Blue badge scheme

Hello Paul,
I just saw you on TV in respect of the new security Blue Badge scheme being introduced.Both you and Carl Sergeant made a good case for these new security badges. But the best incentive for stopping the flagrant abuse of the Blue badge scheme is to check that the person who has been issued with the card is actually present when the card is used.Checks are being carried out in and around Oxford and have been most productive in as much as when the rules are broken the card is taken off the miscreant immediately. In Bridgend we have a disproportional number of potential Olympic athletes using the blue badges and appear to be getting away with it.
Regards as ever Brian aka jungle1810

It's about time they cracked down on this. The number of times I've seen young lads get out of a car and sprint into a supermarket after parking in a Blue Badge Space is unbelievable. Plus there are that many forgeries around people can't tell whats real and whats not. Braz

Sadly it is a reflection of the society we live in here in Britain. As usual the punishment and the inability to police the situation is insufficient. In France they take a very serious view and action on people who abuse the blue badge system or even the unauthorised use of Disabled parking spaces. I dont understand why offences like this cannot carry a ridiculous fine, something like £2000 pounds and vehicle confiscation. Set up a sting op all over the country for one morning, fine every one caught and crush their cars. Stick that on the national news that night giving a clear message to would be future offenders. You wont stop it happening perhaps but it will make people think twice. Bit of bottle is what it takes unfortunatly this co-attrition seem to be in very short supply of that commodity.

NICE ONE GWYN i agree

The following was taken from yesterdays (260312) itv News Wales:

http://www.itv.com/news/wales/2012-0...adge-launched/

Thanks for the thread Lofty. Is the new badge scheme being rolled out throughtout the UK or just in Wales?

I agree with what is being said about youngsters using disabled bays when not disabled, people who fraudently use blue badges, knowing that the badges are fake and people who use disabled badges which are issued to someone who is disabled and are not in the vehicle.

Rog,

reading the link below, it is be phased in over the next 3 years across the whole of the UK:

http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/48457

Roger what I caught on the Welsh news is that in Wles they will be replaced for FREE. Didn't hear anything about any of the other home countries. Braz

Or the classic one is where a genuine badge holder is parked let's say outside a bank on double yellows. You then tell them they have to move on before you realise that they have a badge, then you get the usual finger tapping on the badge ( that always cheers me up) They are asked then if they are going to bank to which usually the answer is "no my wife/husband is in there" my answer is then "move the veh or you'll be reported for misuse".

Often badge holders think that they can park anywhere to allow a person not on the badge to nip into the shop, wrong!!

I agree there is a lot of abuse out there but sometimes the genuine badge holders are at fault!

Sid

My wife is registered disabled and has a blue badge and (I know you are going to find this hard to believe!) we NEVER misuse it. My particular pet hate over blue badges, even more so than those who do not have blue badges misusing the spaces, is the blue badge holder who doesn't bother to display it. In my world the on the spot fine for not displaying a blue badge would be at least double the fine for parking in (and of course you CANNOT be fined for misusing a blue badge space on the private land that is a Tesco Car Park!) a disabled bay without having a blue badge.

Point to note, in every ASDA car park I have ever been in, over half of the 'disabled' parking spaces are further away from the entrance than many of the 'normal' spaces, because of the way they lay them out!