Blue badge parking

A woman in our village has acquired a blue badge and a sign outside her house saying a disabled person lives there - please leave the space free. She is not disabled. She has a garage behind her house which she is fully able to use. She does not like others parking in the road outside her window but as she bought the house next to the village shop she should expect that. I know how hard it is to get a blue badge as I took ages to get one for my wheelchair bound elderly mother so how she got it I cannot imagine. She was temporarily in difficulties (about 6 weeks) while waiting for a joint replacement but is now fully fit. My daughter was especially angry to see her mowing her lawn with a heavy mower the other day. What would you do?

Daphne ignore the morons on FB, you are entitled to say what you think. I would have liked to park near the supermarket door while I am poorly but I would not do it. Despite my health problems people keep telling me how well I look so I continue to struggle on.

Better just to report the local taxi firm to their licensing authority.

I'm awful about this parking business and often tackle people parking in Children and Parents bays .... although a fair few of these have disability passes I have to say.

It is VERY difficult to get a blue badge , in certain cases you can have a temporary one, for instance if you are having surgery or have a broken bone . Maybe the lawn mowing lady has a temporary one ? I wouldn`t tackle anybody unless I knew their circumstances and even then I would have to be in a very grumpy mood , maybe the disabled bays were full of taxi drivers

I have a blue badge and a friend made up little cards for myself and his Mother who also has one which say in 3 languages;
'You can take my parking space if you take my disability and pain too.'
Probably do not make much difference but it saves a confrontation.
What makes my SIL very angry is when we are parking in a space and other drivers get angry as they want to park there without badges.
I carry the cards in my bag and put them on any cars parked in disabled spaces without badges.

A few years ago my local upmarket supermarket decided to display shrubs etc outside and took up a disabled bay the first day they did it. There was a manager outside when I drove up looking for a disabled bay and after a few words by the next day everything was back to normal.

I drove into a disabled bay on its own beside a loading bay in my town centre. White van man drove up behind, started to shout- I got out of my car waving my blue badge- there was little he could do about that.

I stand my ground and have been known to remind somebody that they have forgotten to display their blue badge, knowing that they did not possess one having seen them run into the store.

Daphne it will make life so much easier for you.

In the year when I was waiting - in a lot of pain - for a hip replacement, I researched the possibility of a temporary blue badge and found that these were available in Scotland but not here, in England.

Why are Blue Badges seemingly given for life ? I know of someone who did need one a few years ago but still has one now she is reasonably fit (quite capable of taking her large dog for longish walks). People also do not seem to realise that even if a person in the car has a Blue Badge then that person must be getting out of the car to do shopping etc and not just left in it.
I do not have one but my mother did when she was still with us and we returned it when she died. I agree with anno that temporary badges would be very welcome - just try getting out of an ordinary parking place and into a wheelchair with a plaster cast on a leg !!

The expiry date on my badge is 9999, my health problems are degenerative so I do not get assesments, only if I ask for them.
The letters which came with the badge were in French and Dutch, we had a laugh at the French one as translated it states that the car owner using the badge must show the 'head' of the badge holder.
You can imagine the comments and suggestions that came from that.

Blue badges in Scotland have to be renewed. And every time you do a renewal you have to take or send your birth certificate to the office that deals with blue badges. I took a ninety-six year old woman with all the paperwork including a photocopy of her birth certificate. They refused to give her the new blue badge even though they saw she couldn't walk without her wheelie and she couldn't even stand without holding onto something.

I took the original birth certificate in next day and they photocopied it.

DS has a blue badge and it has had to be renewed every three years up to now and has just been renewed for ever - which seems appropriate for him.

I have been known to suggest to people who park in Parent and Child spots that they appear to have mislaid their child but I would hesitate to challenge someone who didn't appear disabled because so many health problems are not visible.

The thing that really gets my goat is people parking either all or half on the pavement with their hazard lights going as if that makes it OK. I will challenge those drivers and point out that people with buggies or in a wheelchair need to be able to get past without having to go in the road. In fact, I used to carry printed notices saying the same thing. I must print some more.

I know this woman very well indeed - actually for over 40 yrs - I know every detail of any ops she has had and she is still working full time and now has no health issues at all. In fact another mutual friend saw the sign go up on her wall about the parking and asked if she had an elderly disabled relative staying!!!!!

