Sainsburys enforcing car parking bay rules. Options

[Biker1]

WOW! they look nice.

I can almost taste it!!

[Biker1]

it is just common courtesy not to use the parent / child & disabled spaces.

courtesy - something with the modern day lack of is whinged on about endlessly on this forum.

I agree - of course it is BUT if these companys are going to start handing out charges for violation then some hard and fast rules have to be set which will stand up legally.

Otherwise it leaves them wide open to abuse.

Legally what is a child?

[Andy]

I agree - of course it is BUT if these companys are going to start handing out charges for violation then some hard and fast rules have to be set which will stand up legally.

Otherwise it leaves them wide open to abuse.

Legally what is a child?

Under 18

[Biker1]

Under 18

OK, so if you have a person in the car who is under 18 then you can park in a "Parent & Child Bay" and not get the excess charge? (A short while ago it was 10).

Where is that documented?

[Andy]

OK, so if you have a person in the car who is under 18 then you can park in a "Parent & Child Bay" and not get the excess charge? (A short while ago it was 10).

Where is that documented?

It's a bit ambiguous, but I did find this, doesn't help with the parking definition unfortunately....

AGE 13
You can be employed for a certain number of hours a week

AGE 14
You can go to the pub, but you cannot drink or buy alcohol
You are responsible for wearing a seat belt

AGE 16
You can leave school
You can choose your own doctor
You can claim social security benefit
You can work full time
You can leave home with your parents’ consent
You can get married with one parent’s consent
You can drink wine or beer with a meal in a restaurant
You can hold a licence to drive a moped
You can buy a ticket in the National Lottery

AGE 17
You can hold a licence to drive any vehicle except certain heavy ones
You can engage in street trading
You can purchase an air rifle
You can leave home without your parents’ consent

AGE 18
You can buy cigarettes or tobacco
You can appear before adult courts
You can get married without your parents’ consent
You can vote
You can act as an executor of a person’s will
You can bet
You can buy fireworks
You can change your name
You can apply for a passport
You can own houses and land
You can apply for a mortgage
You can go abroad to sing, play or perform professionally
You can sit on a jury
You can be a blood donor
You can buy alcohol
You can drink alcohol in a pub
You can hold a licence to sell alcohol

[Andy]

I don't suppose there is a legal age, but I'd always assumed the primary and practical reason is for the use of pushchairs and wheelchairs.

Additionally, if you have toddlers they could run out, as toddlers sometimes do, whilst unpacking etc. but there is a chance they would potentially be more visible to other drivers

[Biker1]

Thanks Andy- that's useful if not proving my point.

I think I'll leave it now as there doesn't seem to be a definitive answer.

Love to hear from someone who has been prosecuted and subsequently fined for this though as this may answer the question.

But as has been said - use your discretion and courtesy.
Most of us know what a child is in this situation if not legally.
(Not sure I could persuade my 19 year old daughter to sit in a pushchair )

Cheers.

[dannyboy]

Thanks Andy- that's useful if not proving my point.

I think I'll leave it now as there doesn't seem to be a definitive answer.

Love to hear from someone who has been prosecuted and subsequently fined for this though as this may answer the question.

But as has been said - use your discretion and courtesy.
Most of us know what a child is in this situation if not legally.
(Not sure I could persuade my 19 year old daughter to sit in a pushchair )

Cheers.

According to Sainsbury you can use the Parent Child spaces if you have a child under 12.

If people could be trusted not to abuse the spaces, they wouldn't ned to resort to fining people £50

[spartacus]

Cambridge dictionary definition:

Child: - noun [plural children]
A boy or girl from the time of birth until he or she is an adult, or a son or daughter of any age

Adult: -noun
A person or animal that has grown to full size and strength

Adolescent: - noun
A young person who is developing into an adult


NSPCC website:
NSPCC fact sheet looking at the legal definition of "child" in the UK
There is no single law that defines the age of a child across the UK. Specific age limits are set out in the legislation relating to different areas of policy and there are also differences between the UK nations.

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child:
“A child means every human being below the age of eighteen years unless, under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier.”

Child protection:
Although different documents set out the duties and responsibilities of organisations in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland to keep children safe, they all agree that a child is anyone who has not yet reached their 18th birthday

Criminal justice:
The age of criminal responsibility is the age at which, in the eyes of the law, a child is capable of committing a crime and therefore old enough to stand trial and be convicted of a criminal offence.

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the age of criminal responsibility is 10 and in Scotland, it is 8 years old.

So there you have it.... clear as mud... A 'child' is whatever Sainsburys say it is. For anyone prepared to take it to court or refusing to pay any fine Sainsburys impose, I would recommend the NSPCC description

[Berkshirelad]

So there you have it.... clear as mud... A 'child' is whatever Sainsburys say it is. For anyone prepared to take it to court or refusing to pay any fine Sainsburys impose, I would recommend the NSPCC description

Euro Car Parks, whom Sainsbury's have appointed, don't do Court - they know they would lose on so many other grounds.

[Berkshirelad]

If people could be trusted not to abuse the spaces, they wouldn't ned to resort to fining people £50

As had already been said, they can't fine or apply a penalty charge; there is settled case law on this.

As I have said previously, I no longer use Sainsbury's unless I have to. and I wouldn't dream of using anything other than a normal marked space However, this hectoring of potential customers and customers has irritated me to the point that I might just deliberately start parking in parent/child spaces in retaliation.

[dannyboy]

As had already been said, they can't fine or apply a penalty charge; there is settled case law on this.

As I have said previously, I no longer use Sainsbury's unless I have to. and I wouldn't dream of using anything other than a normal marked space However, this hectoring of potential customers and customers has irritated me to the point that I might just deliberately start parking in parent/child spaces in retaliation.

I just knew using the word 'fine' would set someone off.

[Strafin]

According to Sainsbury you can use the Parent Child spaces if you have a child under 12.

If people could be trusted not to abuse the spaces, they wouldn't ned to resort to fining people £50

How do you know they have had a problem and aren't just exploiting the chance to make some extra shareholder bonus?

[Berkshirelad]

How do you know they have had a problem and aren't just exploiting the chance to make some extra shareholder bonus?

because the news report stated that Sainsbury's would be donating any proceeds to Mencap...?

[dannyboy]

How do you know they have had a problem and aren't just exploiting the chance to make some extra shareholder bonus?

because the introduction of a penalty for mis-using the spaces is new - if they'd wanted to be making money from it, penalties would have been in place since day one.

[Strafin]

because the news report stated that Sainsbury's would be donating any proceeds to Mencap...?

Good point, this threads been going on for a while, I had forgotten that.

[Strafin]

because the introduction of a penalty for mis-using the spaces is new - if they'd wanted to be making money from it, penalties would have been in place since day one.

They have been in place since the new car park was opened, I would consider that day one. However they are not profiting, see the above posts.