Scots bill to scotch pavement parking

It's the bane of many disabled people's lives: parking on the pavement or obscuring dropped kerbs and, says Helen Dolphin, Scotland is now looking to follow England in banning it

I’m sure many wheelchair-users would have encountered the irritating problem of needing to cross the road but finding the only dropped kerb within sight has a vehicle parked across it. If I’m walking I can use the vehicle to help me walk down the kerb by performing a vaguely acrobatic manoeuvre but if I’m in my wheelchair all I can do is wheel off down the road looking for the next dropped kerb to cross.

Although this is an annoying irritation, what I find even more inconvenient is drivers who park on the pavement and don’t leave enough space for me to get past. This means I have to double back, leave the comparative safety of the pavement to go on the road, pass the car and then get back on the pavement at the next dropped kerb (sometimes a fair distance away). This is not only a waste of time but also incredibly dangerous.

And not just for me.  For years now the National Federation of the Blind has been running a campaign under the banner “Give us back our pavements” objecting against just this sort of thoughtless behaviour. Giving your shins a crack on the bumper of a car which you didn’t see was there is only slightly more preferable to having to step out into the unknown danger of a busy road.

Rule 243 of the Highway Code clearly states: “Do not stop or park where the kerb has been lowered to help wheelchair-users and powered mobility vehicles.” Rule 244 also states: “You must not park partially or wholly on the pavement in London, and should not do so elsewhere unless signs permit it.” In addition to this, from 1 June 2009 all councils in England and Wales were granted powers to introduce blanket Special Enforcement Areas covering vehicles that park on dropped kerbs or double-park, without a requirement to provide road signs or markings. As parking alongside a dropped kerb is considered to be a higher level offence any drivers caught doing so would be issued with a penalty fine of £120 in London and £70 outside (pre-discounted rate).

These powers currently don’t exist in Scotland but Ross Finnie MSP is keen to bring in a similar bill. The bill will seek to encourage local authorities across Scotland to put in place “no parking” restrictions at dropped kerbs or on pavements. The campaign group Inverclyde Council on Disability (ICOD) is strongly in favour of a bill being introduced as wheelchair-users in the group have found their mobility unnecessarily restricted by motor vehicles.

However, Andrew Howard, Head of Road Safety at the AA is not in favour. He said: “The AA opposed this rule when it was introduced in England and Wales and we still don’t agree that local authorities should have carte-blanche to enforce this rule without giving motorists any warning. Taken to extremes, householders or businesses could get their own cars ticketed whilst they are legitimately parked alongside the dropped kerb outside – not causing any nuisance or obstruction to anyone but themselves.”

I can’t say where I live that these new powers have made much difference as there’s still lots of cars parked on the pavement getting in my way. However, I still believe it is better to have these powers in place than not at all and so I hope the Scottish bill is successfully passed. Maybe in the future motorists will realise the error of their ways – especially with the help of a few parking tickets – and travel along the pavements will be considerably easier for people with disabilities.

Responses to the consultation on the Scottish bill need to be submitted by 31 January 2011. Find out more by visiting http://tiny.cc/Kerbparking