Mary Poppins
10-01-2008, 04:52 PM
Just received this email.
Today [10th January, 2008] ASDA announced it would be the first retailer to fine drivers for the misuse of disabled and parent and child parking bays in its car parks.
All profits generated from the fines will go back to baby charity Tommy's and Motability, the national disability charity providing the leading car scheme for disabled people.
The move which will see abusers fined £60 for parking in parent and child and disabled spaces, comes into force from Monday 14th January 2008 and follows a successful trial last year in the north of England.
When surveyed four out of five ASDA customers said they believed rolling out the scheme nationwide was the right thing to do.
The trial, which lasted three months, operated in six stores in Liverpool.
As a result of the scheme the number of free parking spaces increased by over 60% for disabled drivers and parents with young children.
“At ASDA we have decided to take a stand to keep specialised parking spaces available to those customers that need them. Most customers using these bays without good reason don't realize their actions impact on people that rely on them to do their weekly shop." said Paul Hedley, ASDA’s customer service manager.
”We are not handing out tickets to make a profit as money raised will go back to charity.
Signs in all stores will clearly state that you will get a fine if you park here unnecessarily. We would encourage anyone that manages a car park to take our lead." added Paul
Jane Brewin, Chief Executive of Tommy’s, the baby charity, said: "A routine trip to the shops can turn into a nightmare for some parents – especially when they don’t have adequate parking spaces and other much needed parent and baby services made available to them.
Tommy’s believe that organisations that claim to put the needs of parents first should seriously look at their parking policy for parents to uncover whet her their schemes actually work in practice.
"ASDA is setting a great example by ensuring that supermarkets are as accessible for parents as possible, by penalizing those who exploit bays specifically reserved for parents with young children. Putting fines in place for parking misuse is a bold move by ASDA but is the right one for giving parents with young children a helping hand."
Motability’s Fundraising & Marketing Director, Hazel Gotfraind, said: “I am delighted that Motability has been chosen to benefit from this excellent initiative and our customers will be pleased to know that ASDA is taking such a lead in stamping out the misuse of disabled parking bays.
Some of our customers need extra financial help to get a vehicle adapted to suit their individual needs.
With the help of companies like ASDA we can help to keep many more people independ ently mobile, something many of us take for granted.”
What does everyone else think about this. I personally applaud them for doing this. When my dad was alive, he was in a wheelchair before he died and the amount of able bodied people that parked in those bays meaning that we couldn't get access was disgusting. I also think that there should be an age limit for the mother and baby too. We saw one lady once with kids who were of primary school age using the spaces. They were old enough to get our of the car sensibly. Those spaces should just be reserved for people who need prams/pushchairs.
Today [10th January, 2008] ASDA announced it would be the first retailer to fine drivers for the misuse of disabled and parent and child parking bays in its car parks.
All profits generated from the fines will go back to baby charity Tommy's and Motability, the national disability charity providing the leading car scheme for disabled people.
The move which will see abusers fined £60 for parking in parent and child and disabled spaces, comes into force from Monday 14th January 2008 and follows a successful trial last year in the north of England.
When surveyed four out of five ASDA customers said they believed rolling out the scheme nationwide was the right thing to do.
The trial, which lasted three months, operated in six stores in Liverpool.
As a result of the scheme the number of free parking spaces increased by over 60% for disabled drivers and parents with young children.
“At ASDA we have decided to take a stand to keep specialised parking spaces available to those customers that need them. Most customers using these bays without good reason don't realize their actions impact on people that rely on them to do their weekly shop." said Paul Hedley, ASDA’s customer service manager.
”We are not handing out tickets to make a profit as money raised will go back to charity.
Signs in all stores will clearly state that you will get a fine if you park here unnecessarily. We would encourage anyone that manages a car park to take our lead." added Paul
Jane Brewin, Chief Executive of Tommy’s, the baby charity, said: "A routine trip to the shops can turn into a nightmare for some parents – especially when they don’t have adequate parking spaces and other much needed parent and baby services made available to them.
Tommy’s believe that organisations that claim to put the needs of parents first should seriously look at their parking policy for parents to uncover whet her their schemes actually work in practice.
"ASDA is setting a great example by ensuring that supermarkets are as accessible for parents as possible, by penalizing those who exploit bays specifically reserved for parents with young children. Putting fines in place for parking misuse is a bold move by ASDA but is the right one for giving parents with young children a helping hand."
Motability’s Fundraising & Marketing Director, Hazel Gotfraind, said: “I am delighted that Motability has been chosen to benefit from this excellent initiative and our customers will be pleased to know that ASDA is taking such a lead in stamping out the misuse of disabled parking bays.
Some of our customers need extra financial help to get a vehicle adapted to suit their individual needs.
With the help of companies like ASDA we can help to keep many more people independ ently mobile, something many of us take for granted.”
What does everyone else think about this. I personally applaud them for doing this. When my dad was alive, he was in a wheelchair before he died and the amount of able bodied people that parked in those bays meaning that we couldn't get access was disgusting. I also think that there should be an age limit for the mother and baby too. We saw one lady once with kids who were of primary school age using the spaces. They were old enough to get our of the car sensibly. Those spaces should just be reserved for people who need prams/pushchairs.