A new study of blue badge parking fines has revealed which areas of England are most likely to see violations, with drivers in London leading the way for fines.
The research, which was conducted by Moneybarn, found the East London borough of Newham saw the most offenders, with 12,080 fines from August 2016 to the same month last year. Drivers in Barnet, Southwark, Haringey and Barking & Dagenham/Camden were also featured in the top ten for most fines, giving London a bad name for ignoring the vital blue bays.
Norfolk was the best behaved, with only 50 parking violations in the same time period, though this could be reflected by a lack of parking bays for the disabled.
“It’s vital disabled parking bays are kept free for those who need them,” Tim Schwarz, head of marketing at Moneybarn, said.
“That said, if you feel like you have been issued a fine incorrectly, follow the appeal process issued by your council and ensure you have the correct information and documents to hand.”
According to the same research though, less than half of the fines issued have actually been paid, with CCTV cameras blamed for incorrectly failing to spot blue badges and issuing fines to those who qualified. Other reasons for fines being rescinded relate to disabled drivers breaking parking rules by mistake or being impaired from returning to their vehicle in a designated time.