Blue Badge Rant

nanna8

I have a friend with a disabled sticker, which is what they are known as here. She doesn’t look as though she needs one at first sight but she has many health issues and certainly does. She cops heaps of abuse because she looks relatively healthy. People can be so judgemental without knowing the true story. Those who didn’t get out of the vehicle may have been cancer sufferers on chemo or anything like that. If it’s one thing I have learnt in life, the hard way, it is that appearances are not always the reality

oh my goodness yes this!

Georgesgran

On a slightly different strand - I think the Blue Badge Parking system needs to be overhauled.

DD2 uses a wheelchair - she can ‘push herself’ miles but needs the wider space to transfer safely. She thinks it would better if ordinary sized spaces were available closer to shops etc for the ‘walking disabled’ but an area set aside with wide bays actually for wheelchair users.

its not just wheelchair users who need wider bays. someone with a larger walking aid or an artificial leg with a locking knee or who needs help to get in and out of the car but is ok when "up" or "down" also needs more space. Imagine the confusion and arguments if there were a variety of spaces for different needs.

I have a friend with a disabled sticker, which is what they are known as here. She doesn’t look as though she needs one at first sight but she has many health issues and certainly does. She cops heaps of abuse because she looks relatively healthy. People can be so judgemental without knowing the true story. Those who didn’t get out of the vehicle may have been cancer sufferers on chemo or anything like that. If it’s one thing I have learnt in life, the hard way, it is that appearances are not always the reality

Whiff would you mind pointing me in the direction of where you saw that disabled people must get out of the car when using a blue badge please? I have just read through the Rights and Responsibilities of Blue Badge Users and was unable to find it.

Thank you

trisher as long as the disabled person is out of the car it doesn't matter if they sit on a chair by the car or on a bench with a flask of tea.

What you are not allowed to do is park in a disabled bay and the disabled person sit in the car. Doesn't matter if all they want to do is admire the view. They are not allowed.

Disabled bays are for disabled people who get out of the car only. As I say again a disabled person is not allowed to just sit in the car.

Disabled bays are for disabled people to be closer to the shops or wherever they go so they don't have so far to go to enter whatever building they need to enter.

It's a easy rule to follow. But disabled and able bodied choose to ignore it.

It's not as if we woke up one day and thought I know what I will become disabled so I can have a blue badge .

I went to bed a healthy 29 year with a 4 year old and 6 month old baby and woke up unable to control my limbs.

I look normal until I move. It's the only thing I get and we have to pay for the badge I know it's not much for 3 years. But because my neurologist hasn't got a name for my condition I have never been able to claim any benefits.

I can fully understand your post Georgesgran, which I read to mean that you weren't opposed to blue badge holders using the disabled spaces, but that IF the only reason they were there was to sit and watch the sea whilst enjoying their flask, then they didn't need to use the disabled space for that, as they could just as easily have enjoyed the view from another area. If they are just sitting in their vehicle then they are depriving another blue badge holder of making use of the space, and get out and do whatever they want/need to do.

A lot of people seem to take offence at your post, but Whiff has explained it well.

I've been following this thread with interest and noting how most seemed to disagree with my own interpretation of the rules. I agree with you Whiff. www.gov.uk says,

A Blue Badge will help you to park close to your destination, either as a passenger or driver.

You should not use the badge to allow non-disabled people to take advantage of the benefits while you sit in the car.

Georgesgran argues that people using the bays only to watch the sea could have done so from other vantage points. The issue here is intent (of which she and we cannot know for sure) but if there was never any intention to get out of the car then the spaces should have been left for disabled people who did have that intent.

I never knew that Whiff! I guess none of us read the rules! I never read all the instruction booklet on things either?

It seems the OP was right to feel annoyed.

I still think I would have parked my husband where I could watch him while I was in the shop though, in case he had a fit. And I’ve never thought of myself as a rule bender??

