Why blind 'drivers' can have parking permits, and what to do when you have two cars, but only one blue badge

My other issue is, when I take my father out in my car he has to take his badge with him, thus leaving his car in the bay without the badge on display and vulnerable to another fine. The reply from the council was we should move his car each time we go out and park it elsewhere, which is not always possible and at best very inonvienient. What can we do? Any help, please. 

Regards, Mr J Edlin

Dear James,

Thank you for your question. Hertsmere Council has given you a reasonable answer. To park in the residents’ bay, which did have spaces in it on the day of my site visit, requires the display of a residents’ permit. In Hertsmere that requires you to pay the modest sum of £15, so evidently, unlike in Barnet, where the same permit would cost you £40, Hertsmere Council is not trying to subsidise council tax by making a profit from controlled parking zones.

As an alternative you could use visitor vouchers. In Hertsmere you can get 20 half-day visitor vouchers for free (and your bay is only restricted for one hour) if you don't have a residents permit or for a mere £5 if you do have one. In Barnet, the vouchers to do the same job would cost £20.

If there is another disabled person in the household they could apply for a blue badge and then you would always have a spare if they don't have a car (they don't need to have a driving licence to qualify for a blue badge).

For the benefit of other readers, a blind person can have a blue badge, and one day in the future they will be able to "drive" a Google self-driving car. For now, it means that their kind chauffeur can get them close to where they need to be.

Also, you may be able to get a blue badge for a child over two who has severe mobility problems or one under three if they have a disability due to a medical condition and need to travel with bulky equipment or be close to a vehicle for emergency medical treatment.

You have paid the penlaty charge notice (PCN), which the elderly often do as the notice gives them too much stress, although you had good grounds for a challenge. The disabled bay in this case is very unusual (see photo) in that it has been put into a space that was clearly intended to enable easy turns to be made at the end of this cul-de-sac.

Normally, a disabled bay will be parallel to the curb, and be 6.6m long (to make parking easier for a disabled driver who might have less arm function than other people) and 2.7m wide to give the driver room to fully open the door to make getting in and out of the car easier. In roads where traffic flow would be impeded the bay can be as little as 1.8m wide. The word "DISABLED" would be printed in letters at least 350mm high in the roadway alongside the space (not inside the short side as in the Potters Bar bay).

My advice to every motorist is to make a challenge as soon as you get the fine. It is a risk-free challenge as the notice will say on it that the 50 per cent discount will be re-offered if your challenge is rejected, as they often are. If the council fails to answer your challenge, that is a strong appeal point which I will tell you about another day.

Mr Mustard

(For parking anoraks the relevant drawing from The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002 is 1028.3)

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