MEDIA RELEASE FROM CCS DISABILITY ACTION

17 February 2009

Women Less Likely to Illegally Park in Spaces for Disabled People than Men

Research from CCS Disability Action has found that women are less likely to abuse parking spaces reserved for disabled people.

A survey, carried by CCS Disability Action and analysed by Research NZ, found that from the total people illegally parked in mobility parking spaces, only 38% were women.

While the percentage of women abusing these spaces has dropped by 11% since 2006, the figures show that the number of men using the spaces without a valid permit in the same period was up by 12% (47% to 59%).

Peter Wilson, Manager of the Mobility Parking Scheme, says that the figures are quite worrying.

“It seems that deterrents like new legislation, higher fines and clamping are having some impact but over 40% of the people taking up these spaces are doing so illegally,” says Peter Wilson.

The research suggests that people offend out of convenience to themselves, with abuse happening the most outside ATMs and public resources like libraries.

“These parking spaces are in convenient places for a reason. People with Mobility Parking Permits generally can’t walk unassisted for more than 200 metres,”adds Peter.

CCS Disability Action believes the abuse will only stop with the support of parking providers, such as councils and shopping malls.

“We need to work with parking providers to improve signage, road markings and enforcement. CCS Disability Action will remain committed to taking every chance we get to raise awareness on these issues,” says Peter Wilson.

The research shows that 84% of the people abusing the parking spaces are parked for less than 15 minutes. While many people might find that acceptable Pete Wilson points out that taking up a car park even for a short time has a massive impact on disabled people.

“In that 15 minutes a disabled person has missed out on a parking space and where there is no alternative parking, has to cancel what they had planned - most of us would never consider not being able to get out of our car and get on with our day,” says Peter Wilson.

“Blocking disabled people from getting on with their business, shopping and leisure activities is still a big problem in New Zealand. Many of us just don’t think about people who move around in different ways,” adds Peter Wilson.

*ENDS*

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