Granny and baby parking.

Qwerty, when my Dad died last May, I used the government 'Tell us once' service via the Death registrar. This cancels all Government issued services and benefits of the deceased person, including their Blue Badge if they had one, imedeatly. It is a very good service, and prevents anyone fraudently claiming or using the privaledges awarded to anyone who has passed away, such as Blue badge use like you mentioned in your previous post.

I think parent and pram is a great idea Spice101.

Georgesgran, I understand what you are saying about the wider spaces. However, my father, who isn't a wheelchair user, but walks with the aid of elbow crutches, has great difficulty bending his knees, and many other problems due to chronic rheumatoid arthritis. It's a major effort for him to get in, and out, of a car, and he needs assistance. Most standard parking spaces simply aren't big enough, as we need to have the car door wide open to help him in and out. He does have a blue badge, but most people wouldn't take notice of that if the car was parked in a normal space, and not a disabled space. As people usually need to squeeze their cars into tiny spaces, it means I've often had to reverse out of a space, and hold up other vehicles whilst then getting out to help my father back into the car. So, I do think that there are many people with disabilities who still need the wider spaces, even if they don't use a wheelchair.

Where I live they are called Parents with Pram parking. That pretty much defines the age of the child.

B9exchange, totally agree. It should only for young children who have to be in car seat, or disabled.

At a French supermarket we use when visiting, there’s a large notice in the disabled bays saying, ‘If you take my place, take my disability!’
Excellent idea IMO - I wish U.K. supermarkets would follow suit.

I am puzzled by what constitutes a child, when needing a M and B space. My husband will park in these with the DGC, aged 11 and 8, I can't see the justification, it would do them good to walk from the furthest corner of the car park!

You obviously have no experience of trying to manoeuvre a walking poorly sighted (only just walking) person across a car park, doing cars coming your way etc. Trendynannie. Why can't a healthy 3 year old get out of the car and walk holding the carers hand? I have spoken with the manager who has said its ok. So as I said I will carryon. She also has a problem queuing up to go in so the very kind staff always either give her a chair to sit on or let her in first. Maybe you think that is selfish as well

Lots of difficulties here! the 'adult & child' parking spaces are courtesy spaces only, whereas the 'Blue Badge' is statutory. Before my recent op, I had to ask the pool if I could use the disabled bays as a courtesy - I could only manage about 100 yards, even with a stick, but the regulations are for a permanent disability. Understandable, and I was happy to not go to the shops etc. but I really needed the pool to keep my fitness up.
I agree Georgesgran - as a Health Visitor, I would try to get blue badges for parents with babies on oxygen or respirators. They could put the child in the pram / pushchair easily enough, but only negotiate the equipment if there was plenty of room to open the doors.
We have a local shopping centre with some designated 'accessible' bays for such reasons, but because there's no comeback, people just park there whether they need the space or not.

The other point in the post is that it is difficult to comment if someone is doing you a favour, but maybe you can refuse the offer next time.

I think it’s a very selfish thing to do, but then some people don’t consider others do they

Yes thats right Biba about walking, but trouble is she has very little balance and sight and even walking with a frame she has fallen, so I will carryon using the said space for her and then she can get her bit of walking exercise walking around the supermarket. Any reason why a 3 year old can't get his exercise walking a bit further

sorry, but she has been advised to walk, probably because walking is beneficial to her.

I park in the mother and baby bit when I have my adult daughter with me. She is a blue badge holder and the disabled parking is further from the entrance than the m&b parking. As she has to walk, and has been advised not to use a wheelchair unless absolutely necessary then that is where I go.

As a current user of the mother and baby places it wouldn’t occur to me that anyone who needs them shouldn’t be able to use them whether that is because you have mobility issues or a blue badge but prefer to use the mother baby spaces for whatever reason.

What really grinds me is the morally corrupt people who park their massive precious cars there because they couldn’t possibly park their car baby in a normal space. Sorry to generalise but these are usually 30 something men and women with perfect hair and designer shoes.

I stopped shopping at Tesco quite a few years ago because they they refused to monitor the disabled spaces, even to the point of putting a notice on a car which wasn't displaying a blue badge. Head Office replied to a letter and they stated that such actions would put off other customers - the actual tone of the letter seemed to be saying that non disabled customers had more rights than disabled ones. If a supermarket thinks like that, it doesn't get my custom.

