Ukpc fine

lems90

Hi I’m hoping to get some advice on a UKPC fine.

The driver recently went to a retail park and there was no spaces available for people with babies so the driver parked in one of the many available disabled spaces as they would not have been able to get the car seat out of the car if they had parked in a normal space.

When they returned to the car they had a ticket.

Should the ticket just be ignored or is there grounds for appeal?

Many thanks

Quentin

Everyone is politely asked to read up on this for themselves in the Newbies faq thread near the top of the forum beforfe starting a new thread


Go there now to learn about the game you are caught up in and how to deal with this


#1 in the FAQ answers your questions and shows you how to appeal

Coupon-mad

Why all these new threads, is the NEWBIES FAQs thread invisible today?

Redx

whilst there may be a legal technicality that allows you to duck this charge, those spaces are provided by law for people who qualify under the EA2010 (like me)

AND THE REASON the ticket was lawfully and correctly issued in the first place is in the BPA CoP , as shown below

BRITISH PARKING ASSOCIATION CODE OF PRACTICE
16.3 Operators of off-street car parks do not have to recognise the Blue Badge scheme. But many choose to do so to meet their obligations under the Equality Act. Although a Blue Badge is not issued to all disabled people it is issued to those with mobility problems. So it is a good way for parking operators to identify people who need special parking provision.

16.4 You are at risk of a claim under the Equality Act if you do not discourage abuse of the disabled spaces. This means that you need to make sure the spaces are regularly checked to be sure they are not being used by people who do not have a disability.

so the story in your post is not a valid reason for appealing and will be turned down if used on the grounds I have listed above

see the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread to see what grounds an appeal might be successful are actually made on

speaking personally (as a BB holder with a recognised disability, I am appalled that people think they can do this and get away with it)

on the other hand, I am appalled at the way these parking companies normally do business (although in this case they are justified due to the selfishness shown by the driver in this case)

Coupon-mad

there was no spaces available for people with babies so the driver parked in one of the many available disabled spaces

What's the matter with that driver, are they stupid or just hate disabled people?

NEVER EVER let them do that again. My God that is selfish and ridiculous parking.

Jeez what makes parents think they have some sort of right to a stupid ''parent & child'' bay that mean NOTHING in law? Does that driver not know the difference?

Parent and Child bays are a GIMMICK by retailers, nothing more. A waste of bay space.

lems90

I have now seen the newbies thread, thanks!

The driver never normally parks in disabled spaces but when it is physically impossible to get your 6 week baby out of the car in a normal space it can be seen as understandable. There was a large amount of disabled spaces available at the time of arrival and leaving which is partly the reason why they parked there. Had it have been the last disabled space or they had been stopping for long period of time the driver would not have parked there. It is easy for you to say that mother and baby spaces are a gimmick but trying to get a small baby and a pram and shopping in and out of a car in a busy cramped Car park is not the easiest thing to do. I agree the driver should not have parked there but to say that mother and baby spaces are unnecessary is bit ignorant in my opinion.

Redx

if UKPC have got all their ducks in a row then there is no appeal worth trying because the driver is so in the wrong and is ignorant of the laws governing disabled bays

if it is IGNORED instead of being paid (or appealed) then UKPC may well try a court case in the local county court adjacent to where the driver lives. They will have a good case bearing in mind why the ticket was issued and if the driver has no long term disabilities, so they have good reason to follow it up and make an example of the driver

if the driver is made to pay the charge, or the charge plus court fees and legal fees , I am sure it will deter them from repeating this selfish act, which is the whole point of ticketing an able bodied driver who ignores the law and parks in a restricted space

so sorry but I have no sympathy and this type of disregard for disabled bays is why private parking companies are employed. not only that, the driver would have received a ticket on a council car park or in any on-road disabled bay for the same reasons

there is absolutely no justification for this selfish behaviour and being a parent and also a driver does not give people license to flout the law , otherwise millions would be affected, my mum could not drive and never owned a vehicle in her life but managed to bring up 4 kids including going shopping

so the keeper (or driver) can try to get off on a technicality

or they can pay

or they can risk a court case and try to justify their actions to a judge in your local county court

CM is the leading authority on these issues , and also a mum to several offspring, I too have offspring and have never found the need to find or use these P+C bays, which are a gimmick and have no foundation in law

disabled bays DO have a foundation in law , ever since 1995 under the DDA 1995 and the later DDA 2005 and the even later EA2010

but to be fair to you, the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread does cover appeals and court cases, but sometimes a PPC may get it right and this could be one of the few times they have done so, so maybe the driver should take their lumps and learn a valuable lesson

Coupon-mad

when it is physically impossible to get your 6 week baby out of the car in a normal space

You are talking to people who have never used a P&C bay because they are pointless and they were never needed when I had my 4 kids.

It is easy for you to say that mother and baby spaces are a gimmick but trying to get a small baby and a pram and shopping in and out of a car in a busy cramped Car park is not the easiest thing to do.

I know, I have 4 kids.

Born seven years apart...I had them all out with me in the car sometimes, with a double buggy, or one on reins and one buggy for the baby, when we got out of the car.

It is NOT 'impossible' to get a baby out of a car in a bay. A wider bay is not needed.

What is the matter with the driver that they do not know what a disabled bay means in law, and think a useless gimmick ''oh look at me I have kids'' bay is the same thing?

How do people who are sensible enough to drive a car, even think this is OK? Have they never realised that P&C bays only exist in the imagination of retailer/supermarkets, not on street, and never wondered why?

It's because P&C child bays are a retail gimmick to entice families to shops.

Now you know that, compare it to a disabled bay - and the law about disabled people and their needs. Not the same thing...

Having said that, the NEWBIES thread tells you how to appeal, and when (not yet).

lems90

At no point did I state it was the same thing. I am well aware that they do not exist outside of retail Car parks and the laws surrounding disabled bays. You also would not need P&C bays on a road as cars do not park alongside you limiting available space. In that particular car park it would not have been possible to get the car seat out of the car, the driver did try hence the reason why they wrongly parked in the disabled space. Your opinion of mother and baby spaces is merely just your opinion. Yes the driver should not have parked there I have not disputed that but the circumstances you faced with your children are not going to necessarily be the same for all. Thank you for directing me to the thread I will take a look.

Coupon-mad

We want you to beat UKPC so follow the NEWBIES thread advice and 26 day appeal online.

But never let that driver do that again, please.

So selfish, no justification and we simply will not hear it said as OK, on this forum, for a parent with a baby to think they can use a disabled bay just because they were empty.

Absolutely no need for it.

Your opinion of mother and baby spaces is merely just your opinion.

Lots of parents' opinions. We have all discussed this before on here and hate the gimmick because it draws in bad, or selfish or clueless drivers to think they have a right to a ''look at me I have kids'' wide bay. They don't.

Drivers need to see the gimmick P&C bays for the waste of space they are, and steer well clear of disabled bays.

Fruitcake

A breastfeeding mother of a baby under six months is covered by the EA 2010 and would and should be allowed concessions such as extra time for parking, but there is no excuse for a driver to abuse a disabled parking space.
This is one of the reasons why unregulated parking scammers exist, and the driver in your case is part of the problem.

Parent and Child bays are meaningless and do not exist outside the UK, whereas the disabled symbol is internationally recognised.

None of the regulars here who help out on about a hundred threads per a day will condone what your driver did, or condone the existence of a gimmick bay.

I might as well say, I bought an ironing board, needed more room to get it in to my car, so parked in a disabled bay because there were no ironing board spaces available.