LordChaverly Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 Some people will, of course, always try to beat the system in one way or another. I must say though that it came as a surprise to discover that there is a thriving black market in these parking badges. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6160588.stm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bev2 Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 i work for scc and take calls for social services , i was ordering an application form for a blue badge for a gent who lived in sheffield but had gone to stay with his daughter in london he had his stolen from his car within an hour of him getting there she said it is big business down there selling them on so you can park outside your house Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoeshine Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 I am surprised to read that the badges concerned were without a photograph installed on the badge. Certainly in this area, a photo of the Badge Holder is automatically incorporated on the rear of the Card. Rather weirdly it's not placed on the front face. The photo-less front page is the side which must be displayed to meet legal requirements when in use. Another example of non-joined up thinking, perhaps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medusa Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 One of the reasons for the name of the badgeholder and the photograph being on the back of the badge rather than the front is to prevent a certain section of the community from lurking near the car waiting for someone specific (after all, if you know their name and what they look like, how easy would it be to pick someone who looks defenceless and whose car you like the look of, find them and mug them for their car keys?). That was the explanation given to me by the blue badge people when I commented on the fact that when orange badges were the norm your name went on the front but now they're blue your name is on the back. The photo and name part are to show to parking attendants, traffic wardens and police, if you ever need to prove that the badge is yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppins Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 My sister-inlaw would never use her disabled badge that her doctor insisted she use, she would always park in the 'regular' parking space and walk the distance, thats wrong also as she was taking up a space that someone else could be using . Also many family members have to use their own cars to take their disabled parents to doctors appts ect, therefore need the use of the badge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoeshine Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 Point well made, Medusa, but if such a felon needs to inflict himself/herself on the disabled car driver, it's likely they wouldn't need to know the name of the person or what he/she looks like, surely? It's obvious to anyone who the badge holder usually is at the point they use their key to open the door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
em2007 Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 if the picture was on display someone dodgy would just have to walk past to see it parked outside a supermarket, walk round said supermarket, see the person in picture, pickpocket bag , get car keys, steal car, and be long long gone before anyone even knew! also what would be the point of it from a law-enforcing point of view? parking attendant can see picture but can't check it until the person is there anyway, in which case its just as easy to ask them to show you their picture on the back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babychickens Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 my 88 year old grandmother has been asking for a disabled sticker for several years and has been refused one, despite only being able to walk very short distances (with a stick) due to osteoarthritis in her knees and hip. it has taken a consultant to instruct her gp to give her the disabled application form following a consult in which it was finally decided that she needs an artificial hip. it really pees me off that able-bodied people park in disabled spaces, and even go that one step further and nick/borrow inappropriately other peoples' permits. it upsets me that my gran has been struggling for the last 10 years when other people acquire the passes dishonestly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterw Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 I am surprised to read that the badges concerned were without a photograph installed on the badge. So am I! All such badges are now are the blue, EU-type and must have photographs. Even before that, they still carried photographs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foo_fighter Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 It's not surprising they're being abused when they're worth £5000 per year: "...One expert told us that a blue badge would save the holder, on average, £5,000 a year if they parked in a city centre every day for work..." from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6365635.stm?ls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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