Up to half of all disabled parking badges in London are being used illegally, according to the Local Government Association (LGA).
It is estimated that badges are now changing hands on the black market for up to £500.
A recent crackdown by spending watchdog the Audit Commission led to nearly 5,500 badges being cancelled in Manchester, Merseyside and London.
The badges allow free and unlimited parking in pay and display bays.
They also allow parking for up to three hours on yellow lines and, in London, holders are exempt from the congestion charge.
The badges do not carry a car registration number and have a photograph only on the back, so they can easily be transferred between vehicles and drivers.
Douglas Campbell, of the disabled drivers' charity Mobilise, has called for tougher enforcement.
"The trouble is, the system has just grown over the years without a lot of thought to the security implications," he told BBC News. "The people who are behind the screen - the people who actually operate it - are largely probably not aware of the huge problems that are being incurred."
2 comments:
my dr. said he would give me paper work to get one of those so i could park in the handicapped parking..and i thought how silly..i live in a town that i can park within 15 feet at the farthest from the door..i dont need that...but then i went to the mall about 3 years ago and thought damn..would like to have that thing now..but i figured there were more people that needed it than me...and people that park in handicapped places and are healthy..make my ass hurt..
I like blocking those people in with my van , when I see perfectly healthy twots park in a disabled zone, I park behind them and instead of taking out , I order an extra large meal and take my time ! Mwahahahaha
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