Blue Badge holders in fight for parking spaces
More disabled drivers are struggling to find parking spaces, a new study has revealed.
D ata obta i n e d by C o nfused.com through Freedom of Information requests show there are 35 Blue Badge holders per one council-owned parking space in the North East, which rises to 57 per space in County Durham.
The battle for a space has increased since the introduction of “hidden disabilities” – such as autism and dementia – to the criteria 12 months ago, which led to an additional 1,440 applications in the region.
Further research by Confused.com has found that many drivers are unsure who would or would not be eligible for a Blue Badge, with 27% confused about which medical conditions would be included.
However, data shows that many drivers in the region are also taking advantage of disabled parking spaces, as 9,085 fines were issued for misusing a space last year.
The top reasons for drivers wrongly parking in a Blue
Badge space were there were plenty available (36%); I was only going to be quick (33%); and there were no other spaces (29%).
Alex Kindred, car insurance expert at Confused.com, says: “Opening up the Blue Badge scheme to people with hidden disabilities is a really positive move.
“It’s clear there’s a need for more parking – 35 Blue Badge holders to one space is going to create a lot of issues for these drivers in the North East of England.
"But th e i s sue i s m ad e worse by people taking advantage.
"The rules are clear: if you aren’t a Blue Badge holder, you don’t use the dedicated space.”