REARVIEW:I'M NOT A fan of clamping, far from it. In fact I would usually describe the practice of private companies employed by the State effectively stealing your car until they have extorted money from you as a form of urban terrorism masquerading as traffic control.
I would make a number of exceptions, however. Able-bodied people who park in spots assigned to people with a disability deserve whatever is thrown at them. It is the kind of practice that shows a particular disdain and disregard for fellow mankind. Clamping isn’t enough for people who do this.
Somebody who goes to a doctor seeking a disabled parking permit when they actually don’t have a disability is just as bad if not worse.
Everyone has witnessed the person with the disabled parking permit hopping out and walking off into town for the day. There has been anecdotal evidence that permits were being given out like sweets at a childs birthday party over the last 12 years of the scheme.
In a submission to government back in 2007 the Irish Wheelchair Association said “liberal interpretations by GPs” had resulted in people with minor conditions getting permits. It also said the scheme was being abused by family and friends fraudulently using disabled parking stickers for selfish purposes and that there was a “total lack of enforcement” is this regard.
For this reason it is to be welcomed that new regulations are in force since the start of this month governing the use of disabled parking spaces.
The Department of Transport describes it as a “radical overhaul” of the scheme designed to tackle fraud. Chief among the new measures is changing the medical eligibility criteria as well as new powers for local authorities to introduce time-restricted parking bays.
Parking bays, which may only be used to set down and pick up passengers, will also be introduced. For those with mobility issues who rely on this scheme to conduct their daily lives, these new measures are long overdue and need to be implemented forthwith.