Lawmakers have dramatically increased the penalty for illegal parking in spaces reserved for disabled people, raising the fine tenfold from $500 to $5 000.
It comes in response to persistent violations and follows intense lobbying from disability rights advocates.
It aims to send a clear message that the government is serious about protecting accessible parking spaces, Leader of Government Business in the House Santia Bradshaw said on Tuesday as lawmakers moved to amend the Road Traffic Act.
“We feel very strongly . . . that this piece of legislation in terms of increasing the level of the fine from $500 to $5 000, will send a very clear message to the general public and to those who have been repeat offenders of this particular act, that we are indeed very serious about making sure that those spaces for persons with disabilities are respected and indeed protected,” said Deputy Prime Minister Bradshaw.
The amendment comes after intense advocacy from key political figures, including the Chairman of the Commission for Disabilities and St James North MP Edmund Hinkson as well as Minister for People Empowerment and Elder Affairs Kirk Humphrey among others.
Bradshaw, who is also minister of transport and works, noted that under a previous amendment of the Road Traffic Act, fines were introduced for drivers who park in spaces designated for people with disabilities without a valid permit.
She told the House: “When the act was first amended back in 2017, Section 88A would have penalised, for the first time, drivers of motor vehicles who stopped, stood or parked their vehicles in a parking space that is designated for disabled parking by a disabled parking sign, unless the motor vehicle prominently displayed a valid parking permit issued by the Licensing Authority, that clearly indicated that the vehicle was either owned or operated by a person with disabilities or used for the transportation of a person with disabilities. At Subsection 3 of that piece of legislation, the breach stood at $500.”
Despite the introduction of these penalties, violations of disabled parking spaces have continued to be a problem, Bradshaw stated.
“The challenge has been that we have seen a number of drivers in Barbados completely disregard the fact that there is either a vehicle which is bearing a sticker of persons, . . . showing that they are disabled,” Bradshaw said. “And they have also disregarded, as well, the disabled signs that are clearly demarcated in a number of these spaces.”
In response, Hinkson and others advocated for stronger penalties.
Referencing ongoing discussions with disability advocacy groups, Bradshaw said, “I received correspondence from the chairman of the commission [Hinkson] for disabilities back in March of last year, and we had extensive conversations regarding the concerns expressed by the disabilities community.”
(FW)
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