Why do people question blue badge holders?

[TeenLifeMum]

I’ve seen comments over the years about people being challenged for not looking disabled. But they’re not easy to get - in fact they seem ridiculously challenging and dad might be dead by the time he bloody gets one. Medical records and consultant’s letter isn’t enough, he needs an interview… but they keep arranging the interview for when he’s having cancer treatment (every day so I appreciate it’s hard to schedule).

Just needed to vent.

Lol at the posters on here declaring that if they were disabled they wouldn't mind being questioned.

That shit gets old v quickly let me tell you. If you were disabled enough to need a badge with all the hoops you have to jump through to get one let alone navigating life with a disability, being questioned by strangers wanting to know if you're disabled enough (in their eyes) can tip you over the edge.

Then, you get "he does not look disabled... what is wrong with him?"
On what planet is that acceptable questioning from a stranger?

We don’t owe anyone an explanation. We don’t have to justify our existence to any nosy fucker. It’s bad enough having to live with a disability without having to explain it to every nosy bitch in the supermarket car park. Why should we have to say?

If you genuinely suspect blue badge fraud then you use the number on the blue badge and report it to the council. If you just don’t think the person “looks disabled” then you mind your own bloody business.

So best to just ignore it then?

The only time it’s appropriate to challenge is when people don’t have a blue badge and take a space. If they have a blue badge then it is absolutely none of your business what they need that badge for.

Have you reported this to your local council?

No, but I probably should.

Yes, or if it bothers you that much, and you have nothing better to do, then you can take down the number, and inform the LA.

That's very silly.

Yes, but that doesn’t meet the ‘walk for a normal distance’ part of the question. Someone who cannot be out in the sun cannot take a ‘normal’ walk round a park if their condition means a walk across a car park is too far.

@DrPrunesqualerYes they can. The badge has a picture of the badge holder on the back. If the badge holder isn't present then it's being misused.

She can physically walk though. Nothing wrong with her legs. She has been questioned for not limping and being "too young".
She also gets questioned for wearing dark lenses indoors... but people are assholes

Sounds like we were being fobbed off by our traffic warden
Looking forward to bumping into him next time I’m in town.

The badge holder could be in the shops though, and the driver waiting in the car. This happened to me years ago. They actually waited around for me to come back to the car to check that the badge was mine. there does need to be more checks made by traffic wardens on the whole, If fraud, and misuse is such a big problem!

Basically for the sole reason that the system is so badly abused. Everyone knows someone who is doing so.

However, my Dad was issued one very quickly (paperwork was done by the palliative care nurse) when he was terminally ill. He lost his mobility so quickly however that taking him anywhere was physically impossible and we returned it less than 8 weeks later

Let's face it, it's very unlikely that someone that looks super elderly or obviously disabled will be abusing the system. There are countless reports on this thread alone though of younger relatives 'borrowing' a disabled person's badge. I have never condoned people challenging BB users but there is a logical reason why people do it and probably also why they target people that aren't in the usual demographic for those that need a BB and don't look obviously disabled. It doesn't make it right but for as long as there are people abusing the system then there will always be vigilantes.

Like a PPs friend, I'm severely photophobic. I'm also visually impaired (a good day is being able to see 5m in front of my face) and I can't hear where sound comes from. It's much safer for my companion to park the car as close to the destination with no roads

Fit as a lop?

Why did you apply for one then? (Assuming a lop is a fit thing)

Speaking as someone whose brother had a blue badge following an illness that left him paralysed , and who , I admit freely, never realised before how much room it takes to get someone out of a car and into a wheelchair, I am all for people challenging people if they think the use of a bb is being abused, because, unfortunately, they quite often are. I do realise this can cause upset to perfectly legal bb holders and users, but the abusers need to be shamed out of their callous use of a precious resource that makes a disabled persons life a bit easier. I just wish there was a better, non confrontational way of monitoring bb use to prevent abuse in the first place, but I can’t think of one.

And if you want to know how far abusers will go, I offer for your consideration my able bodied neighbour who very carefully painted his own disabled parking space outside his house!

I don't think disabled people should have to run the gauntlet, no, but I don't think it's as simple as saying that challenging people doesn't help anyone. Of course it does! It's a deterrent for people to not misuse the badge. The shame of being caught misusing a badge potentially in public with people around you would be off putting for lots of people. Once again, I reiterate that I don't think it's okay to go around randomly challenging BB users but I think it's completely disingenuous to pretend that people are doing it for no reason or that it wouldn't be a deterrent for those who want to misuse a badge.

The people who are taking the piss are usually brazen enough to do so and will be the sort to tell you to fuck off if challenged.
However, sometimes you challenge a genuine BB holder and scare them into not going out again for a long time.
That is not something that should be encouraged. Leave enforcement for the professionals.

You really have no clue do you? Whilst I've been "lucky" to (yet) not been challenged because my companion and I are parking in a BB space, I have been accused of faking my disability. I had someone with absolutely no medical training look at me and go "there's no reason why you can't drive therefore we've been told to reject your bus pass application". But how on earth does anyone know what I see? My parents were told when I was about 2 I'd never be able to drive. It's still the case over 30 years later.

I have never condoned people challenging BB holders. Your anger is misdirected.

Yes, but how can they tell?
My late dad had a blue badge because he'd had multiple heart attacks and had progressive (and ultimately terminal) heart failure. He could only walk a short distance before getting totally out of breath, but to a casual observer, he didn't look 'disabled' as he got out of his car. Quite a few people used to have a go at him and it really upset him sometimes. He knew he was dying, but he didn't look like he was.

Well I disagree with you. The type of person likely to misuse those spaces, would likely be the first to robustly tell you where to go. There is no justification for questioning people. The impact it could have on a disabled person, could be quite significant.