Unauthorized parking in handicapped spaces can be costly. Who is entitled to park their car there and why?? In our article we give an overview. The social association VdK advises its members on site on the subject of.
For many, the car offers an important way to be and stay mobile. In front of public facilities and at important central points, sufficient disabled parking spaces are therefore important, for example in front of supermarkets, doctors’ offices, theaters and cinemas, restaurants and train stations, but also in front of one’s own front door. "Own" Disabled parking spaces can usually be applied for at the municipal road traffic authority.
Handicapped parking spaces: More freedom of movement, short distances
Handicapped parking spaces are an important help in everyday life for those affected by the disease. So non-disabled people should definitely keep these parking spaces clear – even if you just want to unload something" shopping for only five minutes" or if there is no other parking space available far and wide.
Anyone who parks in a handicapped parking space without permission can be towed away immediately – or a fine will be imposed. This may also occur if no severely disabled person has been specifically prevented from using the disabled parking space. Therefore, the following applies to unauthorized motor vehicle drivers: Please keep the parking spaces free at all costs!
The severely handicapped permit alone is not a parking permit
If you have a disabled person’s permit, you are not automatically allowed to park in designated disabled parking spaces. A special parking permit is required in any case.
Who is allowed to park in a disabled parking space?
In order to park in the designated disabled parking spaces, you need a special blue parking permit: the "Parking permit for persons with disabilities in the European Union":
This blue parking permit is valid in all countries of the European Union and also in Albania, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and Yugoslavia.
Parking permit for persons with disabilities in the European Union: conditions in the Member States
Source: European Commission, as of 2009
Who can receive the blue special parking permit?
In order to apply for the blue parking permit – usually at the local road traffic authority or at the city’s public order office – one needs a severely disabled person’s identification card with the characteristic symbols
- aG (exceptionally disabled)
- or Bl (blind)
In addition, since the beginning of 2009, the following persons can receive the blue parking permit:
- Contergan disabled persons (bilateral amelia or phocomelia)
- and people with comparable impairments (for example amputation of both arms)
The parking permit is personal and not transferable to others. It is not registered to a specific car, but to the holder. Therefore, it can be used whenever the authorized person is driving or being driven.
Parking concessions with the blue permit
The EU-standardized blue special parking permit allows you .
- to park in parking spaces specially marked with an additional sign "wheelchair user symbol" (so-called parking spaces for disabled persons).
In addition, the blue parking permit also entitles the following when there is no available parking nearby:
- to park for up to three hours in places where restricted stopping is prohibited. Longer parking times can also be authorized for certain no-stopping sections upon request. The arrival time must result from the setting on a parking disc,
- to exceed the allowed parking time in the area of a zone stop prohibition,
- to park beyond the allowed time in places where parking is allowed, but a limit of parking time is ordered by an additional sign,
- to park in pedestrian zones, where loading and unloading is allowed for certain times, during loading hours,
- to park in resident parking lots for up to three hours,
- to park at parking meters and at parking ticket machines without a fee and time limit,
- to park in designated traffic-calmed areas outside the marked parking stands – as long as other traffic, especially flowing traffic, is not disproportionately impaired – if there is no other parking possibility within a reasonable distance,
The maximum allowed parking time is 24 hours, unless otherwise stated.
Attention, on private property – such as supermarkets – different regulations may apply. Please ask on the spot.
Note: On 1. As of January 2011, all parking permits for disabled people issued before 2001 have lost their validity. Now parking in disabled parking spaces is only allowed with the EU parking card.
Parking facilitations with the orange badge
In addition to the blue parking permit that is valid throughout Europe, there is also an orange permit as an exemption in Germany. This orange pass entitles you to not for parking in designated handicapped parking spaces, but it offers a number of parking facilitations. Have a right to the orange exemption and thus to the parking facilitations:
- Severely disabled persons with the signs G and B and a degree of disability (GdB ) of at least 80 only for functional disorders of the lower limbs (and the lumbar spine, insofar as these affect the ability to walk).
- severely disabled persons with the marks G and B and a GdB of at least 70 only for functional disorders of the lower limbs (and the lumbar spine, insofar as these affect the ability to walk) and at the same time a GdB of at least 50 for functional disorders of the heart or the respiratory organs.
- severely disabled persons suffering from Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, if they have a GdB of at least 60 for this condition.
- severely disabled persons with artificial bowel outlet and at the same time artificial urinary diversion, if there is a GdB of at least 70 for this purpose.
The orange parking permit allows
- to park in restricted parking areas for up to three hours (the arrival time must be entered on a parking disc),
- to park in the zone no-parking zone for longer than the permitted time,
- to park beyond the permitted time in places which are signed as parking spaces (number 314 and 315) and for which a limited parking time is ordered by an additional sign,
- to park in pedestrian zones, where loading and unloading is allowed for certain times, during the loading time,
- to park in appropriately marked traffic-calmed areas (sign 325) outside the marked areas, but without obstructing through traffic,
- To park at parking meters and at parking ticket machines without a fee and for an unlimited period of time,
- to park in parking lots for residents for up to three hours,
- in individual cases to park free of charge in customer parking spaces at Deutsche Bahn (DB ) railroad stations. However, since this is not a public traffic area, but private property of DB, disabled people should inform themselves exactly about the conditions.
Parking in handicapped parking spaces is still allowed nationwide exclusively with the blue parking permit. The orange parking permit does not entitle to use these parking spaces.
Exception permits in the federal states
In addition to the regulations for the two parking permits mentioned (blue and orange), the individual federal states, for example Bavaria, Berlin, Brandenburg and Hesse, still have individual regulations and grant further parking privileges to certain groups of people.
Therefore, please ask your local road traffic authority whether there are special parking regulations and exemptions for your federal state that are only valid there.
Special parking permit should be placed in the car in a clearly visible place
It is not enough to simply put the severely disabled ID card in the car, because this does not legitimize parking in disabled parking spaces. The official blue special parking permit or the orange exemption permit must be placed clearly visible behind the windshield. A sticker with wheelchair symbol is also not enough to be allowed to use handicapped parking spaces.
Under no circumstances may the parking permit be used by non-disabled relatives or acquaintances, unless the disabled person is a passenger. In addition to towing the vehicle for a fee, misuse of the ID card may result in a lawsuit for misuse of identification documents.