Blue disabled badges were designed by the government to make the lives easier of disabled people, so that their loved ones could park closer to where they needed to be and have more space to manoeuvre than in a conventional space. With disabilities often comes a lot of equipment, in some cases wheelchairs, crutches and other things that are difficult to get out of the car if you are in a conventional sized space, and makes life stressful if you are too far away from where you need to be. The blue badge also means that you can park on yellow lines and avoid the expense of the congestion charge.
But with every privilege comes abuse, and GPs are no longer allowed to issue these passes as there has been a massive spate of fraud in the UK with people registering disabled badges where they don't actually need them. In some cases it was found that people were possessing badges owned by now deceased individuals, which is drawing the credibility of the system into question, and therefore making it far harder for people to obtain these badges.
Drivers will now have to visit independent assessment centres to ensure that they are genuine in receiving the badge, the government have said.
Parking attendants will have the power to seize badges that they believe are fake, and the new style badge will now be laminated and include a hologram, much like on UK money, to make it considerably more difficult for people to fake them. The badge will also be ID and will contain a photo of the person who the pass belongs to for added security in ensuring these are genuine.
The cost of the badge will increase from two pounds and fifty pence to ten pounds, another measure to deter fraudsters from committing this crime, which is a bit of a blow for genuinely disabled people who have the shoulder the higher cost.
If you are disabled and driving in the UK then you will need to obtain Car Insurance , which is readily available to save time and add convenience, online.