RAC Motoring Services News Release - Monday 16 December 2002

RAC AND BAYWATCH TEAM UP TO SUPPORT DISABLED DRIVERS AT CHRISTMAS

Olympic medallist Tanni Grey-Thompson backs the campaign

Motoring organisation RAC and Baywatch, the campaigning body established to help prevent abuse of disabled parking bays, have teamed up this Christmas to encourage motorists to behave thoughtfully when parking while on festive shopping trips.

Recent research by Baywatch found that nearly a quarter of all disabled parking bays in supermarkets are occupied by cars owned by people without disabled badges. RAC is supporting Baywatch by asking its members to report examples of good and bad parking practice which they might see in shopping centre and supermarket car parks.

The scheme is being publicised in RAC's member magazine. RAC is also encouraging its staff - including the 1,400 breakdown patrols - to report abuses of parking bays when they see them.

Olympic gold medal winning athlete Tanni Grey-Thompson said: "Being a mum and a disabled person, accessible, wide parking spaces are as important to me as being close to the shops. If people realised what impact the misuse of parking spaces had on disabled people, I am sure they would think again about what they are doing."

"There's a huge problem of impaired access when it comes to disabled motorists using supermarket and shopping centre carparks," commented RAC spokeswoman Nicola Latham. "As we enter the peak season for festive shopping, we're urging able-bodied motorists to think more carefully when considering parking in bays reserved for disabled motorists."

Baywatch researchers failed to find vacant disabled parking bays in nearly 40% of the 300 supermarkets they visited during the survey period. Of the UK's four largest supermarkets, disabled parking bay misuse was most prevalent in Safeway (with 27% of bays being misused by non-badge holders). Disabled motorists visiting Sainsbury's and Tesco were most likely to find an available parking bay (with 21% of bays being misused).

Baywatch and RAC offer the following advice for disabled drivers if they find a disabled bay being misused:

- Don't feel you're being a nuisance if you complain. Asda, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Safeway Supermarkets are all supporting the Baywatch campaign and are committed to improving matters by investigating better signage and hosting schemes to prevent misuse

- If you notice a bay being abused, alert the car park attendant or parking bay host in the store; according to Baywatch's research, 68% of the time when a bay misuse was reported, the supermarkets' response was excellent, good or fair in dealing with the problem

- Use other feedback methods to have your voice heard; customer service desks or shopper surveys are a useful way of requesting more disabled bays to be set aside, better effort to be put in to fighting parking bay misuse or more attention to be given to disability issues

Disabled motorists cannot be sure of finding a convenient parking bay when they shop at Christmas. Other motorists need to be less selfish and recognise the inconvenience and distress they can cause by parking in a disabled bay," commented Mary Wilkinson from Baywatch.

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