blocking dipped curbs!

Luckily there doesn't seem to be this problem here at the moment, in fact, the rules are so lax that we've people with no badges parking everywhere. How do we go about ensuring it doesn't happen?!

savemoney

I just got back from Cornwall last week. Went to various places st ives had free parking for blue badge, Tintagel didn't Went to Boscastle only free to disabled tax discs not blue badge. We paid even though we had both on off chance we got fined and didnt want to run the risk, thought it was odd that it was free for those that had free road tax but not for blue badge holder

hutch610

easy wrote: »

No you are being ridiculous. My car is for my benefit, which doesn't preclude my family members travelling in it too. As I have my car, I can take my son to school, drop my hubby at the station, etc, they are all things which allow me to live a 'normal life'. Which counts as being 'for my benefit'.


If my husband took the car to work everyday, so I couldn't use it (as a driver or a passenger), then it wouldn't be used for my benefit.

So is this right. If someone owns a car and doesnt pay tax cos they have a disabled person in house, can that person use car to go to and from work everyday.

easy

hutch610 wrote: »

So is this right. If someone owns a car and doesnt pay tax cos they have a disabled person in house, can that person use car to go to and from work everyday.

No, the car should be for the use of the disabled person. Even if that disabled person doesn't drive, the car should be for their benefit.

The Direct.gov.uk website says "To claim exemption from vehicle tax, the vehicle must be registered in your name or registered in the name of someone you nominate to drive for you (a nominee).
The vehicle must only be used for your purposes, for example shopping or getting prescriptions.
If it is being used by the nominee or someone else for their own personal needs, then the exemption will be lost and the normal rate of vehicle tax must be paid."

My husband uses his car to go to work, I use mine (which is exempt from car tax due to my disability). If we go somewhere together, we usually go in my car, even if he drives, simply because mine is a newer, lower mileage car.

VERY occasionally, he might use my car when I'm not in it (If his is in for a service or some such).

There is no mechanism by the authorities to check, of course.

hutch610

easy wrote: »

No, the car should be for the use of the disabled person. Even if that disabled person doesn't drive, the car should be for their benefit.

The Direct.gov.uk website says "To claim exemption from vehicle tax, the vehicle must be registered in your name or registered in the name of someone you nominate to drive for you (a nominee).
The vehicle must only be used for your purposes, for example shopping or getting prescriptions.
If it is being used by the nominee or someone else for their own personal needs, then the exemption will be lost and the normal rate of vehicle tax must be paid."

My husband uses his car to go to work, I use mine (which is exempt from car tax due to my disability). If we go somewhere together, we usually go in my car, even if he drives, simply because mine is a newer, lower mileage car.

VERY occasionally, he might use my car when I'm not in it (If his is in for a service or some such).

There is no mechanism by the authorities to check, of course.

Thanks thought we were right, did look on that sie and was struggling to find anything.

Pete268

mealone wrote: »

More and more areas are bringing in this rule, to qualify for free/disabled bay the car must be VED and the car park attendant was correct if that area has this rule.

These rules have been sneaked in and we all must fight this, it will effect every blue badge owner by eroding our rights.

On road parking bays are a national rule so when in areas that insist on VED status for a disabled bay just park on the road but that causes us problems too. I just cant drag my chair out in traffic then transfer neither can I do that pavement side either.

On road bays are dangerous for us wheelies/wooblies but by changing local rules around against what else can we do?

My local council and adjoining council areas have recently brought in only disabled tax discs park free on council car parks rule. Basically it is only a stepping stone before they make everyone pay to park on car parks. around here (which is planned for next year). Originally all blue badge holders parked free on car parks around here but the councils realised it was losing them money, hence the changes. To be honest though, I don't mind paying to park like everyone else on car parks.

Unfortunately as the Blue Badge scheme is legally only enforcible 'on street' and not in car parks, private car parks etc (they just utilise the blue badge as a filter mechanism) then there is not a lot that can be done about councils introducing the disabled tax discs park free rules on car parks - our local DIAL group got its lawyers to look into it last year and it is perfectly lawful. As councils get more hard up and struggle to balance the books it will probably only be a matter of time before everyone pays to park on council car parks regardless of being a blue badge holder or having a disabled tax disc etc.

Peter

LilacPixie

Pssst wrote: »

I pay £180 for my tax disk.

Can someone please tell me why someone classed as disabled shouldn't also pay their road tax?

I was under the impression only those in receipt of higher rate DLA got free tax discs

Tally-Ho_2

''I was under the impression only those in receipt of higher rate DLA got free tax discs''

and War Disablement Pensioners who receive the War Pensioners Mobility Supplement.

Bearing in mind the news over the weekend about our brave forces, no doubt there are a lot of our lads and lasses getting severely injured in Afghanistan not forgetting those, like my brother, horifically injured in Iraq. Then there are those who were horifically injured serving in in Northern Ireland, the Falklands etc - and thats just the recent conflicts.

Would anyone seriously question givng those who get seriously injured whilst serving our country a free disabled tax disc?

Tally

mealone

Pete268 wrote: »

My local council and adjoining council areas have recently brought in only disabled tax discs park free on council car parks rule. Basically it is only a stepping stone before they make everyone pay to park on car parks. around here (which is planned for next year). Originally all blue badge holders parked free on car parks around here but the councils realised it was losing them money, hence the changes. To be honest though, I don't mind paying to park like everyone else on car parks.

Unfortunately as the Blue Badge scheme is legally only enforcible 'on street' and not in car parks, private car parks etc (they just utilise the blue badge as a filter mechanism) then there is not a lot that can be done about councils introducing the disabled tax discs park free rules on car parks - our local DIAL group got its lawyers to look into it last year and it is perfectly lawful. As councils get more hard up and struggle to balance the books it will probably only be a matter of time before everyone pays to park on council car parks regardless of being a blue badge holder or having a disabled tax disc etc.

Peter

I dont object to paying for parking when the bays a wide enough and the payment method is accessible BUT on the other hand I need to drive everywhere, abled bodied people have a choice of walking, cyleing or using public transport, I must drive everywhere because I cant walk, cycle or use public transport as they are all inaccessable to me therefore I am disadvantaged and adjustments should be made to make me "equal" with abled bodied people.

savemoney

Parking bays in many cars parks are ridiculously narrow even for many able bodied people, this gets worse when you have wider vehicles like 4X4's or someone who takes more space which compels the problems for others

Personally when I dont have my daughter with me with blue badge, I park at far end of store or now choose to shop at night when its quiet but still a park far away from store to avoid morons hitting my car