Approved for Blue Badge (PIP standard rate). Some questions.

BoredBoredBored

Sorry if this will be explained in the pack with the new badge but I have some questions I cannot find answers to.

Scored 10 points on the mobility section of PIP which seemed to fastrack the Blue Badge award. PIP backdated to May 2022 where it increased from standard living to standard living and mobility. Award letter arrived this week.

Seen mention of getting 50% tax refund which can possibly be backdated. Does this require anything else and what happens when my Tax is £30 and we are 6 months into it? 10 year old standard car not a WAV. Search seems to suggest sending payment with the paperwork?

Parking on yellow lines unless prohibited for upto 3 hours (found information that says no return within 1 hour). Anything to be aware of on that?  What ifs its a really long road, can you park 1 mile further up or 3 miles or park 50 feet away on a side street?

Sorry if these seem like simple questions but the last thing I want is a parking ticket.

Thanks.

poppy123456

For road tax (VED) you need to send all your documents and payment for 50% of the road tax to DVLA. Yes, it can be backdated to the start of your new award. https://www.disabledmotoring.org/motoring/road-tax-50-reduction

For BB use, you can park on double yellow lines, providing you're not causing an obstruction, i'm not aware of any timelimit unless it states otherwise. If you're parking in a time limited area then you must display the clock with the time in which you arrived.

You mustn't park in no parking zones. Where i live parking in car parks where there's a charge, it's free if you display a BB but you'll need to check the area where you live. If you go outside that area you'll need to check whether a charge applies because not all areas will be free for disabled badge holders.

For everything else you can check your local Authorities rules for BB here https://www.gov.uk/where-registered-disabled-drivers-can-park

OverlyAnxious

For a car with £30 tax it's probably not worth the hassle in all honesty!  You'll have to tax it by mailing all the paperwork and a cheque each year.  (Need to send a V10 form, V5C logbook, MOT & PIP award certificate).  After all that hassle you've only saved one pound a month!  I don't know why they can't make it accessible online.

Blue Badge parking can be difficult.  As Poppy says, the main thing is that you're not causing an obstruction (creating traffic) or endangering other pedestrians by parking too near crossings or over dropped kerbs etc.  Apart from that, you have to check the parking restriction signs carefully.  Particularly for on-street bay parking, you'll often find a time limit there that still applies regardless of the Blue Badge.  There is one road near me where Blue Badge holders regularly get tickets because they park in 'one hour only' spaces for a long time.

2oldcodgers

BoredBoredBored said:

Parking on yellow lines unless prohibited for upto 3 hours (found information that says no return within 1 hour). Anything to be aware of on that?  What ifs its a really long road, can you park 1 mile further up or 3 miles or park 50 feet away on a side street?

Thanks.

I would suggest that your port of call is to read the highway code. It explains exactly what you can and cannot do even holding a Blue Badge.

BoredBoredBored

Thank you for the comments, I was thinking the same about the 50% tax rate. £30yr currently which I think has just risen to £35 still not a lot if it's a chore to obtain.

A lot of the information and links goto the gov website which is not 100% clear on the timed limit bays.

It does seem to suggest that on street pay at the meter bays are free and can be used all day unless the sign or meter states bb holders need to pay or time limited.

Similar with the Congestion charges, it states exempt but is it now low emission zones rather than congestion charging? My vehicle is not compliant for my local City.

Wife noticed that bb holders seemed to question traffic wardens a lot on whether its OK to park in various locations.

poppy123456

BoredBoredBored said:

Wife noticed that bb holders seemed to question traffic wardens a lot on whether its OK to park in various locations.

One thing to always remember, being a BB holder does not give anyone an automatic right to park anywhere they want to. All areas have different rules for parking charges, some will allow free parking and others will not. I always make sure i read any signs before i leave my car.