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CHAPTER FOUR: FACTORS INFLUENCING THE ABUSE OF RESERVED PARKING FACILITIES FOR DISABLED PEOPLE

4.1 Introduction

The previous chapter has demonstrated that there are different categories of drivers who abuse disabled people's parking bays, which may be defined according to their behaviour and the factors that motivate them to abuse such facilities. This chapter goes further to examine these factors in greater depth, based on the findings of the depth interviews with participants who had abused bays. The evaluation also takes into account the findings of the stakeholder workshop, where appropriate.

The interviews with bay abusers revealed eight different factors motivating the abuse of reserved parking facilities. These included (in no particular order) the following factors:

Table 4.1 Factors influencing abuse and related issues

These factors are described in more detail below.

4.2 Bay Design

The design of car parks and the position of reserved parking facilities were major factors motivating the majority of participants to use reserved parking facilities (for disabled people and parent and child). Such design considerations relate to the following factors:

4.2.1 Capacity

Many of the persistent abusers used disabled people's parking bays when no other parking spaces were available for them to use, rather than wait for a non-reserved parking space to become available, which they said made them anxious. Some participants said they waited up to 15 minutes searching for a free space before they used a reserved parking bay. "I use disabled bays because I get so frustrated with trying to find a parking space" (Persistent abuser, Edinburgh)

There was a common perception among participants who were persistent abusers that the capacity of disabled people's parking facilities, particularly at supermarkets and retail parks, exceeded actual demand by disabled people using the sites. For this reason, some participants said that they used a disabled person's parking space because other reserved bays were available. "I would not take the last bay… if there were 10 bays free I would just park there." (Persistent abuser, Inverness). "there must be a thousand parking spaces for disabled people in Inverness, half of them are never used or would not be used if it weren't for people like me." (Persistent abuser, Inverness)

Abusers were also inclined to use disabled people's parking bays on-street in zones that were restricted to reserved parking only, as they could not find alternative parking that was as accessible and convenient. For example, some participants reported that they used disabled people's parking bays on the High Street in Falkirk town centre to collect heavy shopping goods, as the entire street is dedicated to parking for disabled people and they could not find an alternative suitable car park which offered them as accessible a route to the shops which caused them to use reserved bays on-street.

Participants who were entitled to use reserved parent and child parking bays said they used disabled people's parking facilities when they could not find a parent and child bay. This was a major issue for the participants with small children, as they reported this to be a common problem and felt that demand for parent and child parking facilities exceeded capacity at the car parks they used. However, some participants attributed lack of availability to people using the reserved parking bays who were not entitled to use them. "nine times out of ten, parent and child [parking] spaces are all full" (Justified abuser, Monklands)

One respondent who was a reluctant abuser said that she had only used disabled people's parking facilities at a multi-storey car park because she was given permission to do so by the car park attendant.

4.2.2 Bay width

Participants who were entitled to use parent and child parking facilities said they used parking bays reserved for disabled people when they were not able to find other suitable parking, because of the wider width of the bays, which was important to them in terms of enabling them to get their children safely in and out of the vehicle, and for securing seat belts.

Within the group of persistent abusers, a common reason for using disabled people's parking facilities was to protect their car from other cars, as the bays were wider and segregated from the other parking bays. Two participants said they parked over two bays.

4.2.3 Personal security

This was a particular issue for female participants - two said they used disabled people's parking facilities, whilst using supermarkets and multi-storey car parks at night, because of their proximity to the entrance. Here, it was pointed out that car parks can be "intimidating" outside peak hours, especially if they are large, unmanaged, underground and not well lit. In this respect, participants (including men) preferred open car parks which are on one level.

One respondent said she used her local supermarket (open 24 hours) late at night and always parked in reserved parking bays close to the entrance to avoid passing youths that loitered in the car park.

4.2.4 Signage

Some participants (justified abusers) said they had used disabled people's parking bays 'accidentally' as a result of unclear signs and markings. "On a wet day the yellow [paint] isn't as bright" (Justified abuser, Aberdeen)

4.2.5 Position of bays

Nearly all participants who abused parking facilities were motivated by the position of the bays in relation to the services they used, for what they considered to be justified and unjustified reasons. The justified reasons included some of those highlighted above (personal security, collecting heavy goods, getting children safely in and out of the vehicle) and those highlighted below (reduced mobility and journey purpose). Other reasons (regarded as unjustified) were simply related to convenience. Persistent abusers, in particular, chose to park in bays that were closest to their destination, whether they are reserved for disabled people or other people, because they said they were "too lazy" to walk, and did not feel that they were causing a problem for disabled people, because their stay was short.

