Blue Badge Miss Use
Discussion
Hi Newbie here...
Wondering if I could get some clarity around this topic.
Someone I know is dating a lady who has a disabled mother and my friend quite often drives her car when they go out as she does a lot of miles for work and prefers not to drive when with someone else in her presence. He mentioned that she has her mum's blue badge and often asks him to park in disable spaces where she then proceeds to display her mums badge.
I said I think you will find he would be on the hook as the driver, he believes as she is displaying the badge in her car that she would be the one who is prosecuted? She is in a position of trust so I am surprised she risks her career.
Please can someone clarify who commits the offence?
Wondering if I could get some clarity around this topic.
Someone I know is dating a lady who has a disabled mother and my friend quite often drives her car when they go out as she does a lot of miles for work and prefers not to drive when with someone else in her presence. He mentioned that she has her mum's blue badge and often asks him to park in disable spaces where she then proceeds to display her mums badge.
I said I think you will find he would be on the hook as the driver, he believes as she is displaying the badge in her car that she would be the one who is prosecuted? She is in a position of trust so I am surprised she risks her career.
Please can someone clarify who commits the offence?
N8CYL said:
Probably illegal, but why are you bothered? They'll possibly get caught eventually. Must be one of the most broken rules.
My friend would stand to lose his job as also in a position of trust, he just seemed to think despite being the driver it was not his issue.I know its an offence as per YouGov.
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.
Edited by James.Pond on Wednesday 11th December 12:19
Edited by James.Pond on Wednesday 11th December 12:23
James.Pond said:
N8CYL said:
Probably illegal, but why are you bothered? They'll possibly get caught eventually. Must be one of the most broken rules.
My friend would stand to lose his job as also in a position of trust, he just seemed to think despite being the driver it was not his issue.There are quite a lot of Blue badge prosecutions where I live, apart from the fines and the loss of the badge it is worth noting that the costs requested are often north of £3K, they are not fixed and are based on the number of hours put in by the investigators who can be following the defendants for multiple days.
A lot of people do get caught so not worth the risk to save a few steps.
A lot of people do get caught so not worth the risk to save a few steps.
Why does he consider that his girlfriend is abusing the blue badge?
Surely he is the one that is driving and he has a blue badge displayed in that car. He is the one abusing the system.
Not even sure where his girlfriend fits into the story, it's not her blue badge and she's not driving.
The blue badge system is in place for the benefit of disabled people, not for lazy a
holes or for blokes who are too scared of disobeying their girlfriend.
Surely he is the one that is driving and he has a blue badge displayed in that car. He is the one abusing the system.
Not even sure where his girlfriend fits into the story, it's not her blue badge and she's not driving.
The blue badge system is in place for the benefit of disabled people, not for lazy a

My O/H has just been issued with a blue badge. The accompanying booklet states,
"You must never give the badge to friends or family to allow them to park for free, even if they are visiting you."
and
"It is 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."
Given that it is the driver of a vehicle that parks it, the meaning is clear i.e. it is the driver who is misusing the badge.
"You must never give the badge to friends or family to allow them to park for free, even if they are visiting you."
and
"It is 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."
Given that it is the driver of a vehicle that parks it, the meaning is clear i.e. it is the driver who is misusing the badge.
Half Man Half Biscuit covered this off nicely in the charming ditty 'Blue Badge Abuser'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ead7EOypKDE
Tell him to stand up to the lazy bint and park in a normal bay.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ead7EOypKDE
Tell him to stand up to the lazy bint and park in a normal bay.
Shooter McGavin said:
Half Man Half Biscuit covered this off nicely in the charming ditty 'Blue Badge Abuser'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ead7EOypKDE
Tell him to stand up to the lazy bint and park in a normal bay.
I don't if its lazy she suffers from acute asthma she has and this weekend they went into the city to find parking a nightmare. Prior to that it was used at a theme park, who charge non disable from premium parking anyway.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ead7EOypKDE
Tell him to stand up to the lazy bint and park in a normal bay.
It was his view that it was nothing to do with him as its her car and mum's badge, I explained it like speeding I think your the driver.
In fairness it appears from a legal stand point your better off just parking in them and paying a fine than risking abusing the badge.
Thanks for the responses I was right!
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