RNIB calls for law change to end the dangerous practice of pavement parking.

Campaigners say that a national ban on pavement parking would improve safety for all citizens.

Transcript

00:00 So there's a lot of problems that it contributes to.

00:04 It can prevent the effective use of mobility aids like weight canes and guide dogs.

00:10 It risks people colliding with parked vehicles, obviously, which can lead to injury and distress

00:14 and just kind of a general exhaustion of just having to put all that work in to navigate.

00:19 It forces blind and partially sighted people into the road in the path of moving vehicles

00:24 and all the risks that that entails.

00:26 And the frequency and unpredictability of all of these problems makes it common and

00:31 tiring to deal with, which can lead to people with sight loss avoiding going out altogether

00:35 or only going out when someone can guide them, someone sighted can go with them.

00:39 What examples or anecdotes have you heard from people who are visually impaired?

00:44 So RNIB has had reports of an individual who was hit in the face by walking into a van

00:48 that had ladders strapped to its roof.

00:51 Another person visited by the police about criminal damage he had apparently caused by

00:55 knocking off the wing mirror of a vehicle parked on a pavement.

00:59 A guide dog owner who had to walk in the road that faced a near miss with a vehicle, not

01:03 actually being hit, but close enough that it rendered her dog unable to work reliably

01:08 for some time afterward.

01:09 We forget that dogs are great, but they are sort of fallible and they can be frightened

01:15 and put off by things in the same way that we can.

01:17 We're currently in an election period where policy is being formed.

01:21 Do you feel that a change in the law is necessary to address the problem of pavement parking

01:27 and ensure the safety and accessibility for pedestrians with visual impairments?

01:32 Yeah, absolutely.

01:34 Current legislation and enforcement on pavement parking are clearly not working.

01:37 The Department for Transport consulted on this in 2020.

01:42 Embedding pavement parking has cross-party support, but there's been no progress in the

01:45 last four years.

01:46 So RNIB are definitely calling for the introduction of a law to address pavement parking across

01:51 the UK as soon as possible.

01:53 You really should consider there are people who don't feel able to leave their homes independently

01:58 because of this problem.