Many participants had parked in disabled people's parking bays because they were close to ATM machines and had observed "many other drivers" doing the same, especially at weekends.

On reasons why drivers abuse reserved parking facilities one participant commented:

" pure laziness… absolutely, its definitely because parent and child and disabled parking bays are a lot closer to the door and if the car park is three quarters full then it's easy for them to just nip in instead of parking right down the bottom they'll just nip into parent and child [parking facilities] , parent and child more often than [parking facilities for] disabled people, they think its OK, I'm only going to be 2 minutes"
(Justified abuser, Inverness)

Some participants in Falkirk said that they used parent and child parking facilities instead of disabled people's parking bays at a local supermarket because they were closest to the entrance.

4.2.6 Inconsistent bay markings

Both service users and providers represented at the stakeholder workshop indicated that inconsistencies in the marking of reserved parking bays led to a certain amount of confusion as to where people could park. Currently, at some supermarkets and shops, blue and yellow markings are used to indicate a space for a disabled person or a parent with young children. Amongst all stakeholders, there was the wish for there to be a greater harmonisation of the system, to make it more straightforward for disabled drivers, service providers and the wider public.

4.3 Social

Several broad themes relating to social aspects emerged from the interviews with abusers, as described under the appropriate headings below.

4.3.1 What is considered to be socially acceptable/unacceptable

There was a common perception within the sample of non-disabled participants that parent and child parking facilities were subject to greater abuse than disabled people's parking facilities. Many of the participants who abused reserved parking facilities suggested that they would seek a reserved parent and child bay before deciding to use a disabled person's parking bay, as they perceived the impacts to be more severe on disabled people. However, the more persistent abusers admitted to choosing parking bays that are the most convenient in terms of minimal walking distance. On another level, one respondent said that she would not consider using disabled people's parking facilities at municipal car parks, as she thought this was more 'socially unacceptable' than using reserved parking bays at supermarkets and retail parks. "I use parent and child [parking] spaces when I don't have my child with me, and he is five and quite capable of walking so I don't really need to use them when he is with me but I still use them." (Reluctant abuser, Monklands)

4.3.2 Anti-social/intimidating environments

As mentioned earlier, personal security was a key concern for some participants, especially when using car parks outside peak hours. Multi-storey car parks in particular were described as being "dark" and "scary" to use at night if not patrolled. Certain car parks were also reported to attract gangs of youths at night time (e.g. supermarkets open 24 hours), because they were open and unmanaged.

4.3.3 Perception and lack of understanding of disability

Some participants who abused parking facilities for disabled people had a limited understanding of disability and of disabled people's needs. Some abusers tended to associate a disabled person as a person with walking problems or a wheelchair user and commented that they did not see people with these conditions or with 'obvious' disabilities using reserved parking bays in off-street car parks, and therefore it was assumed that people parked in the reserved bays were abusers of the Blue Badge Scheme. Their attitudes towards disabled people and their entitlement to reserved parking facilities had been tarnished by their perceptions of the misuse of the Blue Badge Scheme, which had in turn motivated them to abuse parking facilities. Participants said that they knew of, or had heard about, non-disabled people using the Blue Badge, or of relatives/friends of Blue Badge holders using the Badge for their own benefit. "its very rare that you see a disabled person with a walking stick or wheelchair using a disabled bay." (Persistent abuser, Inverness)

4.3.4 Following other drivers' behaviour

Some participants suggested that their use of disabled people's facilities was a reaction to other drivers' behaviour - they had noticed other drivers abusing facilities without any consequences:

"everybody else does it!" (Persistent abuser, Monklands)

4.4 Reduced Mobility

Three participants said they needed to use disabled people's parking facilities because they had a medical condition which reduced their mobility (this included arthritis). They had not applied for a Blue Badge as they did not think they would meet the eligibility criteria, because their condition was temporary or only affected their mobility on certain days. Other participants said they had also needed to use a disabled person's parking bay when they were heavily pregnant. Nearly all the participants who were recruited from the hospitals (Ninewells and Monklands) had used reserved parking facilities at the sites because they were taking their relatives/friends with temporary disabilities to medical appointments.