Whiff

I have been a blue badge holder since it was orange. 33 years from the age of 29. The rules for parking haven't changed . You are allowed to park in a disabled bay ONLY if the disabled person is getting out of the vehicle. I say vehicle because if the person is wheelchair bound it may be a van. You are allowed to park on double yellow lines for up to 3 hours provided you are not obscuring traffic. But you must display your blue badge and set the clock for the time you arrive . Some car parks are free if you set both badge and timer. But not all car parks are free you must read the notice board. Some only allow blue badge free parking for a hour then you have to pay.

If you are unclear about the rules go to the government website.

In this instead those people with a blue badge who didn't get out of the car where breaking the rules.

To make it clear you are only allowed to park in a disabled bay ONLY if the disabled person is getting out of the car . You are not allowed to park in a disabled bay and the disabled person stays in the car .

I hope that makes it clear.

I think those rules were specifically imposed to stop able bodied people using a Blue Badge to do their shopping taking the badge holder with them but leaving them in the car while they stepped out.
If the Blue Badge holder gets out. walks round the car gets a flask out of the boot and sits back in the car to drink their tea the law isn't broken anyway. And the tea drinkers could have already walked a little, the OP wouldn't know.

When I first had the badge when it was orange there was a booklet stating you can only use a disabled bay if the disabled person was getting out of the car. When it changed to blue again given a booklet the rule hadn't changed. You can only use disabled bay if the disabled person is getting out of the car.

Unless I am getting out of the car we never use a disabled bay.

It's not a licensed to park in a disabled bay and the disabled person stay in the car. People miss use it. The amount of times my late husband has had rows with people. Who park in a disabled bay leaving the disabled person the car while the able-bodied person goes into a shop. Because they are to selfish and lazy to park further away.

It's an easy rule to follow. Just some decide it doesn't apply to them.

Surely this couple were using the spaces for exactly what they are meant for, to enable those disabled to share the same pleasures as the able.

Fit people can use parking spaces back from the sea and walk down to the shore to experience the joy of just sitting or standing andwatching the sea. This couple, who had, as you said, a blue badge, presumably couldn't, instead they used their blue badge to drive themselves down to the blue badge parking spaces overlooking the sea and were able, like their able bodied compattriots, to experience the joy and pleasure of just sitting and watching the sea

Georgesgran, the spaces are for blue badge holders. How they use them - is entirely their business, not yours!

I would often take my late husband out for drives. I checked with CA about the rules for blue badge holders and was told that we could park in a disabled bay "for as long as is needed". Some local authorities do put a time limit on the length of stay. It wasn't mentioned that he would have to get out of the car

I have been a blue badge holder since it was orange. 33 years from the age of 29. The rules for parking haven't changed . You are allowed to park in a disabled bay ONLY if the disabled person is getting out of the vehicle. I say vehicle because if the person is wheelchair bound it may be a van. You are allowed to park on double yellow lines for up to 3 hours provided you are not obscuring traffic. But you must display your blue badge and set the clock for the time you arrive . Some car parks are free if you set both badge and timer. But not all car parks are free you must read the notice board. Some only allow blue badge free parking for a hour then you have to pay.

If you are unclear about the rules go to the government website.

In this instead those people with a blue badge who didn't get out of the car where breaking the rules.

To make it clear you are only allowed to park in a disabled bay ONLY if the disabled person is getting out of the car . You are not allowed to park in a disabled bay and the disabled person stays in the car .

I hope that makes it clear.

There is often a bigger picture, which because we as blue badge holders have our own challenges don't always in the moment see.
We are tired often, drained emotionally and physically and sometimes want the day to be simple. So we forget that everyone has a story to tell and because quite rightly we just want it to go right one day, which is does sometimes but that day was the lead up of a few things, we forgot to remember it's ok not to get someone else , whether it's why they are sat in the car or why they appear rude , that it's not our journey to understand X

Same here TeacherAnne, but I had a telephone call rather than a face to face assessment. I too need a wide space in order to get in and out safely. I’m very grateful to have it.

