Fine for parking legally in disabled parking space

02/08/2011 - 08:35

Last year in Pisa we parked the car in a disabled parking space and displayed my 84 year old mother's UK disabled parking badge on the dashboard of our hired car. A notice beside the disabled space gave a telephone number to use in case of any difficulty or query.  We rang the number and in Italian explained the situation and asked if we could use the space.  The girl on the other end of the phone took the details of the UK disabled parking badge and said "fine, go ahead".  We did. Recently we got notification from Hertz that the police had enquired about who was the driver of the hired car at a time when we were in Pisa.  For supplying this information Hertz charged us 30 euros. So far, we have heard nothing more, but we know from experience that the fine may take a year to come through. Should a fine arrive for the disabled parking, then we will feel like querying it, but knowing they are likely to increase the fine rather than consider waiving it, what should we do? Has anyone ever succeeded in overturning one of these fines?

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I shouldn't worry too much. I had a similar notification from hertz a couple of years ago [for speeding].  Nothing ever came in terms of a speeding fine.  I think the authorities  don't want the hassle of trying to fine someone in the UK - they have to do it within 6 months of the offence and send the notice in English, so I think they don't even bother once Hertz have given them a UK address. 

Just a question for Alan, why should you not pay your speeding fine?, we did, we live in Italy and Robert was rushing our cat to the emergencey vet on New Years day, why should you be exempt from this. ? It really doesnt help when visitors think its clever to evade the law.

This 'disabled entitlement' stuff is very difficult - which is crazy because a "disabled permit" is certainly pan-European -  and it should be respected by the enforcement authorities.  Unfortunatley, most of the enforcement techniques rely on photographing the number plate, and in the case of a hire car (or an Italian car registered to a foreigner who has a disabled sticker not issued in Italy)  then you get 'snapped' and a fine arrives. (If you have got your disabled sticker from the Italian health authority, your number plate gets on an exempt database, which isn't much help if you give a disabled person a lift, even for Italians!.) Clearly in your case you did everything by the book, and I would write a letter (in English) to whoever has issued the notice of the fine, explaining the circumstances. I doubt that you'll get the money back from Hertz though. You have been very unfortunate in getting a parking fine despite showing a disabled permit, more frequently the fine is for driving in a ZTL (when the photographic enforcement is more understandable).

"Just a question for Alan, why should you not pay your speeding fine?,  .... , why should you be exempt from this. ? It really doesnt help when visitors think its clever to evade the law." Sorry, where did I say you shouldn't pay the fine for speeding? - I just said I never received any notice. 

If you dont get notice of your offence within (I think) 120 days, it is null and void.      I got a fine 3 years after the offence, because the police had sent it to the wrong address, so when it arrived it was adorned with much interest further fines.  I went to court and had it annulled, though it took 3 hearings because the carabinieri didnt bother to show up for the first 2.