Blue badge parking

SEASIDENANA......Complain to YOUR local Counsellor.....Local Authority can give you the name if you ask for ìt.
They usually have an email address if not a phone number. Be ASSERTIVE. At our age we can get away with it. Play the Age Game too !

Galen - my Mum has a Blue Badge & she told me that if Disabled bays are full you are allowed to use Parent & Child bays whilst displaying Blue Badge.

I have mobility issues but because my Personal Independence Payment is only for care not mobility I am not eligible for a Blue Badge - Doctors used to have input on Blue Badges sadly this is no longer the case, I can only walk a short distance (with a stick) & struggle to get in/out of my car in normal spaces

My late neighbour was quadriplegic but still worked as a scientist after his accident. He and his wife had to fight tooth and nail for a parking badge - he had to be winched from the wheelchair into and out of the car which took some time to achieve and obviously needed extra space to do this. Yet, another person in the village had a 'bad back' and could often be seen walking without difficulty, but not only acquired a blue badge but also a car in which to display it! (She happened to be extremely wealthy, so not sure how she managed to wangle a car as well). There seems to be no rhyme or reason for who or how ........

Our local FB group varies between moaning and being rude to people. The only reason I stay on is because it informs me as well. It has thousands of members but it is the obnoxious who are vocal.

I was once a member of a forum set up by a major supermarket, with fewer members. That one was so friendly and I have never come across such a fantastic group of strangers since. We still message on FB sometimes since the plug was pulled on the group.

My husband has a blue badge. He broke his hip when he was in his thirties and it has never, and never will fully heal. In spite of two replacements, he cannot have a third as there is not enough bone left, he is in constant pain. He still has to apply for his blue badge on a regular basis, which in his case is nonsense. A look at his X-ray would reveal the extent of his problem.
In spite of the pain, he does walk, not to do so would be bad for his health, but he can scarcely manage the regulatory number of yards needed to get a blue badge.
When people abuse the system, I get very angry. There are people out there like my DH who would simply be housebound with their badge.

My GD was in a wheelchair for 2 months when visiting Waitrose I would park in the disabled bays and the Waitrose staff would give me sign to put in my window saying temporary disabled. That's service for you . Asia has their disabled bays further away from the store entrance than the them parent and children ones making it very hard for the walking disabled. I have pointed this out to the manager but to no good so when I have to take my daughter, a walking blue badge holder shopping there I park in the parent and child space.

A friend of mine was a carer for her stepson who was seriously ill. He was given a blue badge and she used it all the time even though he was bedridden for months. She walked her dogs for miles every day - fit as a fiddle!

I would ring the council and report her. She has no right to put a sign up saying a disabled person lives there if it's a lie.

I have a blue badge because I have MS and walking any kind of distance is difficult, but I don't use a wheelchair. I attend a club in a busy area with limited parking which is a lifeline to me and it has got disabled spaces nearby. Recently my council decided to make the spaces disabled ones until 6 pm then free to anyone. I now can't park anywhere near as the club is early evening. I have written to the council, but have not got very far. They seem to think disabled people don't go out at night !

DaphneBroon There is a facebook site called Atos Miracles which often talks about this problem. If you go there and post your problem you will get a more sympathetic approach from people who have had the same issue and they might give you advice.

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!

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 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.

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.

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,

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.

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 ?.

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!

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.

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 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.

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 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!!!!!

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.

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.