Blue Badge Rant

Cabbie21

The gov.uk website says you should not use the blue badge to enable others to benefit whilst you sit in the car.
Surely that is another way of saying you should get out of the car?
Of course in the case under discussion, the couple drinking tea may have just got back from a walk, but I do think the OP has a point. Glad she did eventually get a parking space.

My DH has not applied for a Blue badge but would benefit from one as he cannot walk far because of back pain and angina. When we go to National Trust and similar places, there is often a long wAy to walk from the car to the house, even sometimes from the disabled car park.

Very true about some NT places, I can only visit if there is a buggy from the car park to the main area. Luckily two near me do have the carts.

NanandGrampy I full understand the points you are making, but there are a lot of supermarkets where they have so many disabled places and places for parents and children, most of them unoccupied all the time and ordinary car drivers have to park nearly 100 yards away and it does need to be remembered that not ever disabled person qualfies for a blue badge.

After DH's illness last year he would come to the supermarket with me just to get out of the house, he had breathing problems and during our cold winter several times he had to stay in the car when we got their because we were so far from the shop and the air was so cold, he couldn't manage the walk from car to shop because it was such a distance away and I couldn't park any nearer because of huge area devoted to parking for the disabled, and families with children. Most of the spaces being completely unoccupied.

I got ranted at when taking my MIL out. I walked round the car helped her out they soon shut up when she said "No she isn't but I bloody am"

I'm going to add to the whole debate on 'where' a parking space is.

Why are mother and child spaces often as close, if not closer than disabled spaces? I understand the need to have wider spaces to get little ones in and out of the car but do they need to be at the store entrance.

For someone like me , distance is everything and can be the difference between actually being able to go in the store at all.

The other thing I've noticed is whenever a space is needed to store goods or for something temporary inevitably they use the disabled spaces cutting down on the limited number available.

Our local Morrisons took 5 spaces out of the 20 available to build a mini outdoor garden centre ( which is totally inaccessible if you are in a scooter or wheelchair - but that's a whole other story!) . They wont replace those spaces.

Parking is a minefield I'm afraid.

I really seem to have opened a can of worms and I can assure everyone that I'm aware of visible and non-visible disabilities - part of my job in another life. Granny23 - a close friend of DH was unable to get a badge for his wife (Alzheimers) being told there was nothing physical that prevented her walking as she was suffering from a psychological disorder! Mind boggling?? I think what comes through is that a total reassessment of disability is long overdue. It's not so long ago that people with disabilities were seen as housebound and with 'no lives'. My Uncle was 'lucky' to get a single seater Invalid Carriage (remember those?). It did give him some independence, but presumably it was thought a disabled person would always be 'alone' so one seat was enough. The Company repairing DD's wheelchair would give us a 3 day window to visit, as they expected her to be sitting at home all day. Whilst one disability shouldn't be seen as more important than another I think the whole thing is a mine field. MiL after a slight stroke was encouraged to apply for AA at the lower level - we were very surprised when she got it, She didn't need it and walked miles to and from the shops every day - whilst I know of other's - truly deserving, who have applied, been refused, appealed, refused again and given up. Same thing with DLA and Carer's Allowance too.
DiscoDancer1975 - you have echoed one of the points in an earlier message - DD doesn't need a space so close to the shops as she can and does self propel for miles (if necessary). What she advocates is reserved spaces for badge holders closer to shops etc, for those who can only walk short distances for whatever reason (visible or not) but an area set aside with wider spaces so that wheelchair/electric scooter users can transfer safely from their vehicles although I can see a problem with wheelchair users who need an attendant, where a longish distance might be a problem for them? Also wheelchairs don't move well on snow, so that could be problem too, as carparks don't get cleared much now. A minefield you'll agree.
nanna8 - my daughter also gets a lot of flak from people, as she doesn't seem disabled until the chair appears. She was even criticised at a Carol Service in Durham Cathedral for not standing up during the service, as she'd transferred out of her chair, so she wouldn't be an obstacle and her chair wasn't visible!
Again, thank you for all your comments.

My husband has a Blue badge. Not to save money...but his walking is limited. We’ve often wondered.....and please don’t slate me for this.....whether wheelchair users need close proximity parking spaces at all. OP....you said yourself, that your daughter can go miles in her wheelchair. Probably more than many older people without Blue badges, can walk! Obviously, they need space to get the chair out etc, but sometimes we’ve not been able to get a space, because it’s taken up by a wheelchair user, who, once in the chair, can probably cover more distance.

I’m sorry your daughter is in a wheelchair. I can understand your frustration, but that elderly couple watching the sea most likely have a host of problems not even covered by the badge, simply because they’re older. Your daughter sounds like she is coping brilliantly.

That would depend on what a traffic warden thought, it seems.

I have just got my rules and regulations out again and had another look. It does say, you should not use the badge to allow non-disabled. People to take advantage of the benefits while you sit in the car. Now that does not mean you can’t both sit in the car and enjoy a view, I believe it’s means you can’t nip in the shop and do the shopping for them, and leave them in the car. So maybe i am breaking the rules by nipping out the car to get an ice cream.

My DH was granted a Blue Badge because of his advanced Dementia. It was not safe to leave him 'home alone' even for 5 minutes. There is no supermarket in the village, so, for shopping, I had no alternative than to drive, with him in the car to the nearest town.

It was a nightmare either way - leave him in the car and he was sure to get out and wander off, take him into the supermarket and he would fill the trolly with odd things and disappear when I was in the check out queue. Eventually, I had to send a shopping list to one of the DDs and wait for them to deliver it.