I think this all hinges on whether the disabled spaces belonged to the restaurant or not. You made a point of mentioning that the couple in one car were drinking out of flasks, indicating that you assumed they hadn’t used the restaurant.
If the parking spaces didn’t belong to the restaurant then obviously any blue badge holder would be entitled to use them.

In any event one car left so you were able to park!

I have had a blue badge for almost two years and it enabled me to get to the shops again or go to a pub to meet friends. I have arthritis and cannot walk very far even using two walking sticks.

I did not find it a difficult process to get one, I completed the form carefully giving examples of what I could and could not do but did not need supporting documentation although I did give permission for my GP to be contacted. I was 63 at the time and not in receipt of any benefits. I did however have to go for an assessment which I was anxious about but actually it was not stressful and was conducted in a very sympathetic manner. I’ve been given the badge for three years then I can reapply or if I have had new knees, I will no longer need it.

I do use disabled bays to be close to reduce the distance to access buildings and I need wider spaces to open the car door fully in order to get my sticks out ready for me to use. I find that heavy car doors tend to swing back and hit me as I scramble out if they are only partially open!

But I mainly shop online so don’t go shopping much and I have not yet parked on yellow lines as I’m still too scared to - years of following parking rules!

My life would be very restricted without my blue badge and I am very grateful to have one.

MerylStreep

I know 2 blue badge holders. Both freely admit it’s not for the convenience but the saving of money.
But then I do have a young friend who lost her leg but refuses to have one.

Most car parks charge blue badge holders the same as everyone else nowadays. Mine allows me to go to places I wouldn’t otherwise be able to access.

I feel that if the bays were for the restaurant you might have a point but if not then anyone with a blue badge is entitled to use them. One person's pleasure being out is not more worthwhile than another person's.You can't be like that. If the people were fraudulently using it then that is different. However as other's have pointed out, you can't always see a disability.

Being the wife of a wheelchair user and yes we have a blue badge. I am amazed at how many people abuse them. Also I get starred at by people when I get out and get the wheelchair out of the boot for my hubby as if to say " Why have you parked in a Blue Badge space? ". Were those spaces especially for the restaurant use of were they general for the beach. If general then I say they have as much right as anyone else who has a badge to park. If they belong to the restaurant you should have mentioned it when you went in, but it is up to them to police it. To the people who say a badge is easy to get. I just say for people under pension age no it is not . You have to be in receipt of the mobility part of PIP at the higher rate and you have to take in this paperwork in person to the local authority in our area. Also badge owners pay the same parking charges in council car parks in our area plus the charge for the badge.

Yes you are being unreasonable. My daughter is a blue badge holder and I take her out and do just what the elderly couple were doing. The reason, at my age 73 it is just too much hassle to get the wheelchair out, then her and get her seated, and the pushing of the chair is hard work for me. So yes we would just sit and watch and I would nip out and get drinks or an ice cream. You have no idea what the circumstances were of the other bay uses. Please don’t judge

if someone has a blue badge dispalyed, then they are entitled to use the space, and it's not in order for anyone to question that.

MiniMoon, I was about to write something similar. My friend has a daughter who is not only autistic but very visually impaired - to look at her, you wouldn't necessarily know, but she needs the blue badge for her own safety. My friend has had to put up with dog's abuse from some inconsiderate people who have accused her of misusing the blue badge. There are many, many hidden disabilities and people shouldn't be so quick to jump to conclusions.

I think you are being unreasonable. There are a lot of people with hidden disabilities who are entitled to display a blue badge.
My DD has two children with autism and two with ADHD. Her two with ADHD are to flight risks as they don't see the dangers. She doesn't use the blue badge, as she has had so many nasty comments from people in car parks thinking that she is parking irresponsibly. Her youngest child is 8 so she can still use the parent and child spaces.
You just can't make judgements about people you don't know.