Parking in Disabled Bay without Blue Badge

I have a blue badge but often at our local supermarket I am unable to get an allocated space . The cars do have a blue badge but aren’t all entitled to them as they often use grannies badge but she is not with them . You see young people running out of the store and hopping into their car . This was brought home to me one Good Friday when unusually the store had parking attendants on duty directing the traffic to available spaces . I showed my badge and was directed to a blue badge space . There must have been 10 empty spaces out of 15 ! Which I’ve never seen before .
Oh and to the lady who said blue badge holders cannot park in parent and child spaces , it must depend on the area as our supermarket allows this. Parent and child spaces are only courtesy spaces .

They should but with cutbacks you find most just leave them to fade away. I know of at least one local estate agent who promoted them as a feature when selling a property with one outside - cheeky.

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WithNobsOnIt

Good for you. I admire people who speak. disability Whatever your disability if it doesn't it alify for a Blue Badge then you should not park in disabled spaces.

I also think the Blue Badge and Motability Schemes are being abused big time by the relatives and friends of disabled people

Really needs sorting out.

Yes, I agree. There is a parent at my GCs primary school who drives up a road which is not supposed to be used around school collection times by anyone other than the disabled. There is a blue badge in her car but I believe that it actually belongs to her slightly disabled mother who collects the children sometimes. However the parent seems to use it whether her mother is with her or not.
She also leaves the engine running so that she can use the air conditioning on whilst she is parked, which is an offence in most local authorities in the UK. She was very put out when I asked her to turn her engine off, though the exhaust fumes were flowing out directly into the queue of waiting parents - she always parks right next to the gate, limiting access.

I would report her to your local council. There is usually a link entitled Report Blue Badge Misuse.

I used to know a woman who misused a Blue Badge all the time and openly told me. It was her Mother’s who lived in Sheffield and she lived in Norfolk! She was Head of Dept in a High School!

Time2

I'm actually a BB holder myself, simply because I can't walk more than a few feet without being in agony. However, I would like to know, if for example, someone who is blind would be entitled to one, as while this is obviously a major disability, if this is their only one, then presumably they wouldn't actually need a BB? I know we say that not every disability is visible, but surely not every disability warrants a BB, as lots of people with hidden disabilities can also walk? I'd be interested to hear from anyone who knows the answer to this.

The answer is if they are in the car they can use it with someone else driving, just like anyone else with a reason to hold a blue badge. Obviously the carer can't use it if they aren't with them in the car. A carer cannot officially park up outside a store and run out despite the cared for sitting in the car, the carer is not disabled so cannot park in the blud badge and leave the cared for in the car. My husband was a stroke survivor and totally paralysed so permanently in a wheelchair. I transported him in the back of the car in his large chair when going out, but could never park up close to a shop and nip in. He would get extremely anxious if I left him for longer, so never did, This is not what a blue badge is for.

icanhandthemback

The landlady in our local pub had A4 sized posters printed with really sticky adhesive on them. If they parked in her loading bay, they were stuck to the windscreen on the driver's side. She used to chuckle as they would be trying to scrape them off the windscreen before they could drive away and would be urging the traffic warden to appear. I feel like doing that to people who park without badges in disabled bays. They would soon learn not to do it.

In some counties you are allowed to park in a loading bay with a Blue Badge, it is the local council's decision and not always easy to establish who do allow and who don't.

Well done. Unless we stand up to inconsiderate people they will continue to behave appallingly. I too have reported misdemeanours and had feedback from police once that action had been taken.

I did park in the disabled bay outside the health centre once. There are 8 spaces and all were empty and i was dropping off a urine sample and hoping I would get in before they closed up for the day. I took 1m 30s, they locked the door behind me & still feel guilty about doing it years later!

Unfortunately see it all the time or someone has forgotten to display the badge, me thinks not. Awful situation for you Primrose53. Hope there is some kind of repercussionfor the awful person. I get annoyed at supermarkets with the parent and child parking. Ip to 12 years and not able to get in and out of a car safely. Yet children are allowed to run about inside the stores, have races with the trolley but can't stand beside an adult at the car until they are 12. Where I live kids are out on the street on electric scooters, segways, playing football, but they can't stand safely at a car in a car park.

