Blue Badge loophole?

[sparkey01]

Can you help? A parent parks on double yellow lines outside a Primary School each day and displays HIS issued Blue Badge. However he doesn't get out of the car, his healthy wife takes and collects the child from the school. Apparently the parking Civil Enforcement Officers do not appear to have anything in there remit to stop him. Surely this is misusing the badge?

If any ordinary parent copies him they are told to move or are issued a penalty notice. How can this be allowed?

[Surfer01]

Definitely not on and he can be fined legally as the purpose of the stop is not for their benefit, i.e. they are not getting out fo the car to collect the child therefore they shoudl eb looking for alternative parking.

[papasmurf1cx]

I see where you are coming from. It is a grey area. The disabled person only needs to get out of the car and accompany his wife and the grey area would be clear and the car correctly parked as long as it was not causing danger or obstruction.

 

What would you be happy to see the car left without the driver or with the driver who could move it if necessary? Personally I think it is better if he remains in the car and ready to deal with any problems that occur.

[sparkey01]

Where in the regulations does it actually state this, as I can't seem to be able to find it and the council CEO's office in my area are unaware of this . Many Thanks.

[Surfer01]

You can't just park on any yellow line especially if this causes a danger to other road users as even with a blue badge you can get a fine. Some BB holders tend to be very inconsiderate when parking.

[papasmurf1cx]

Surfer ... I think it is for the benefit of the disabled person. Just because he doesn't get out of the car doesn't mean it isn't for his benefit. One could argue on many different fronts of the "what ifs" that is why it is a grey area.

[papasmurf1cx]

OP didn't state there was danger. he mentioned about the proximity of the school but I doubt many Disabled people would park on the zig zag yellow lines outside school entrances / exits.

[Surfer01]

When parking on yellow lines, the parking disc clock needs to be displayed showing the time yu arrived and parked. people who park without displaying the clock are liable for a fine. Also BB does not apply at all in some parts of London. BB holders cannot park where ther is a ban on loadingand unloading and at a few local council schemes . If there are two paralell double lines on the kerb definitely no parking, if only one prohibited between certain times and there is normally a sign accompanying the single line. This may apply to pedestrian areaas where there are no lines but are sings indicating no parking at specific times. Cannot park on zig zag lines befroe or after a pedestrian crossing. Thye cannot park on school "keep clear" markings during the hours shown on a yellow no-stopping plate.

You also must NOT park at school entrances, bus stops, on a bend or near the brow of a hill. Doing this coudl casue yoru vehilce to be impounded and your BB withdrawn. the vehilce must be moved if a police offcier or a traffic warden in uniform requests.

All the above is from pages 7, 8 and 9 of the Department of Transport "Blue Badge Scheme" so it seesm that they are breaking the law by parking on the yellow line by the school.

As an aaside;

 

BB holders may park free fo charge and without time limit at parking meters on street and "pay & display" on street parking unless a time limit is specified. So is a council car park "on street" parking because it goes on to say that BB holders may be exempt from limits on parking times imposed on other users?

[Surfer01]

Surfer ... I think it is for the benefit of the disabled person. Just because he doesn't get out of the car doesn't mean it isn't for his benefit. One could argue on many different fronts of the "what ifs" that is why it is a grey area.

See my reply which clarifies it is not a grey area.

[papasmurf1cx]

canx just reread and saw Kerb reference

[papasmurf1cx]

http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/documents/digitalasset/dg_186198.pdf

 

Just because it is near a school does not mean the car is not legally parked. The zig zag areas are the no -no areas not the double yellow lines. if it is near the entrances and exits and no zig zag I would agree that parking would be wrong. However the fact that the CEO's don't issue tickets to BB holders surely is evidence that it is not so clear cut as you are suggesting.

[Surfer01]

Don't shoot the messenger. I just coped it direct from Department of Transport booklet about the school entrances. CEO may not be aware that they can issue a ticket.

[papasmurf1cx]

I am not shooting the messenger just pointing out that the disabled person benefits and therefore is correctly parked.

[Surfer01]

From DOT booklet. You also must NOT park at school entrances, bus stops, on a bend or near the brow of a hill. Doing this could casue your vehilce to be impounded and your BB withdrawn. The vehilce must be moved if a police officer or a traffic warden in uniform requests.

To me that reads as if it is an offence, but if you want to try it with your Bb to prove me wrong, be my guest.

