More resources means more cheats caught
A crackdown on fraudulent blue badges has seen more than 1,100 confiscated in Glasgow alone.
Since parking attendants in the city were given powers to revoke the badges, the council reports 1,118 have been taken off drivers for using them illegally.
Illegal use includes using someone else’s blue badge, using a blue badge of someone who is dead and using out of date or fake badges.
Some cars have been towed away for suspected misuse of a blue badge, with almost 500 in the last three years lifted from city streets.
Anna Richardson, City Convener for Sustainability and Carbon Reduction, said: “The blue badge scheme is invaluable for those who have a disability, giving them inclusive access to the city by allowing free, unlimited parking in on-street pay and display parking bays and in dedicated disabled persons’ spaces.”
Even more drivers have been suspected of misusing a blue badge but not had it confiscated.
The blue badge scheme only applies to on-street parking and doesn’t affect parking in other places where disabled spaces may be available, like hospitals, council-owned car parks and supermarket and shopping mall car parks.
Richardson added: “Tackling the issue of blue badge misuse results in genuine badge holders being able to access spaces more easily, which is vital as this type of access can greatly impact on their quality of life.
“The rules on blue badges are very clear.
“It is an offence to use a blue badge, unless it is for the benefit of the badge holder.
“This new legislation allows our parking attendants to be able to deal with cases of misuse far more effectively, as can be seen by the number of badges confiscated.”
Debbie Williams, who campaigns for councils rto crackdown on Blue Badge cheats, said more staff were neeeded to enforce the law.
"The scheme is abused becuase they get away with it," she said. "In areas of strict Blue Badge enforcement, the abuse of the scheme is far less.
"It needs reourced adequetly; that's always been the argument."
