LAST WEEK we heard that the indiscriminate behaviour exhibited by so many Barbadians drivers who park in areas designated for people with disabilities had caught the eye of the police and it was a situation of which the lawmen disapproved.
The Royal Barbados Police Force has indicated that it has not been ignoring this behaviour and while it supports some types of fines for those who disregard the privileges set aside for the disabled, the suggestion is that it be dealt with at the policy level.
While the police force is carrying a heavy load and demands are made every day of it to deal with matters covered by the law and some not to be found in any statute, sometimes it is important to step outside what is written and give moral leadership to what is expected. Such is the case of this issue of indiscriminate parking in spots designated for the disabled.
It is a matter which has been spoken and written about for too long, by too many people without any real solution. Indeed, the situation seems to have gone from bad to worse.
We can appeal to the good conscience of those drivers who park in handicapped spaces at the mall or at the supermarket, but we believe that it will be in vain. The signage is clear and the message has been repeated so often that it is obvious those with eyes to see and ears to hear simnply ignore it all. The abusers simply do not acknowledge the disabled.
While we wait for the amendments to the Road Traffic Act to go to Parliament to correct this wrong, those with authority must play their part to ensure the right things are done. The police cannot see such infractions of an unwritten law, know them to be wrong and look the other way. Neither should security guards, parking attendants or any right-thinking citizen who supports right over wrong. Common sense and decency should be upheld at all times.
In an effort to help resolve this issue, the Licensing Authority should issue drivers with disabilities special tags and licence plates to verify their disabilities, which should be renewable every three years. This should go some way in preventing parking abuses while assisting disabled people who truly need these spaces not to be inconvenienced.
Police and advocates for the disabled must be able to deal with the prevailing shortcomings and flaws in the existing arrangements — which are primarily voluntary.
Our lawmen must not only be concerned about this situation, patiently waiting on the acclamation of legislation to respond to a bad situation. They must speak to the offenders, most of whom will think twice about infringing the regulation, written in law or not.