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

As long as the BB holder has exited the car, then whoever else may be present in the car waiting, is doing nothing wrong! If you wish to struggle, that is your own affair.

I agree OP and I think the number of disabled spaces is decreasing. My local Sainsbury’s has just converted 5 of them into Tesla EV charger spaces! I have seen this at services on the motorway too….entire rows of disabled spaces being turned into EV charger spaces. These are not disabled spaces with EV chargers, they remove the disabled signage so these are for anyone EV spaces.

Firmly donning my tin hat here but I do see the other side of the argument. With bricks and mortar retail on the bones of its arse at the moment, I can see why businesses wouldn't want to reduce the number of regular bays in their car parks. I also suspect the issue is very region specific which would make legislative change on minimum provision a rather blunt tool.

There may be mitigants like allowing blue badge holders to park across multiple regular bays and better enforcement but an actual solution would take some thought.

Children's spaces don't need to be near the entrances. Actually it would be better if they were the furthest away.

This would mean, more space for disabled nearer the entrances. Mother's and babies can walk from the end of the car park, with bigger child spaces there.

Way back in time, I would park furthest away from entrances/shops. Also it was not uncommon to just take the baby out, without the car seat, or pushchair, and just plonk them in trolleys. Or, get the pushchair/pram out, and then the baby. All this from a two door coupe.

Too many big cars, too many child carrier systems, with complicated devices, all needing big cars to accommodate them.

It obviously does depend on the area. I would say the right number would be at the fullest still have a couple of spare spaces, to make sure there will always be spaces.

Round here there's always loads of spare spaces. Sainsbury's Christmas shop with a queue into the car park, due to lack of spaces still had 1/3 the spaces not used for example.
And I think that doesn't help because people then think "loads of spaces, won't matter if little me uses one just for a quick nip in", but it does when lots of people think that.

I wish that it would be more rigorous on catching people who shouldn't be using them -with a helping of common sense eg if the passenger currently has a broken leg, they can use it.

Yanbu. Both my DS have blue badges but not for physical reasons so often we avoid using them where it's busy eg supermarket as we don't need extra space around the car.

Fine that’s an exception but I think we all know that majority of these hidden disabilities are not like that. Let’s not think about that. Let’s think about the majority of the issues are people with mobility issues. I think the government was wrong to open the boundaries.

I never come across an empty space where I am. People have to queue for them.

Yanbu OP.

Plenty of people without a wheelchair will struggle navigating a car park safely due to their disability

But if he needs a wheelchair, then obviously that’s because of mobility issues as well the point is I’m not saying about that. I’m saying majority of these hidden disabilities doesn’t need if you think about it to be closer.

It helps a lot. If we can park close it can make it much safer (and less painful) for DS to walk to wherever we are going. It actually means we may not need to use his wheelchair!

I don’t drive, but I can hardly walk. My friend will sit there wait for me so I can get back and also because it’s a wider space it means they can get my equipment out that helps me.

No it doesn’t. If it is being used for the benefit of the disabled person and they are there you can rightly park in one.

No it doesn’t.

Being closer isn’t really going to help that if it is that unsafe then get help the point is to people who literally cannot walk very far that little bit of extra walking is a big thing and I wouldn’t think that majority of the hidden disabilities are because of unsafe

Mobility isn't just about walking though. It's about doing it safely too

You are very correct and it often annoys me when I see people that can actually walk alot more than I can. You can see them they don’t need anything to help them to walk. People keep saying oh well it might be hidden disabilities well I’m not being funny, but half of these hidden disabilities really if you think about it do not need to be close to the front whereas people with mobility issues do and I have noticed it’s very difficult to find car park spaces.
I think they widened the scope too much and I’m sorry but people don’t like that it’s unpalatable but that’s the truth. There is a difference between not being able to walk very much and those who can

I've been known to park across the empty normal spaces, get ds out and his mobility stuff and then reverse into space.

Repeat when we return in reverse.

I've had people beep and abuse me for holding it up - or move as they want the space.

I simply tell them we'd be grateful for the email I'm sure they send to our MP about needing more wide BB spaces so the disabled population have more access and don't inconvenience the non disabled population trying to access the same things!

Well obviously you wouldn't be letting your 4 year old our the car on their own lol ffs! 🤣 you would be accompanying your child 🙄

That's such a good idea.

A blue badge scheme with symbols explaining need and increasing access.

Planned by people who have no concept of disability beyond somebody with a carer pushing a wheelchair - if somebody is as disabled as to require a blue badge, they're significantly less likely to want or to be able to access the 'ride' or to wait for it to come.

After all, if you're able to stand and wait for a bus for an indeterminate period of time, get on the bus, stand on the bus, fit on the bus with three buggies or a bunch of schoolkids already in the disabled space, (assuming they're allowed on the bus with a mobility scooter), go and do your thing and then repeat all that in reverse, you'd be doing that and not need the blasted blue badge in the first place, wouldn't you?

All the 'we need to encourage the use of public transport' excludes many disabled people - and when it comes down to it, councils aren't making money from having disabled on-street parking.

How does that work? My 4 year old IS the blue badge holder, I can't drop him off and park 'as normal'.

It annoys me when I make the effort to use a normal space and the disabled spaces are used up by people sitting in their cars waiting on either the driver or passenger to return. That's not what the spaces are for!

Yes, it is! DD has a blue badge but she can’t drive. If DH and I took her out somewhere, one of us could take her into an appointment or shop, and the other stay in the car - say they are feeling ill. It’s a legitimate use of the space, because she’s the one who could easily not be able to walk back to a faraway space. What is not allowed is if the disabled person stays in the car, and their able bodied companion goes off shopping!

Are all disabled people in wheelchairs? That’s news to me.

The ignorance of just why taking a space that's designed for someone with a disability affects them is disgusting at best.

For reasons that aren't relevant I have spent the last five months visiting a fracture clinic. I travel there by taxi as my mobility is very poor and there are never any disabled bays empty. However, I know why. My appointment time is always the same - 8:30 am - so to be sure of getting there I usually arrive about 8am. The doors for the clinic don't open until 8:30 so I sit and wait. And what I see is NHS staff putting their cars in the disabled spaces, not displaying a blue badge, and sprinting in to work. This is like, yes I will repeat it, taking up the blue badge spaces at the fracture clinic, so we are talking about spaces that are primarily designed to cater for people with disabilties who also very likely have a fracture of some sort! It's often the same cars every time. I have reported it but nothing changes.

And yes, Doncaster Royal Infirmary, I am looking at you....