[papasmurf1cx]

You are still not getting it. A double yellow line doesn't necessarily mean that it is near the school entrance / exit. Schools normally have zig zag yellow lines. If they don't then of course you are correct but it is a matter of interpretation. The CEO is not telling the disabled driver to move on so to his judgement there is no ticket he can issue, whereas he is telling the non BB drivers to move on because they are parking in prohibition to the regulations. Sparkey can you clear up this?

[Surfer01]

I think you don't get it. I seen no mention of yellow lines in my last post. If you want to be argumentive please take it up with the Dept of Transport as you have now deviated from the OP totally and are now just trying to be clever and look for an argument. I am unsubscribing from this thread as I have no wish to be any further involved!

[saintly_1]

Thread moved to the parking forum

[JonCris]

Can you help? A parent parks on double yellow lines outside a Primary School each day and displays HIS issued Blue Badge. However he doesn't get out of the car, his healthy wife takes and collects the child from the school. Apparently the parking Civil Enforcement Officers do not appear to have anything in there remit to stop him. Surely this is misusing the badge?

If any ordinary parent copies him they are told to move or are issued a penalty notice. How can this be allowed?

 

As a blue badge holder myself I would say it is being misused if the user does NOT exit the vehicle However they might argue that was their intention but that on arrival the user felt unable to do so However I would suggest this argument might fail if the actions of the user are a very regular occurrence & they NEVER exit the vehicle.

 

On the other hand don't you think they would prefer that they didn't need a blue badge & as they do they have enough problems to contend with without others being jealous of the 'benefits' being disabled brings:sad:

[Jamberson]

It is a grey area, but the regs seem to lean more towards the driver in this case than against him. His BB entitles him to park on DYL, provided he is using the car. I am unaware of anything specifying that he has to exit the car. A simple defence for him would be "I need to park there, in case I am needed by the school teacher, or my wife asks for some assistance" - and he's home and dry so far as the regs are concerned. He doesn't have to get out of the car.

 

If he is parking such that he is causing a danger, then this is against the regs and could be actioned. If he is not, I would suggest the OP forgets about it and gets on with their life.

[Bernie_the_Bolt]

Don't forget that DYLs are a "no waiting" restriction. Waiting does not require exit of a vehicle. I see no abuse of a BB scheme here and no parking contravention.

[sailor sam]

Don't forget that DYLs are a "no waiting" restriction. Waiting does not require exit of a vehicle. I see no abuse of a BB scheme here and no parking contravention.

 

There most certainly is as a person has exited the vehicle (according to the OP) so thus the vehicle is waiting. The thread is about whether the BB is being used correctly in this instance and clearly it isn't, as the BB relates to the disabled person being carried in the vehicle and as he/she is not the one going to school then the BB status becomes void.

 

Please Note

 

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

I would always urge to seek professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

 

Please click my reputation button at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice useful

[Jamberson]

as he/she is not the one going to school then the BB status becomes void.

 

The regs (and I don't have a copy to quote verbatim, but you can look it up) require that the BB holder is making use of the vehicle and has in effect no practical alternative to parking on DYL. So, provided he can justify why he has to be there - eg, in case the teacher needs to speak to him - he can defend his parking there on that basis. It is not absolute that he needs to leave the vehicle - he just needs a reason to be parked there. It's arguable, but I would tend to think the driver is not breaking the BB scheme regs.

[Bernie_the_Bolt]

I am not a BB holder, if I stop on a DYL, remain in the car and eat a sandwich I have committed a contravention. If a BB holder does the same and correctly displays their BB they have not provided they are the driver.

 

The reason I say this is that in law there is little difference between this scenario and the OPs. The crucial bit missing here though is whether it is the BB holder who is driving this makes a big difference. I assumed the BB holder was driving but agree that was hasty.

 

If you have a badge, it must only be used for your benefit. If a trip is for someone else and you are a passenger and staying in the car, you cannot use the badge to let them benefit from free parking.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeople/MotoringAndTransport/DG_4001061

[Jamberson]

What constitutes "for your benefit"? It is open to interpretation.

 

You could argue that the BB is being used so the able-bodied passenger can avoid walking a few streets, and is therefore being mis-used, or the driver may be able to say why he needs to be there. If he can, he hasn't broken the rules in my view.

[green_and_mean]

The badge is being used correctly as long as the holder is in the car either when it arrives or leaves its parking place.

 

2) A recognised badge may be displayed on a vehicle while it is parked if it—

(a) has been driven by the holder to,

(b) is to be driven by the holder from,

© has been used for carrying the holder to, or

(d) is to be used for carrying the holder from,

the place where it is parked.”.