I often wish that disabled spaces were monitored and the photograph checked to ensure it is not being used by another family member.
When my husband was terminally ill we found it difficult to get a blue badge so I watch with interest when seemingly able bodied people trip gaily into the supermarket and exit carrying heavy loads.

My mobility is significantly challenged. I do have a disabled sticker but at my local shopping place there are 3 times as many Parent Parking spaces than Disabled spaces and the PP spaces are mostly closer than the Disabled ones. I can see no reason why the PP spaces need to be right at the entry into the shops. We also have some Seniors Parking spaces but again they are less and further away than the PP ones. Surely the mostly younger parents with prams are far more capable of walking from further away that older people with or without a parking permit.

Yesterday when trying to find a parking spot all the Senior Parking and Disabled Parking spots were taken but there were several PP ones sitting empty.

Here it is illegal to use a Disabled Parking spot without having a permit and without the person to whom the permit is issued get out of the car but it is NOT illegal to park in a PP spot. I have been sorely tempted and have on a very few occasions used one.

I really do have mixed feelings about P&C parking. I don’t visit supermarkets often, but try and avoid those spaces if possible. When my now 9 year old was a baby, I didn’t use them as I didn’t use a pram and I could take her out of the car through the boot door (4x4). If there’s nowhere I can safely open the door wide, I will use them now as she can’t fasten the seatbelt, so I need to lean in and do it for her so need the door wide open. But I can’t get worked up about people using them without a child as long as they need the wider space. I can’t compare them to disabled spaces as they’re a totally different thing.

I’m going to put forward an idea my DD2 has talked about for a while, now there are so many blue badges being issued for various disabilities - some of which may not be very obvious. Firstly, she’s a full-time Wheelchair user and warrants her blue badge. However, once out of her car and in her chair, she’s able to negotiate car parks fairly easily and isn’t that bothered about parking close to a venue - she feels there should be different types of blue badges, so those who can only walk short distances can park closer, but they don’t need the wider bays. However, she needs the wider bays, to enable her to get her wheelchair alongside to allow her to transfer into it, without damaging her car. Obviously it would mean an extra section of carpark taken up, but a different signage could clarify that area reserved for wheelchair users only. The bays nearer the venue could then be re-jigged, so 3 cars could park, where only 2 could before, increasing the number of spaces. Perhaps a thought for big out of Town shopping centres to consider?

I commented last week about blue badge users being challenged and my daughter is quite used to it. However, it’s annoying to see someone use a badge which blatantly isn’t their’s to park beside a door and load the car up with sacks of garden compost - as we witnessed yesterday! Rant over.


Hope this makes sense??

My SiL has a blue badge, not because he is disabled, but because the DGC all have varying degrees of autism and are registered disabled. You should see the looks and hear the remarks of some people! Just because they look perfectly normal, but they are a "flight risk", especially the two with ADHD.
They park in the parent and child spaces at the supermarket when there is space, but do use the disabled spaces when there are no parent and child spaces available.
I think it's wrong to take up a special parking space if you don't need it. I have admonished my husband for doing it at 7 am, when nobody else is there!

BlueSky maybe she forgot to send it back.

Querty when my MIL died the registrar asked for her blue badge, bus pass, etc as soon as we registered the death.

ninathenana

IMHO that's wrong. Similar to parking in a disabled bay when the badge holder is not in the vehicle

I remember once popping into Waitrose and being told not to use a disabled space, or display Paw’s blue badge, even although he was with me in the car, as he “wasn’t going to get out, but would wait in the car”
I came back to find the car empty and saw the poor man making his painfully slow way back across the carpark as he had “had to use the loo”.
Being a loving wife I only thought “I told you so”
Your friend was naughty and while we did not enjoy such luxuries (?) when our children were babies, on the occasions I have had the DGC I have appreciated the closer parking spaces as I wrestled with buggy, trolley and wriggly tinies.

My friend was Still using her mums Blue parking permit 6months after she died.

She has her own now.
She plays active sport about 3 times a week and is quite good at it. Bending, jumping and running......

I would have raised my eyebrows at her and said ‘really?’ in a tone that showed my disapproval.