Know your front from your back
Added: (Sun Aug 14 2005)
Pressbox (Press Release) -
For immediate release
Know your front from your back
Following a number of complaints, Plain English Campaign has contacted the Department of Transport about the national ‘Blue Badge Scheme’, which allows disabled drivers or passengers to park their cars near their destinations. Apparently large numbers of people are being fined for incorrectly displaying the card in their vehicles.
Several people have asked us to try and get the card’s design changed so that it is clearer. At the moment, the card carries the photograph and signature of the holder on one side, with an expiry date and serial number on the other. However, the wording on the card merely tells the holder to display the card ‘in such a way that the front of the card is clearly visible’, without specifying which side is the front. Most people would reasonably assume that the side containing the photograph was the front, but in fact this is not the case.
Many of those who have been displaying the card the ‘wrong way’ have received penalty charge notices as a result. Some councils have been inundated with complaints about the card, though so far no attempt seems to have been made to change it.
We suggest that this disgraceful situation is resolved as soon as possible, and we will be glad to help the DfT improve the card if they want us to.
Ends
Note to editors: Plain English Campaign is an independent pressure group formed in 1979 to fight gobbledygook and unclear public information. It funds itself through commercial activities including editing and training. The campaigning work includes annual awards for good use of plain English, and the infamous ‘Golden Bull’ booby prizes. The campaign’s Crystal Mark seal of approval, which is based on rigorous testing on the public, now appears on nearly 12,000 documents.
Please contact Annette Boden on 01298 811729 or 07985 918337 if you need more information, or if you would like to arrange an interview. The Campaign has an ISDN line for radio interviews.