Who do blue badge holders think they are.

lucylucky

poet123 wrote: »

On some supermarket carparks they enforce the disabled bay scheme in the same way as they enforce the rest of the car parking overstay rules; by a penalty charge ticket for non display of the BB. My local Tesco is almost in the town centre, hence, people park there and go off shopping in town, so there is a 2 hour time allowance for parking, after that you get a ticket, they operate the same system for disabled bays.

Now, obviously those tickets fall into the same category as the private clampers/ticketers so actual cannot be enforced in law, but they do do it, and they contact DVLC for name/address details according to the notice.

So in effect they don't enforce it they just give you a bit of paper asking if you would like to pay.

And if you don't want to pay you ignore it.

sarahg1969

!!!!!! wrote: »

How do you legally enforce something that doesn't have the force of law behind it?

It does have the force of law behind it. The landowners have a duty under the DDA to provide spaces for disabled people and to ensure that those spaces are available for disabled people to use. They do have an obligation to try and keep the spaces clear, hence the threat of penalties.

However, there is no corresponding law that says that drivers aren't allowed to use the spaces unless they are disabled.

In addition to this, the DDA does not limit disabled persons to blue badge holders, which makes it somewhat difficult for the landowners to know who is and is not disabled.

sarahg1969

poet123 wrote: »

On some supermarket carparks they enforce the disabled bay scheme in the same way as they enforce the rest of the car parking overstay rules; by a penalty charge ticket for non display of the BB. My local Tesco is almost in the town centre, hence, people park there and go off shopping in town, so there is a 2 hour time allowance for parking, after that you get a ticket, they operate the same system for disabled bays.

Now, obviously those tickets fall into the same category as the private clampers/ticketers so actual cannot be enforced in law, but they do do it, and they contact DVLC for name/address details according to the notice.

Unless they are acting on behalf of a local authority and issuing penalty charge notices, they are no different from any other supermarket or other private parking notice.

And unless they are acting on behalf of the council, by limiting he spaces to BB holders, they are potentially discriminating against disabled persons who do not hold a blue badge.

sarahg1969

lucylucky wrote: »

I would be interested to know what enforcement you are talking about.

Under the DDA, the landowner is supposed to ensure that disabled bays are available to disabled people. However, that is an entirely separate matter from the issue of parking invoices. The obligations under the DDA are on the landowner and not the driver. And the supermarkets are shooting themselves in the foot by limiting the spaces to blue badge holders, and having time limits too.

adouglasmhor

sarahg1969 wrote: »

Under the DDA, the landowner is supposed to ensure that disabled bays are available to disabled people. However, that is an entirely separate matter from the issue of parking invoices. The obligations under the DDA are on the landowner and not the driver. And the supermarkets are shooting themselves in the foot by limiting the spaces to blue badge holders, and having time limits too.

So, I (along with lucylucky apparently) would like to know precisely what enforcement is being referred to.

sarahg1969

adouglasmhor wrote: »

So, I (along with lucylucky apparently) would like to know precisely what enforcement is being referred to.

I'm not sure that the DDA tells the landowner how they must enforce the availability of parking bays, but it seems that the landowners have generally decided to 'enforce' by issuing tickets. A better solution, of course, would be to ask people to move if they do nto need the space. But there's no money in that, of course!

poet123

Whilst the DDA is a law, it requires only "reasonable adjustments" so, therefore, it is unlikely that if the supermarket/shop etc had allocated spaces any further action would be required. How they police those spaces is up to them, but if they ticket it has no more force in law than any other private company.

lucylucky

I appreciate your points, however there is no "enforcement" as such in these case.

poet123

lucylucky wrote: »

I appreciate your points, however there is no "enforcement" as such in these case.

I agree, that was what I said, there is no law which supports the enforcement.

RANNOCK

First of all - this is my very first message, so I hope I get it right!

My wife and I are both Blue Badge holders, and like all other holders get a booklet on renewal which gives very clear instructions as to where, and where not you can use your BB to park.

I want to appeal to all disabled drivers who insist on parking on a lowered kerb - thereby blocking fellow disabled people, and others from using these crossing places.

When I see a disabled driver parking on a lowered kerb, I very politely mention to him / her that they are causing an obstruction by parking on a lowered kerb, and could possibly get a fixed penalty notice.

A few have thanked me, but in the main, I have been met with a load of abuse, and BB waving - "We are entitled to park on any double yellow lines" which is not correct. surprisingly, some drivers say "my wife / husband is disabled, and needs a wheelchair to get around" - still the penny does not drop for them.

Lowered kerbs are always protected by yellow double lines, but there are other places where the disabled cannot park, but they do so - sometimes causing inconvenience for others, or danger to themselves......its all in the book.

It's very upsetting to go to a lowered kerb as a wheelchair, or buggy user, only to find a parked car blocking your way across the road - imagine the fury if the driver got home and found some idiot had parked across his driveway!

We should all help each other when we can -not just when driving or parking. I regularly pass down items from a high shelf in the supermarket to a person in a wheelchair or buggy - their smile says it all.

Rannock