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New parking laws about CCTV cameras have alarmed many disabled motorists, says Helen Smith

When the orange badge (later to be renamed the blue badge) was first introduced in 1971, one of its main concessions for disabled people was that it allowed parking on single and double yellow lines.

For many disabled people this concession is invaluable, as it allows parking directly outside shops and amenities.

But when new parking regulations came into force on 1 April, disabled people began to worry that they would no longer be able to park on yellow lines without getting a penalty charge notice. This is because one of the new regulations has meant that, for the first time, councils outside London can issue fines by post using CCTV evidence.

At Mobilise, the disabled motorists’ charity where I am director of policy and campaigns, we were inundated with letters and phone calls from concerned members.

John Parfitt, from Bristol, said: “If the blue badge is displayed correctly in the front windscreen and the CCTV views the vehicle from the rear, the operator will be able
to scan the rear licence plate without seeing the blue badge.”

Becky Goldsmith wrote to Disability Now making a similar point. ”The AA and RAC have both pointed out that the cameras will simply register the presence of the car but cannot pick up the display of blue badges. Nor will the cameras have the discretion of the additional hour allowed to blue badge holders in some areas.”

I contacted the Department for Transport (DfT) to determine how it was planning to deal with this issue.

A DfT spokeswoman said: ”We have been clear that cameras should not be used where permits or exemptions – such as resident permits or blue badges – not visible to the equipment may apply.” This means councils should only use CCTV on roads which are red routes or bus lanes and not double or single yellow lines.

Mobilise chair Douglas Campbell said: “CCTV has been used in London for many years and I’m yet to hear of a blue badge-holder receiving a parking ticket because a camera didn’t register their badge. However, Mobilise will be keeping a close eye on the installation of CCTV cameras around the rest of the country and we’ll be the first to shout if we hear that anyone has been given a ticket because a CCTV camera didn’t pick up the badge.”

These new regulations certainly caused a lot of anxiety for a large number of people because it wasn’t made clear on the announce­ment which roads CCTV would be used on. Time will tell if CCTV evidence is used in the way it was intended.

But in the meantime, if I park anywhere where I think CCTV is being used, I’ll be taking a photo of my car to prove I had a blue badge on display.