Disabled parking fine awakens KZN woman to need for special permit

A shocked and irate Amanzimtoti mother of a disabled child, Pam Swart was fined R750 for parking in a disabled parking without displaying the necessary permit required by law, South Coast Courier reports.

The disabled sticker on her car didn’t suffice and had Pam not caught the officer in the act of writing up the ticket, she stood to be fined a whopping R1,500 for the infringement.

“I went for breakfast at Thirsty Whale on Thursday morning, 27 September with my daughter. I have lived in Amanzimtoti for 25 years and my daughter has been disabled for just as long,” she explained.

“When we arrived back at my car, which was parked in the disabled parking space, I found a policeman writing up a ticket.”

When Pam asked what she had done wrong, he explained she didn’t have a permit to use the parking space.

“All these years I’ve thought that the disabled sticker on my car was proof enough to allow me to use the disabled parking,” said Pam.

“The policeman said that for years this permit has been required, as ‘anyone can go to a shop and buy a disabled sticker’. I must now go to the licensing department and take proof of my daughter’s disability, along with personal information to apply for this permit which I will need to display on my windscreen in future. If I do this within the next seven days, I can apply to have the fine squashed.”

Pam shared what made her most frustrated about the situation.

“So many people constantly abuse the disabled parking areas, along with so many other things in life.

Here I am, eligible to park there with my disabled parking sticker visible, but I still receive a fine,” she said.