To think there is not enough disabled bays for how many badge users there are

Wheelchair or any other walking aid

You’re welcome! Apologies that it was such a ramble but I’m glad that it helped to explain it a little.

Thank you! I literally just wanted to understand and your post is incredibly helpful and may also be helpful to the OP.

And my relative had temporal lobe epilepsy which can(and did) cause hallucinations so again that caused very real problems at times.

I agree that it is rude to question people but as someone who has been a carer for someone with epilepsy I’ll list a few reasons why my close relative would have benefited from a blue badge. Not speaking for anyone else here.

Seizure may strike at any moment and you really don’t want to take one in the middle of a car park. They’re dangerous enough anywhere considering that you may drop and lose consciousness injuring yourself in the process but that could be lethal if it happens in the middle of a car park.

They may also have absence seizures where they don’t drop but they still lose awareness of their surroundings. Again that is dangerous in a busy car park.

Even if they don’t have visible seizures they may experience auras which can make you feel, sick, dizzy, out of sorts, confused and can be a warning of an imminent seizure so you may have to rush back to the car.

If you have a seizure you’re often in what’s called a post-ictal state where you are extremely confused, agitated and sometimes aggressive. Again you may want to, if possible, get them back to the car and go home asap and that is not easy when someone is that confused.

Some people can do incredibly bizarre things when they have a seizure including undressing themselves so for their safety and dignity you want to have the car close at hand.

2Rebecca · Today 14:26
"They are empty at many supermarkets, leisure centres, public car parks."

And in many they are full.

No, they aren't. Not anywhere in my county, or any of the surrounding counties.

HTH.

Nor me. I think it's important that we discuss why certain conditions need certain adjustments. No, I wouldn't welcome someone random coming up to me in the street and asking me why I was in a wheelchair. It's rude.

However, if I was already in a conversation about disability, and someone asked me how one of my conditions, that I'd already stated I have, affected me, I'd be happy to educate. I don't know a great deal about epilepsy either, and I'm also not sure why that condition qualifies someone for a BB. If it was explained to me, by someone who has the condition, then I would understand and have that knowledge in the future.

DH's colleague is deaf and has a BB. No other disabilities. DH asked me why someone who was deaf would need a BB (I have a deaf relative). I told him that it's safer if someone with hearing loss doesn't have to cross busy car parks where they can't hear vehicles that might be doing something unexpected. The more we talk about things when already engaged in conversation, the more people understand WHY and the less abuse we get for using disabled spaces.

They are empty at many supermarkets, leisure centres, public car parks.

Just wonder here...
https://www.epilepsy.org.uk/

It came across as rather judgemental

No that isn't the purpose of an anonymous forum. It is rude in any circumstance to question someones disability. If you want educating, google is great for that. This isn't AMA.

Exactly she doesn't have to answer but as I've already said its an anonymous forum I'm asking a question to be educated not attacked 🤷‍♀️ I just wondered.

totally agrée. I think it’s a particular issue around parks and street shopping areas where the BB spaces are totally insufficient.

But isn't that the whole point of an anonymous forum so that things can be asked and answered without upsetting anyone. I have ADHD - don't really talk about it in real life but often give my input about it on here. Wouldn't be bothered if someone asked me questions about it etc. The poster I quoted doesn't have to reply but at the end of the day it was a polite anonymous question. Not sure why you're all getting so cross about it.

This is the issue. Wheelchair users have different needs to other disabled people. The same as someone with a limb difference has different needs to someone with a stoma. All disabilities are different. No one is saying people with invisible disabilities who have a valid BB should not park in BB spaces. They're entitled to use them. I used to be that person myself. I needed to use them.

However, wheelchair users have different needs. If we can't park in a disabled space, we can't leave our vehicle. We can't find the nearest standard sized space and use that. We can't park a little bit away in a standard space and use a stick. We can't get out. We can't access food/medication/healthcare.

No one is saying this "trumps" anyone else. We're saying that we have different, valid needs. There should be disabled spaces and spaces for wheelchair users who physically need extra space for ramps, hoists etc.

There are many triggers. I had it as a child and one trigger was lack of sleep. I'd also vomit after.

A blue badge isn't just for those with issues putting one foot in front of the other.

Why the need to ask though? The poster has a BB, so that means that she has been assessed as being in need of one. There is no need to know anything more, unless the poster in question wishes to answer you, of course.

I do appreciate that you are genuinely asking a question. STOP DOING THAT! If you wouldn't walk up to a person on the street and ask what their disability was and how it impacts on them, then it is just as rude to do it here. It is rude no matter how genuine the question.

@SerendipityJane For people who can walk, but are unsteady, get tired, or have a condition that doesn't require a wheelchair, the proximity to the entrance is key. There is no specific need for a larger bay.

Untrue. I can walk. After a fashion. I am very unsteady on my feet. get tired quickly and must rest frequently, hence I have a rollator, not a wheelchair. Unfortunately I also can't get out of the bloody car unless I can open the doors to the full extent. Have you tried doing that in a normal sized bay? Half the time you are lucky if an able bodied person can get out of the car in those bays!

I'm not challenging I'm asking a question, a genuine question because I have no idea about epilepsy except a colleague who had it and was only triggered by intense flashing lights.

Quite apart from the fact that there isn't a "not rude" way to question someone's disability, how do you know that they have "just epilepsy". The poster said that they cannot drive due to epilepsy, not that they have no other disability. You don't get points for mobility needs (OP has a motability car, so must have scored highly on mobility sections) unless there is a good reason why your mobility is poor.

@RegulatorsMountUp

honestly don't mean this rudely but do you need a blue badge at all with just epilepsy? Even if you did go into the shop with him does walking the extra 10-20 feet impact you?

This is what o was touching on earlier. People thinking you should not have a badge despite you being entitled to a badge as per the regulations set by the government/local councils.

It's not up to you to challenge a poster, they have a legitimate BB. We need more spaces in many areas, not less 'help' for disabled people.

BB spaces serve 2 different, but not mutually exclusive purposes.

1. If a wheelchair user needs to transfer from the car to a chair or scooter then there needs to be enough space around the car to allow the doors to open, and the chair to be safely moved from storage to the doorside. For this purpose, the actual location of the space is secondary to it's size. This is why P&C spaces are a useful fallback when the BB spaces are free (although it seems that never happens).

2. For people who can walk, but are unsteady, get tired, or have a condition that doesn't require a wheelchair, the proximity to the entrance is key. There is no specific need for a larger bay.

For the ease of a simple minded public, these are combined.

What that adds to the party I can't quite tell. But it's all grist to the mill.

I honestly don't mean this rudely but do you need a blue badge at all with just epilepsy? Even if you did go into the shop with him does walking the extra 10-20 feet impact you? Genuine question, not goading etc but I think this sort of thing is was the OP means. Ideally disabled bays would be for very physically disabled people and parent and child spaces would be for those with very young children. But I guess there are a myriad of conditions where a disabled bay may be best suited.