I have a blue badge and some years ago reported a white van that was parked across the two disabled bays outside the local shops. I am not sure who was more surprised the van driver or me when the police turned up.

4allweknow

Unfortunately see it all the time or someone has forgotten to display the badge, me thinks not. Awful situation for you Primrose53. Hope there is some kind of repercussionfor the awful person. I get annoyed at supermarkets with the parent and child parking. Ip to 12 years and not able to get in and out of a car safely. Yet children are allowed to run about inside the stores, have races with the trolley but can't stand beside an adult at the car until they are 12. Where I live kids are out on the street on electric scooters, segways, playing football, but they can't stand safely at a car in a car park.

I thought that child and parent spaces are wider therefore getting a child out of a car seat allows the parents to open the door wider without clunking the car next to it.

I do recognise that we can all be forgetful so do give the person the benefit of the doubt, by saying Oh you have forgotten to put your badge in the window. Sometimes the person will be grateful and say oh thanks and put their badge in, and all is well. However for those who have the cheek to say to me, I shant be a minute or such like, I immediately say that is why these bays are here because WE do not have that option. Several times when they have walked off I simply park my car across the back of them, and they have to wait until I come back. I once had a wretched white van man , who parked illegally in a BB bay next to me. Due to back and knee problems amongst other things, I cannot get into my car unless I can open the door wide and then use the handle in the roof to get myself sorted out. I try not to be at the end of the BB bays if there is a wall but on this occasion had no choice, so I was stuck there for 11-1/2 minutes, as it did not even have a note saying where they were going, so I could only lean on my car until they came back. I gave him short shrift, told him I had photos of his van etc and that I would report him. At the moment I am literally only able to go to a shop if I can park straight opposite it, So it is hard enough trying to just get by without these selfish people making life worse!!

Allira Do people with autism need extra wide car parking spaces?
My 30 year old son is Autistic and has severe OCD. He doesn’t drive. When he gets out of the passenger seat of a car he needs someone to take his seat belt off without it flying back so they have to stand next to the car with the door open to do it for him, then he mustn’t touch the door as he gets out so it has to opened wide. And he mustn’t touch the outside of the car so there needs to be plenty of room round it. So does he need a disabled space? Defiantly yes! Invisible disability but definitely a lifetime disability.

Who or how do you report this.

It's not a competition - not a question of 'oh I am more disabled than them'. If a person qualifies for a Blue Badge, then their disability has been assessed and deemed worthy of one. Living with a disability - visible or not - is hard enough when you get judged by able-bodied people, never mind others who have disabilities too.

Gfplux

Who or how do you report this.

Your local council.

Where there is a barrier to access disabled places (hospitals for example) I've never understood why you can't scan the barcode on your blue badge to access the parking places. I realise it would be expensive to install barriers everywhere but it would solve the problem.

This is the one thing that really riles me, due to having several physical problems I have a blue badge and we got so fed up of people taking the disabled spaces without a badge that I bought stickers from amazon saying you have my space would you like my disability too.
Hubby sticks them on their windscreen
I know it sounds childish and maybe a bit OTT but it hopefully makes them think about what they have done,
I have tried politely telling these selfish people they are for disabled people but have been met with verbal abuse on many occasions hence the stickers

Lesley60

This is the one thing that really riles me, due to having several physical problems I have a blue badge and we got so fed up of people taking the disabled spaces without a badge that I bought stickers from amazon saying you have my space would you like my disability too.
Hubby sticks them on their windscreen
I know it sounds childish and maybe a bit OTT but it hopefully makes them think about what they have done,
I have tried politely telling these selfish people they are for disabled people but have been met with verbal abuse on many occasions hence the stickers

Wow! I am ordering some, thanks.