One day, when he could only shuffle with a walking frame and had long since handed back his driving licence, we went to pick up a DGC from school. The school had no Blue Badge parking and was ringed with 'No Parking' signs, so I had parked up a side street. Made the mistake of leaving the keys in the car and DH decided it was badly parked and drove it away, thankfully with no serious consequences.

I tell this tale to illustrate that Blue Badges are not the answer for everyone with a disability and that people should be less judgemental and critical of BB users when they do not know the full story.

I have a blue badge and after reading the literature that comes with it it’s only meant fir the disabled person to access the shops or restaurants it is apparently illegal if the driver (not me ) gets out to nip into the shops etc and leaves the disabled person in the car. However I do agree that sitting in the car looking out to sea can be very therapeutic and why not?

Whiff I have just got my Blue Badge and a rule book. There is nothing in it about the disabled person having to get out of the car.

We didn’t use BB spaces - there weren’t any where we used to go - but I used to take my elderly mother with dementia out for a drive to somewhere with a nice view, where we’d just sit and have a cup of tea from a flask, and a cake.

She wouldn’t have looked disabled, and wasn’t from a physical POV, but getting in and out of the car would make her in a tizz and I couldn’t leave her even for a minute or two to buy drinks from the nearby kiosk, since she’d get in a panic and forget where I’d gone. Even leaving a big piece of paper on her lap saying BACK IN 2 MINUTES would make zero difference.

Just saying, since you can’t necessarily tell by looking.

Thank you for all your comments - I’m back out from behind the sofa now. I suppose you have to know the actual location, but the spaces don’t belong to the restaurant so if we pop to the coast in future we won’t use those spaces again as they also give direct access to the beach for those who can’t walk far, whatever their disability. There are so many other spots to sit in the car with a picnic and watch the sea that it doesn’t sit comfortably with us to park there, unless we’re going to use the facilities on offer.

It is to protect against people using the disabled person and their car to your own advantage, such as solely to get your own shopping.

Whiff

You are right it doesn't say about getting out of the car on the government website.

But when I had the orange one and blue one I had booklet with each one which stated you can only use a disabled parking bay if the disabled person is getting out of the car.

It's common sense really. Why would you need to park in a disabled bay if the disabled person isn't getting out.

This was my understanding when I had one.
Its unclear but if the car park was for the restaurant then strictly speaking, they should only park there if eating at the restaurant. Although on a quiet day you could get away with it.
And if there were ordinary spaces available and they are close to the sea then why not use one of those.
I think you would need more information to decide if they should have parked there..

I think perhaps it's outdated, in that it was originally issued solely for mobility issues, whereas now it is accepted that some people need it for other reasons.

It's a situation (one of many) where it's best to focus on what you are doing - rather than criticise others.

The gov.uk website says you should not use the blue badge to enable others to benefit whilst you sit in the car.
Surely that is another way of saying you should get out of the car?
Of course in the case under discussion, the couple drinking tea may have just got back from a walk, but I do think the OP has a point. Glad she did eventually get a parking space.

My DH has not applied for a Blue badge but would benefit from one as he cannot walk far because of back pain and angina. When we go to National Trust and similar places, there is often a long wAy to walk from the car to the house, even sometimes from the disabled car park.

He told us it varies from area to area.
I've no idea how true that is, but we never seemed to get to grips with "the rules".

My daughter was asked by a traffic warden to move on from a disabled bay as we were just sitting.

You are right it doesn't say about getting out of the car on the government website.

But when I had the orange one and blue one I had booklet with each one which stated you can only use a disabled parking bay if the disabled person is getting out of the car.

It's common sense really. Why would you need to park in a disabled bay if the disabled person isn't getting out.

We often do exactly what you have describe Geogran.

Most beaches are totally inaccessible for me , but one is and has 10 disabled bays. We often drive down , get my scooter out for a pootle along the prom then either sit in the car for a coffee or if the weathers nice on a chair near the car.

I couldn’t get to the prom unless I park in one of these bays. Sometimes I buy a coffee sometimes I bring a coffee. I see why you need to use a bay but so do many other people and I don’t really see why you think you should take precedence over others especially as you’re making assumptions about them.

So , I’m sorry - but I think you’re being unreasonable .

Whiff: I can see nothing on the government website that says the disabled person can only use a disabled parking space if they are getting out of the car. I would like to see where that is actually written as from what I have seen on websites is that the badge must not be used for a helper of the disabled person to go and get shopping or medication and leave the badge holder in the car.
In regard of the original post how does the poster know that the elderly couple already sitting in the disabled space had not been on a short walk and had then taken a flask of tea/coffee from the boot of vehicle to have a short refreshment while they enjoyed the view of the sea. In that case they would have been out of the vehicle anyway and would not have broken any rules.
Also the posters daughter has also got the option of using a wide parent and child space which the poster said she often does so why be judge-mental to an elderly couple that were using a space they had a badge for.

ooo I forgot, might have some kind of attack and need to be removed from the car for care

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'd LOVE to see a link to the "have to be getting out of the car" rule as i can't find it on either the .gov website or my council's website. I agree that other people can't take advantage of the badge by using it for their own needs while the holder sits in the car, but 'Must be getting out of the car" would be impossible to police.....I mean the holder might need the loo or not.....might be intending to get out of the car and then it rains or they get a dizzy spell....might have got out of the car before they were asked and are now back in again and resting. The car might be hit by another car and rendered immobile and the badge holder might need to get out for safety?