Gold Coast’s most selfish drivers revealed, as advocates call for tougher penalties for those parking in disabled spaces
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There are calls for drivers who park in disabled bays without a permit to have their cars towed or clamped, as heavy fines fail to stamp out the problem.
Council dished out infringement notices for the offence to 515 motorists on the Gold Coast in the last financial year.
The penalty for parking illegally in a disabled bay is $333, and is due to rise to $551 in March.
However there are fears that tougher measures may be needed as demand for parking increases on the Gold Coast.
Geoff Rowe, CEO of the ADA Australia advocacy service, said the problem was particularly acute at busy times of the year such as the weeks before Christmas.
“As more pressure comes on parking, especially at this time of year, people think that the disability parking space is a soft target,” Mr Rowe said.
“No one will notice and no one will care and it’s not going to really impact on anyone.
“That just misses the mark.
“That space beside the disability parking space is actually really important. People with a wheelchair require a lot more room than you and I to manoeuvre.”
Pictures shared to the Australian Disability Parking Wall of Shame Facebook page show cars allegedly parked without permits at multiple locations across the Gold Coast including shopping centres, hospitals and Bunnings stores.
Mr Rowe said offenders came from every section of society.
“It’s one of those behaviours that seems to transcend all socio-economic levels,” Mr Rowe said.
“You can see the full gamut of vehicles. It’s not just about people who are educated or are wealthy, or people who are not so well educated and have less resources, it just seems behaviour that people think, ‘it’s okay for me to do this’.”
Mayor Tom Tate said he was appalled by the behaviour, saying stronger measures may have to be brought in to convince people to follow the rules.
“Swinging in to a disabled parking bay would have to rate as one of the poorest displays of community behaviour imaginable,” Cr Tate said.
“The people who need these bays may have a permanent or temporary impairment. They are already doing it tough in life so to have an able-bodied motorist make their day any harder is wrong on every level.
“Monetary fines are one thing: I’d be happy to see their cars towed.”
Coomera woman Natasha Price, who is a marathon-winning para-athlete and motivational speaker, said she often couldn’t find a car park because people were parked illegally in disability spaces.
Ms Price said there was a “lack of awareness” about the needs of wheelchair users.
“What they don’t realise is that if you have a mobility issue, if you are a wheelchair user and completely unable to use your legs, by using that spot they’re preventing you from being able to get out of the vehicle at all,” Ms Price said.
“If you park in a standard sized spot, it’s not like you can stand up in order to get into your wheelchair.
“If you can’t open your doors fully to put your wheelchair next to the car then you literally cannot get out of the vehicle.”
Ms Price said that contrary to what some people believe, spaces for permit holders were in short supply.
“It’s so frustrating, especially when you look out to a parking lot and you see plenty of spots there, that people just can’t be bothered to park that far from the door,” she said.
“... If you’re able bodied you’ve got the whole car park to choose from.
“If you have a disability, there are only have a few spots you can use.”
Ms Price said she believed more stringent measures may be needed to combat the problem.
“I think something like towing or clamping would probably be the only option,” she said.
“Unless people are affected by something personally they don’t realise the extent and consequences of their actions so if they were affected in that way maybe it would help the situation a little bit.”
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