People with disabilities: EC parking card

OBJECTIVE: this draft recommendation seeks to improve road traffic safety by issuing disabled persons with a standardized parking card which is mutually recognized in all Member States so that they can use local parking facilities. CONTENT: Member States are recommended to: . issue a parking card for disabled people under national provisions but on the basis of the standardized Community model described in the Annex; . mutually recognize the cards in question, so that card holders may use the associated parking facilities available in the Member State in which they happen to be; . only issue this card to disabled persons with reduced mobility, given that these parking facilities aim to minimize the distances which disabled people need to move from their car; . implement these measures by 1 January 1998. An Annex contains a precise description and a model of the Community parking card, which is based on existing national parking cards and the driving licences directive. It is the same size as national cards and 2/3 of the size of the Community model driving licence (106 mm long by 148 mm wide). It is blue (with a wheelchair-user symbol) and plastic-coated (to make forgery more difficult), with a non-plastic coated space for the holder's signature. Cards must contain precise information: . on the front: expiry date, name and stamp of issuing authority, name of issuing Member State, surrounded by the 12 stars, and car registration number (optional); . on the back: name of the card holder, date of birth, address and signature. It must also be stated here that the card must be clearly displayed and that it may be used throughout the Community in the appropriate places. Provisions concerning language are also laid down for Member States which wish to produce the card in a language other than an official language of the Community.