To think if you’re a slightly more mobile BB holder you should park in the further accessible bay?

The only thing that pisses me off with blue badge use was seeing a young fit man prance off into the gym, having parked on yellow lines and displaying a blue badge. The photo on the badge was of an elderly woman.

No, for all the reasons already mentioned. My issue is people using disabled spaces when they don't have a BB. My elderly, disabled mother has a BB and can never park at her local supermarket in the disabled bays as mainly occupied by people not displaying a BB. For this reason she has decided not to renew her badge.

Cross post @ValleyClouds !

Bit of a hole in the story, methinks. He would have received a ticket for that.

I’m sure that I’ve pulled into the first BB space in a car park at the hospital or similar, many times. My husband, who has the BB, is mobile. He also has advanced young onset dementia, has regular falls, hallucinations, is aggressive, has challenging behavior and can be difficult to keep safe when we have to go out. He also looks physically quite well. If I have to take him out, I try to get as close to the door as possible. Last time we were out, he became very aggressive in the car park, fell over and nearly got hit by a car.
I’d like to think that I’m a considerate person. The reality is that some disabilities are hidden and whilst somebody who has very poor mobility needs to be as close as possible, so do lots of others for different reasons.

I think there should be two types of bb. I have a bb, I’m in a wheelchair so need the wide space to get my chair round.

i don’t know how it could be policed but something on the lines of wheelchair users have light blue only they can use the wide spaces. Doesn’t need to be right outside the door for me but I should imagine others would say different, but maybe dark blue who don’t need the wide space out need closer to the door ?

I mean let’s be honest, I’m in a chair, I need the wide space to get in and out of the car, but I don’t need to be right outside the door I’m not walking, once I’m in the chair I can get across a car park the same as anyone else. But if the wider blue spaces are taken by people who just need to be near the door, well I have to wait or go home, I cannot get out of the car.

I have no beef with blue badge holders using those spaces, near or far to building entrances, whatever, nor with people with children using parent and child spaces. But I wish to goodness someone would police them. My local doctor’s surgery has 6 blue badge spaces. On Tuesday when we visited, 5 of the 6 cars parked in those spaces had no blue badge displayed, and the drivers seemed very able bodied. The parent spaces were also full, and the cars parked there had not one child car seat between them, I.e, they were not transporting children. So where are people who really need those spaces supposed to park?

OP, I'm going to respond to this under the assumption that you're trying to be compassionate towards disabled people because I think you probably are.

You're displaying ableist thinking right now. You looked at a stranger and thought you could evaluate their disability and needs based on watching them walk into a shop. You've also narrowed BB needs and the "value" of each BB space down to a single variable - the distance to the store vs how well a person can physically walk. Both assumptions are wildly incorrect.

I have MS, and two of my most difficult symptoms are severe vertigo and syncope episodes - these can come on suddenly but tend to be exacerbated by fatigue and heat. I'm in my 30s, fit, and fully capable of running when not having symptoms. But I also use an assistance dog (meaning I need to be able to open my car door wider and let him jump in and out), sometimes trip over curbs or cracks in pavement, and may feel great walking into a store then barely be standing by the time I've collected my items. Other disabled people are children who can easily sprint across a car park but can't be relied on to stay by their adults or hold onto a hand. Others are extremely cold sensitive and struggle with the fine motor skills to put layers on and off, others have joint issues that make getting in and out of the car in narrow spaces completely impossible, or can't climb steps, or deal with chronic fatigue and pain that means a longer walk will make it harder to cook dinner or do laundry that night. You can't know and it absolutely isn't your job to try to judge or monitor.

Not sure why you're asking me. I'm not arguing with you.

No, for all the reasons already mentioned. My issue is people using disabled spaces when they don't have a BB. My elderly, disabled mother has a BB and can never park at her local supermarket in the disabled bays as mainly occupied by people not displaying a BB. For this reason she has decided not to renew her badge.

Its a good point though, as long as long as no one is policing it. I used to have a disabled badge for a condition that is now under control. During bad periods I couldn't walk far, but in better bits I could manage much further. It wouldn't have taken much to adjust my parking.

I am one of those most hated of all bb users - relatively young, seemingly able bodied, no walking stick, etc etc. I have very complex autoimmune, bladder and incontinence issues. I can’t predict how my bowels and bladder are going to behave so a lot of needing to be close to my car from the shops is due to this.

Are we going to start ranking bb users in terms of ability and giving them a sliding scale of where we’re allowed park?

Pissed off with all the disabilist threads at the moment. We are such a hated group right now.

It’s a difficult one to judge. I have a BB and can often get out the car and walk into the supermarket fairly well, apart from my walking stick; however, by the time I’ve walked around the shop bending and lifting things, and packed all my stuff back in the trolley, often my back is buggered and I struggle to stagger back to my car. So, initially, I might look as though I could park further away, but by the time I’ve completed my shopping, I’m barely able to drive back home again!

Would I have two bb then? One for the days I can walk and need to be close to the store and need to be able to open the door wide to get myself in and out and one for the days I’m in my wheelchair and can self propel across the car park but still need to be able to open the door wide?

DS is completely mobile , TOO mobile. But he has severe learning disability, no understanding of danger and can be across a car park in a flash. We use his BB in whichever space is available. I can usually herd him if I have to but it’s hard work, he’s bigger and stronger than me and I have to hope he’s feeling relaxed which he isn’t always

The only thing that pisses me off with blue badge use was seeing a young fit man prance off into the gym, having parked on yellow lines and displaying a blue badge. The photo on the badge was of an elderly woman.

The only thing that pisses me off with blue badge use was seeing a young fit man prance off into the gym, having parked on yellow lines and displaying a blue badge. The photo on the badge was of an elderly woman.