A Blue Badge can be a lifeline for many people with disabilities. It gives holders special permission to park in designated bays and other restricted parking areas, including double yellow lines.
This is aimed at enabling people with mobility issues to have easier access to their destination, whether a medical appointment or social activity. And as well as helping people park closer to their destination it can be money saving. Under the rules of some car parks people with Blue Badges can park free of charge.
A Blue Badge is available to people with a variety of health conditions. Some can qualify automatically while others will get the badge if they have disabilities which means they are unable to walk very far.
It costs up to a maximum of £10 in England. It is £20 in Scotland but free in Wales. They are processed by local authorities which decide if you are eligible and sets the price.
But the benefit comes with strict rules – and getting them wrong can leave the holder with a £1,000 fine. Repeated misuse can lead to a criminal record.
One offence even includes if the holder is in the vehicle. According to the Department of Transport the badge must be used for the holder to access their destination.
This means if they park in a restricted area to allow someone else to benefit – such as they remain in the vehicle while a non-holder gets out to go somewhere – it is deemed to be “misuse”.
The DoT website sets out three key rules around who can use the badge. It warns holders: “The badge is for your use and benefit only. It must only be displayed if you are travelling in the vehicle as a driver or passenger, or if someone is collecting you or dropping you off and needs to park at the place where you are being collected or dropped.”
And it sets out the regulations surrounding who can and cannot use the badge once it has been issued. It warns: “Don’t allow other people to use the badge to do something on your behalf, such as shopping or collecting something for you.
- You must never give the badge to friends or family to allow them to park for free, even if they are visiting you.
- You should not use the badge to allow non-disabled people to take advantage of the benefits while you sit in the car.
- It’s a criminal offence to misuse a badge. This includes people other than the badge holder taking advantage of the parking concessions provided under the scheme.
It warns: “You must use the Blue Badge properly. The badge and its concessions are for your use only. It is a criminal offence for you or anyone else to misuse the badge. Doing so could lead to a £1,000 fine and confiscation of the badge. Making sure that the scheme is not abused will benefit genuine badge holders, such as yourself.
“If you are using the parking concessions as a passenger, it is your responsibility to make sure that the driver is aware of all the rules set out in this guidance. You must never give the badge to friends or family to allow them to have the benefit of the parking concessions. You must never use a copied badge to park or try to change the details on a badge.
“The badge remains the property of the issuing local council. They can ask for the badge to be returned if it is being misused.”