4.5 Psychological

Most of the participants who fell within the justified, reluctant and in denial categories made conscious decisions before using a disabled person's parking bay, in that they considered the impacts on disabled people and the risk of getting caught. Some participants convinced themselves that their behaviour was acceptable, because they did not anticipate their actions to have any impact on the people for whom the spaces are reserved. "if there's about 30 spaces not being used and I'm only going to be 5 minutes"(Reluctant abuser, Edinburgh)

Persistent abusers, on the other hand, had a tendency to park without consideration of the impacts on disabled people or consequences for them - the value of the space was usually greater to them than the risk of being caught.

The participants' familiarity with the car parks had a major influence on their behaviour - there was a higher propensity to use disabled people's parking facilities at the car parks which were familiar to participants, because they knew they could get away with it. They had abused facilities before, with no consequences, so did it again.

4.6 Journey Purpose

Almost half of the sample said that they had used a disabled person's parking bay because they were 'under pressure' to park. Journeys which were highlighted as being potentially stressful included those described below.

4.6.1 Work-related journeys

Participants (mainly persistent abusers) said that they were pressured by time when carrying out personal activities during work hours, or attending meetings/meeting clients, so parked close to their destination to save time. Some participants said that they needed to park close to their destination to carry heavy equipment as part of their job; for example, one respondent was a painter and decorator, and needed to carry scaffolding, so parked as close to his destination as possible.

"if I'm going to the bank, I'm on my lunch break and there is not a lot of time to spare, I'm in a rush, if there's a [reserved] bay right outside the bank, I will park in it, I would use them [reserved parking facilities] all, except police bays… I don't really mind it".
(Persistent abuser, Inverness)

4.6.2 Travelling with children

As noted earlier, participants with a small child(ren) felt particularly under pressure to find reserved parking facilities when travelling with their child(ren), especially when shopping, as they regularly experienced problems accessing facilities reserved for parent and child and needed to use wider parking bays for safety reasons as mentioned earlier. In many cases, these participants used a disabled person's parking bay if they were not able to access a bay for parent and child.

4.6.3 Accompanying a friend/relative with a mobility problem

Some participants were full or part-time carers of people with mobility problems, so it was important for them to park close to their destination. One respondent worked with young offenders who had learning difficulties with associated behavioural needs and used reserved parking bays to prevent her clients from running away, which was a possibility with longer walking distances or walking through large car parks.

4.6.4 Visiting hospitals

Many participants had negative experiences of using hospital car parks because they were not able to find suitable parking which led to some participants missing medical appointments. Participants said they had used reserved parking facilities for disabled people at hospitals because they had a temporary disability and needed to park close to the hospital entrance and/or to get to medical appointments on time. Other participants said they had used disabled people's parking facilities at hospitals because the car park was busy and there was nowhere else to park (these included hospital staff, and people giving lifts to out-patients and hospital staff). However, some participants who abused parking facilities for disabled people (including the persistent abusers) indicated that they would only consider using a reserved parking bay at a hospital car park if there was no other alternative as they perceived the impacts on disabled people and people with temporary disabilities as much greater than at a supermarket or retail car park. "there's more respect for disabled people at hospitals than there is in a supermarket" (Justified abuser, Dundee)

4.7 Economic

Cost of parking was an important factor to nearly all participants. Some participants said they used on-street disabled people's parking bays for a short time because it was free as they were not willing to pay for parking for 15 minutes or less. Other participants said they would park anywhere that was free, which led them to park in residential areas or private car parks instead of using off-street car parks. "I'll abandon my car anywhere where I don't have to pay" (Persistent abuser, Inverness)

4.8 Environmental

A lot of abusers had a higher propensity to use disabled people's parking facilities during inclement weather than during dry, calm conditions.

One participant believed that he was contributing to the environment by using reserved parking facilities as he was not driving around to find a suitable parking space. He considered this to be a plausible reason for using reserved parking facilities when they are not in use.

4.9 Lack of Enforcement

It was apparent to stakeholder workshop participants that many off-street parking bays are not enforced and that there are very little consequences for those that abuse off-street parking facilities. It was stated that people abuse the bays as they are not enforced effectively and that they know they can manipulate the system. It was generally felt that service providers need to do a better job of enforcing, but that ultimately they would need to be backed by legislation.

Not all participants who had abused disabled people's parking facilities were aware of the legal obligation on service providers to provide such facilities; some participants thought that service providers were just being 'courteous' in providing them. For this reason most of the participants who abused them did not expect to be penalised.

4.10 Summary

Table 4.2 summarises the assessment of factors motivating the abuse of off-street parking facilities reserved for disabled people, according to their frequency by type of abuser. It should be noted that some of the participants gave multiple reasons for their behaviour.

Table 4.2: Frequency of factors influencing abuse of disabled people's parking facilities

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