I must live in a very polite area , I have had my badge for 12 years (renewed every 3 ) and I have never seen a anyone without a badge parking in a disabled bay -except at Tesco once .

I have to renew my badge every three years but the last time I applied I did not have to go to be assessed, it was sent after my application had been viewed.

The fact that not every disability is visible causes my friend no end of problems.
She looks like a fairly fit fifty something but is entitled to her badge. She was getting out of her car which was parked in a designated bay on the High St. When she was challenged by an irate driver who wanted to park there."Well, you haven't got a blue badge" she turned, smiled and waved her badge and her husbands who was with her at him. She said his face was a picture

I think what shocked me was the abusive responses I got on FB on a local "group" site, I was accused of moaning, whingeing, told to get a life, sad person,
Absolute vitriol!! I named the local minicab firm and invited them to explain. Their excuse was they said their driver was picking up an elderly man with mobility issues (I saw the car drive off, no passenger) and pointed out that my DH fitted that description too and that if the same taxi firm is dropping us off AND picking us up, I let them have the blue badge so that they can stop in a disabled space, which I thought was nice of me.
No response of course, but the saddoes who were so rude were really shocking. My original post and the responses have all been deleted (not being me) but I suspect more because I "named and shamed," rather than the abuse thrown at me.

A chap I worked with a few years back used to breed and show (including at Crufts) dogs. His wife was very actively involved, walking them, bathing & grooming etc. He used to boast about how useful it was her having a Blue Badge.

When I asked him why she had one, he said it was because a few years earlier she had to take early retirement due to stress and the occasional anxiety attack!

Please, does anyone know?
A year ago I was running (and actively working in) a garden maintenance scheme, but since then because of a neurological condition which has taken my mobility, I can't walk without my Rollator.I've been awarded attendance allowance at the lower rate, ie for mobility only, in perpetuity.(I don't need 24hr care, just help during the waking day)
Just today I've applied for a blue badge. My intention is to ask various friends to display this when they take me shopping,etc..so they can park as near as possible to the store
So my question is...will I be awarded a Blue Badge for them to display while helping me?
Obviously, my request will be backed up by my DLA award but NOT by a designated car Reg.no., as the carers cars will be different..
Anyone know ?.

The blue badge is awarded to the person who needs it but can be used by anyone who drives him/her in their car

You don't have to have a designated car but it can't be used unless the car is being used for the cardholder's benefit.

Thanks merlotgran I wasn't sure. I had to give up driving (and so sold my car) 10 months ago, so couldn't give a Reg.no.on my online app.request. So I'll go ahead and send the supporting docs etc.to my local authority .
Thanks again,

A bit off topic but might be helpful. 4 years years ago I was a temporary (6 weeks Ish) wheelchair user. Our local supermarket, my regular, had many disabled bays. Chatting to staff on my first wheelchair using visit one suggested I explain to their manager how hard it had been to get out of the car. He allowed us to make a simple sign saying wheelchair use was temporary and we had the store manager's permission to use a disabled bay for the duration. One happy customer and no adverse comments as we always chose a quiet time to shop and park. Not sure how that sits with blue badge holders but we were very grateful and it certainly helped us. For those in England in a similar situation it may be worth considering if your regular store has ample blue badge bays. It wouldn't work now as our regular supermarket in our new location never has enough space for blue badge holders, which is another story.

I have nothing against the blue badge system but I cannot see how it is wrong for me, a non badge user, to park on yellow lines but not a badge holder, I am 74 and see that most people who get out of cars with a sticker walk better than I do.

There is a taxi firm in South Harrow that parks on the pavement outside their office. It is very wide but people have to go into a very busy road with wheelchairs, prams etc. to get past. I walked past one day and a community policeman was standing right next to the office gazing vacantly into space as people were doing this. If I had had my phone I would have taken a video and put it online.
A driver pulled up right in front of me across the pavement once so I tapped on the side of the car to make him aware that he was making me walk in the road and he got out and swore at me. There is plenty of parking in side streets but they would have to walk to office for a few minutes.
I would take a photograph and send it to the local police. Other than that I don't think there is much you can do.

I have a blue badge, but I frequently find that the bay's are filled by disabled people sitting in their cars while someone is doing their shopping. On these occasions I have had to use a mother and child bay because I need a wide area to get out of my car ( I'm so BIG) my youngest child is 42!