When you've got a disability, urban accessibility is crucial.
Disabled parking bays - which are slightly wider than a typical parking slot - ensure that someone with a blue badge can get in and out of their vehicle with minimal fuss and it also means they're closer to the place they need to visit.
However, new research conducted by Select Car Leasing has revealed just how many motorists are leaving their car in a disabled bay when they're not displaying a proper permit. The behaviour isn't just to be frowned upon, it can also lead to a large fine.
We wanted to find out which areas are the worst for illegal parking in disabled bays. So we sent out a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to councils across the UK to discover how many fines have been issued over the last five years (December 2017 – December 2022).
Areas With the Most Fines for Parking in Disabled Bays
With more than 32,500 fines issued in the last 5 years, Manchester's motorists are the worst for illegally parking in disabled bays. The second worst area on our list, with more than 20,800 fines in the last five years, is Bradford. And in third is West Northamptonshire, with 18,300 fines.
The remaining top 10 are as follows; Brighton & Hove (18,100), Barking & Dagenham (17,700), Lambeth (16,900), Leicestershire (15,900), Leicester (15,600), Southampton (15,00) and Edinburgh (14,900).
Areas With the Fewest Fines for Parking in Disabled Bays
The data we gathered also highlights some of the areas with the lowest number of fines for parking in disabled bays - which potentially reflects the attitudes of more considerate motorists.
Rochford District Council, Essex, reported just 37 fines in the last five years. Second is Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, with 54 fines in the last five years, and in third is Carlisle, Cumbria, with 68 fines handed out.
The remaining areas in the top 10 are Ribble Valley, Lancs, (93), South Holland, Lincolnshire, (94), Gosport, Hampshire, (116), Torridge, north Devon (127), Moray, Scotland (153), Brentwood, Essex (163) and Hartlepool, County Durham (204).
Areas with the Highest Number of Appealed Fines
While councils try their best to fines to those breaking the law, sometimes people who receive fines might actually have a blue badge for parking in disabled bays, but may not have been displaying it properly. In such cases a fine might be appealed by the motorist.
The council with the highest percentage of appealed fines is Arun District Council, West Sussex, which handed out 3,414 fines and had 67% of those appealed.
The council with the second highest percentage of appealed fines is Gloucester with 57% of the 1,898 fines handed out being questioned.
The council with the third highest percentage of appealed fines is Horsham District Council, West Sussex, which handed out 1,887 fines and had 52% of these appealed.
The vast majority of the councils who responded to our FOI request did not reveal how many of the fines had been successfully appealed and revoked, so we're unable to bring you that information.
Conclusion
Overall, our FOI data revealed that more than a million fines have been issued across the UK over the last five years for wrongly parking in a disabled bay.
The cost of the fines vary between councils, but typically begin at around £60 but can run up to £1,000 in cases where motorists persistently display a blue badge illegally in order to park where they like, and when the fine isn't initially paid.
Motorists in Manchester appear to be the worst culprits - or it might be that parking wardens in the northern city have more of a zero-tolerance policy than anywhere else in the UK.
Of the 421 councils that were sent an FOI, 225 provided the information.
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