Disabled speak out on illegal parking

Selfish drivers fill designated bays

DUBAI // Disability campaigners hit out at motorists who illegally park in their spaces, after Dubai Police revealed that more than 1,200 offenders have been caught this year.

Wheelchair users criticised selfish and careless drivers who they said made their lives more challenging. One disabled driver said it could take up to an hour to find a space if motorists who were not entitled to re- served spaces parked in them.

Police this week said that hundreds were being caught every week, given Dh1,000 fines and handed four black points on their licence. In January and February, 1,277 offenders were caught parking in disabled bays. Last year, 8,705 such offences were recorded.

Dubai disability campaigner Shobhika Kalra, 26, who has worked with the Roads and Transport Authority to instal more ramps at metro stations, said she had seen drivers without disabled badges parked in bays countless times.

“What these people have to understand is that we are one society, one community that must help each other and cater to one another,” said Ms Kalra, who has been using a wheelchair since she was 15 because she suffers from a degenerative disease.

“It is not even about the distance and wanting to be close to the entrance to a mall or supermarket, but that extra space for our larger vehicles and to take out our wheelchairs.” Although Ms Kalra does not drive, it often takes her family some time to find a parking spot.

Ms Kalra is the founder of the group WingsOfAngelz, an advocacy group that helped in building more than 650 ramps in Dubai for people in wheelchairs, the elderly and parents with strollers.

“It’s wonderful what we have been able to accomplish in just two years,” she said. “If people notice there is no proper access for those with disabilities, we encourage them to politely approach the manager and voice their concern.” For Shaikh Mohammed Bavazeer, 35, a business consultant who uses a wheelchair, illegal parking in a disabled zone should be considered an “inhuman” act.

“I often see people without permits parking their cars in slots for the disabled. They have their hazard lights on, but that doesn’t make it OK,” he said.

“I am completely independent and I drive my own car, but I also use a wheelchair. It makes me angry because no one really knows how it feels to use a wheelchair unless they use one themselves.” He urged Dubai Police to patrol indoor parking areas, suggesting that most offenders were to be found in underground parking facilities.

“People take advantage of that because there is no one to monitor them underground,” he said. Dubai Police also warned motorists against parking in front of fire hydrants and in emergency vehicle places.

Offenders face a fine of Dh1,000 and four demerit points on their licence.

Permits for disabled drivers are placed on the windscreens of vehicles and are granted to vehicles and buses that transport disabled people.