Primrose53

Lesley60

This is the one thing that really riles me, due to having several physical problems I have a blue badge and we got so fed up of people taking the disabled spaces without a badge that I bought stickers from amazon saying you have my space would you like my disability too.
Hubby sticks them on their windscreen
I know it sounds childish and maybe a bit OTT but it hopefully makes them think about what they have done,
I have tried politely telling these selfish people they are for disabled people but have been met with verbal abuse on many occasions hence the stickers

Wow! I am ordering some, thanks.

Have you got a link to the stickers on Amazon?

Oh dear **Mt61!!!. I have a bluebadge which I use as a passenger In my husbands BMW !
I have arthritis in my spine , pelvis and hips . Are people who drive these car models not allowed to have mobility problems . I do agree though if they're not displaying a blue badge they shouldn't be in one and it causes endless frustration for me as I can't get in or out of the car unless I have space to push the door fully out .I just think people don't care anymore especially in supermarkets

Lesley and Primrose - I'm ordering these too. Great idea.
A few years ago I had to park in an ordinary car parking space as no disability ones were available. I have difficulty walking and was just walking passed the blue badge spaces when a car pulled into a disability space that had just become available (doesn't that just happen!), when a man and women disembarked from their car but no blue badge was displayed.

I pointed out to the man that he had not displayed his blue badge and he said to 'mind my own business'. Well I said, from that response I will assume you do not have a blue badge and are not entitled to park in a space for blue badge holders. He claimed there were no other available spaces to park but I pointed out that he had not even tried and had pulled into the disabled space coming into the car park straight from the road.

Well, he and his wife followed me into the supermarket with him trying to give every excuse he could think off as to why he parked there, including how parents with children could park there so why not him. Which of course is not true.

He even put his hand out at one time to touch my elbow but I cringed back telling him 'do not touch me' but I did extravigate my horror and he pulled back in terror. In all this time his wife had not said a word. A couple of people came over to me and asked (in front of him) if I knew this person and obviously I said no and explained why he was angry with me. With that he marched off with his wife following behind.

My family did tell me off when I told them for tackling the man but I pointed out that I only said he had forgotten to display his blue badge and it was his response that got my back up. And I'm glad I did.

Further to other messages - we are allowed to park in parent and child spaces if no disability spaces are free. This was told to me by a warden who was checking if blue badge holders were displaying their badges in disabled parking bays but this could possibly be where I live but not everywhere.

Some of my local shopping centres/ supermarkets have changed their rules on BB parking and are giving free parking to BB holders BUT…we have to scan our badges in store, not leave them on display. What a stupid idea as now, no one has to leave a BB on display so anyone with a large car can park in these spaces. Yes, they have to pay as they can’t scan a BB, but of course, all the BB bays are full.
Anyone seeing me walking would question my need for a BB. I fall into the category of being able to walk great distances but I need a wide bay, I need to open my door fully as my knees don’t bend very much. If I park in a normal bay and someone parks close I cannot get into my car.

My grandson has a blue badge. His mother forgot to display it once because he'd had a meltdown just as they were parked, and it distracted her. On her return, an angry man confronted her about her 'lazy selfish illegal' use of the space, and only slightly simmered down once she showed him the forgotten badge. Even then he questioned the genuine issue of a blue badge to 'someone like that' who can walk. (My grandson's learning difficulties are written large on his appearance, his other co-morbidities are not) Some on here would have blocked her in, stickered her windscreen or even let the tyres down! My grandson is also affected by unauthorised use of disabled spaces, but vigilantes can get it wrong. I'd urge everyone to be very sure of their facts before possibly causing a great deal more distress to an already stressed person.

It is a shame when the system is abused. I have a blue badge, but respect that others with one might have more need than I - e.g. if they are in a wheelchair. If I am having a good day and am in less pain or not in AF and out of breath, I park in an ordinary space.

Here in France lots of the spaces say, "Si vous prenez ma place, prenez aussi mon handicap". It is very rare to see the use of the spaces abused.
Our badge is permanently fixed to the windscreen in a pocket. What I didn't know until we got one, is that it is a European wide agreement and they can be used without question in any country.