Time running out on the space invaders
December 1st, 2009

I have heard the Scottish parliament being dismissed as ‘a talking shop’ and that nothing ever gets done.

While I can understand that frustration with the slow progress of parliamentary business, every now and again you get involved in something that can see making a real difference.

My colleague Jackie Baillie has sponsored a great bill that seeks to free up disabled parking bays for those who need them most and as a committee convenor I played my small part in scrutinising that bill.

Last week, the Scottish Parliament passed the bill at its first stage and now it is well on the road to be made into law.

Of course, the benefits of this bill are obvious to people who have to deal with a disability and will hopefully make their lives much easier.

But while I was researching the bill, it turned up something I hadn’t thought of and could bring a wider benefit to us all.

It stands to reason that those people who break the rules in one part of their life are likely to break rules in other illegal ways.

Research has shown that those who are careless and thoughtlessness enough to take up disabled parking bays are more likely to have a criminal record.

On top of that, around 50 per cent of them have a history of traffic violations

Of the cars found abusing disabled spaces, one in 10 were in an illegal condition, whether through defective tyres or outdated road tax.

That being the case, enforcement of those disabled parking spaces may indeed be an efficient and cost effective way of targeting active offenders and currently illegal vehicles.

Yet another reason good reason to tackle the space invaders.