A (disabled) parking one!

The sign itself is fine - some people cannot have a disabled parking bay and some folk can but it can be used by others with a blue badge, and they live somewhere where this happens often.

This is the exact situation my friend is in - she really needs to park on the street outside her house, her accessible vehicle can't go on the drive (well, it can, but she can't get in or out of it if it is there), she can't park over her own dropped kerb (parking permit area, she has checked!)...

If the space outside her home is taken by someone else, she can't get out of her vehicle, and parking is hard to find, when you need to park with the side-access ramp on a decent bit of pavement with room to use the ramp, not on a gradient that is too steep in an area full of steep hills and narrow pavements.

So she has a sign on the fence outside her house asking people not to park there, and generally, they don't. Occasionally they do.

She would not scrawl on someones car, sometimes I wish she would leave a polite note, but she won't even do that. She is just asking people for some consideration for her situation, but knows she can't demand that space in any way.

So long story short - I would report this - not for the sign, but for writing something offensive on your car. There really is no excuse!

@BIossomtoes If you get a disabled bay painted it is your responsibility to tell the council when you move or are no longer entitled to the bay. The council may remove them or leave them depending on the likehood of use by other blue badge holders in the area.

Some councils charge for disabled bays outside houses to add or remove them. It's all very council dependent.

Enforceable signs are installed by councils on walls etc. Most commonly for adapted vehicles.

Even having a disabled bay outside the house doesn't prevent anyone parking in it. It's a courtesy not to park in a white disabled bay, they are advisory only.

Yellow marked disabled bays are the only ones that are enforceable. You can be fined for parking in them without a valid blue badge.

Report the criminal damage to your car.

This.
I suppose anyone can put any sign they want in their window but no one has to obey it. I also wouldn’t be peering at people’s windows if I was parking a car so wouldn’t notice it.

Yes, I'm absolutely certain my council didn't paint a sign on the ground 🙄 I might be disabled, but I'm not stupid.

They were unable to designate a painted space where I used to live, due to the layout of the pavement and road. So yes, they absolutely did provide me with a sign, which they told me to put in my window. I've moved since, but my sign is still visible on Google maps.

HTH.

Not as simple as that. Takes an age in some areas regardless of whether you’re genuinely disabled or not. Also, disabled parking bays aren’t reserved for a specific individual even if it’s them who requested it and it’s outside their house - any disabled blue badge holder can use it.
Vandalism obviously not acceptable though.

Totally derailing the chat but I live near a shop and years ago I had some park on my drive. When I told him to get off he pointed to his blue badge, gave me the fingers and walked off.

We still laugh about it now. I'm actually chuckling in bed

Our council is very reluctant to paint the road because when the disabled person moves the space remains. Even blue badge holders don’t get them here. For that reason I’d always give a sign like that the benefit of the doubt and avoid parking there.

This is so very weird. How are drivers meant to see it in the dark? Are you sure your council didn't also paint a sign on the ground? The thing on the window, on its own, doesn't make any sense.

The problem is that, if they're genuinely disabled, I have sympathy for their difficulties in parking - although absolutely not for their criminal damage; however, if anybody can buy one of these online for a fiver, there's no way of actually knowing if they are disabled or not.

They could be lying outright or maybe are classified as disabled (as am I) but certainly not to a point where they would need designated close-by parking, although they would - as most of us - very much like it.

Think about blue badges: if they had them on am unmanned counter at the council office, saying "Please take one, but only if you really need it" - do you really think that they wouldn't be gone in an hour, taken mainly by able-bodied (or only minorly disabled) people? This is effectively the same thing.

That's not to say that they don't genuinely need it at all - but it does sound a very inefficient system, and easily missable, if it is genuinely issued by the council: not even on a pole or anything painted outside - and exactly the kind of thing that any selfish, self-righteous CF would grasp with both hands.

So? And I say that with three disabled family members, all of which use wheelchairs

The sign, even if it’s been given by the council and not from Amazon doesn’t mean they can’t park there. It’s only if a bay has been painted on the road and even then any disabled user can use it

The sign is discretionary, therefore anyone can park on the road, if the person concerned was that concerned they would ask the council to paint a proper bay, and there is certainly no need for vandalism of someone’s car

Did you see the sign before you parked? If I had I probably would have parked somewhere else but I don’t think they have rights to that parking space.

going by the fact they have vandalised your car and used the language they have, I’d guess they are just trying it on and definitely needs reporting

You have to advice of CCTV recordings

And it's entirely possible in 2 years they have now required a disabled space

Report to police and council. They are misrepresenting themselves. If they are genuinely disabled they would have disability parking reserved.

I would report to the police, but not expect much to be done. Sounds like the vandalism was the work of the person guarding their parking space, but it’s all circumstantial. Without a confession or proof, the police won’t be able to take any action I’m afraid.

This makes sense. If they genuinely need a designated space the council would provide one

It sounds like criminal damage which I would report to the police.

I totally understand why you're angry. And you care in the right...

BUT, when you've experienced trying to get around with someone who is disabled you realise how unaware & inconsiderate & just plain stupid some road users, council planning departments, transport providers, businesses etc actually are. Try to cross when dropped kerbs aren't opposite each other and people park across them, when pavements are too narrow with lampposts in stupid places and dog shit. Honestly, until you've done it it's difficult to appreciate how awful reduced-mobility access in the UK is. I'm guessing it's equally crap for other disabilities, too.
I'd probably roll my eyes and leave it. Even though really you're in the right.

Surely, if they're disabled, the Council would allocate them a designated parking spot outside their house. We have a few in my area. You can't just put a sign up yourself. Surely, anyone could buy a sign and put it in their window whether they are disabled or not.

The vandalism of your car should be reported to the police as they had no right to stop you parking on a public road

I would report them, like you say anyone can buy these signs, they are not official, around here people can get a disabled parking bay marked outside of their house by the council. I would not adhere to any sign like that (and my Mum has a blue badge I know how annoying it can be when people park in disabled bays).

I would go to the police about the vandalism, being disabled, or being frustrated with what you view as Inconsiderate parking, does not give you the right to vandalise other people’s property.

It doesn't give them the right to vandalise anything, but perhaps they are at the end of their tether in pain and someone not extending courtesy to someone vulnerable and struggling was the final straw.

I would phone the police if someone had used tippex (type stuff) on my car, not the council.

Can't vote as YANBU to be angry about the abusive message, that's uncalled for but YABU to complain about the sign which is just asking for courtesy

It sounds like a free for all, so whoever gets there first can park there. Have they damaged your car? If they have, or they leave an abusive message again I would contact police/ local PCSO. Might shut them up!!