Few local authorities have signed up to the standardised European disability parking permit scheme

As is well known, the Paralympic Games are held alongside the Olympic Games. This was the case this year in Italia for the Winter Olympics. However, despite the prestigious honours bestowed by the highest authorities of the State upon our splendid Paralympic athletes, citizens with disabilities still face daily difficulties with their mobility. In 2022, the legislation known as the Cude Platform (Unified European Disability Badge) came into force, under which, for access to restricted traffic zones (ZTL) by vehicles used by people with mobility impairments, the number plates of two vehicles must be provided in advance – for registration on the Platform – with the option to provide a further number plate to replace one of the vehicles already registered: this is for the purposes of number plate verification via CCTV at the ZTL entry points of the local authorities participating in the Platform.

These are the specific provisions set out in the Ministerial Decree of 5 July 2021, signed jointly by Ministers Giovannini (Minister for Infrastructure and Sustainable Mobility), Franco (Minister for the Economy and Finance), Lamorgese (Minister for the Interior) of the Draghi Government. These provisions therefore impose restrictions on the number of vehicles that may be used, as well as financial requirements (possession of a mobile phone or computer) and adequate technological capabilities (for access to the Platform). Taking into account the low percentage of local authorities participating in the Platform – clear evidence that the local authorities themselves consider the Cude regulations to be useless – a motion was tabled, with Senator Paola Ambrogio as the lead signatory, with the aim of making participation mandatory.

It has emerged that Senators Michaela Biancofiore and Giusy Versace, who support the legislation in question, subsequently tabled a similar parliamentary question of their own, citing Article 26 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, as well as the Supreme Court judgement No. 28144 of 2022, according to which access to restricted traffic zones (ZTL) for people with disabilities ‘constitutes an unconditional right’. It is worth noting that Article 26 of the EU Charter is intended to guarantee, for people with disabilities, precisely autonomy, social integration and participation in community life (in other words, effective inclusion, without limitations); According to the Court of Cassation, access for people with disabilities to restricted traffic zones (ZTLs) ‘constitutes an unconditional right’.

The inspection procedures laid down by the Cude Regulations, however, are in stark contrast to national legislation currently in full force:
a) Article 381 of the Regulations implementing the Highway Code, which provides that persons with motor disabilities the freedom to travel throughout the country, without being restricted to a specific vehicle, subject only to the obligation to display the original disability badge ‘for inspection purposes’ (the inspection must relate to the badge and not the number plate);
b) Articles 11 and 12 of Presidential Decree 503/1996 (‘regulations for the removal of architectural barriers’). The Constitutional Court, in Order No. 0328 of 2000, clarified that the ‘disability badge is not tied to a specific vehicle and is valid throughout the country’.

Finally, it is worth noting that checks may well be checks may well be carried out, where deemed appropriate, by means other than the use of cameras; indeed, roadside surveillance is certainly possible through the activities of the traffic police, a responsibility which also falls to the municipal police within the municipal area (Article 12 of the Highway Code): with staff stationed at ZTL entry points or within the zone itself, to check that the permit is displayed and that the holder is present in the vehicle.