To think my dad has his blue badge entitlement backwards?

[Kayano]

Another blue badge thread!
Don't flame but this made me laugh.

My dad finally got his blue badge because he struggles to walk long distances.
Anyway... He and myself were off to the doctors for appointments, he gave me a lift.
The disabled bays were further away from the entrance than the normal bays.... No idea why they just were.

So he swings into a disabled bay and has to walk futher! Cue me:
'why nit just park in the normal bay? It's closer for your walking?' - the car park was empty btw, late appointment
He flat out refused! He said he waited so damn long for his blue badge he was using that space! stubborn old man face

I think he is nuts! It's not like he has a chair
Or needs additional space ether side!

Blue badge holders should always use the disabled parking bays. If a blue badge holder uses an ordinary bay that means there is one less bay for other people, who cannot use the disabled ones under any circumstances.

I get very annoyed if badge holders take up the spaces needed by non disabled drivers leaving the disabled spaces empty. Consideration works both ways.

But surely he needs to be nearer the store!!??
Non blue badge holders have the choice to use an "ordinary" space & leave the others for those that maybe do have a wheelchair to get out if that benefits them.

Lots of blue badge holders need the space either side of the car way more than they need to be close to the store. For lots of people, once they get into a wheelchair it makes no difference how far they have to travel across the car park.

For people that can't walk far, spaces need to be closer to the entrance. It seems a bit odd that they weren't at this surgery.

I agree with him though, he should use the disabled space, but the disabled space should be in the right place!

Ditto red, I only use bays if they are closer as someone with a chair might need to extra space.

Blue badge holders should park wherever they need to in order to use the facility they are parking for. If the disabled bays are in the wrong place, they should comment to the shop/surgery/whatever. They should never feel they have to park further away because that's where the bays are, so as to be less of an inconvenience to others.

DH now needs a larger bay, because he has difficulty getting in and out of the car. In the past, if the bay was further than a normal bay, he'd use the normal one - because walking the extra distance was a problem for him.

That wasn't him being inconsiderate - that was him doing what he could to allow him to live a reasonably normal life.

Please tell me Picasso is kidding, nobody is that awful, are they?

BB holders can park anywhere they want (as long as legally) in whatever manner makes their lives easier. That means in the disabled bays, regular spots, parent and baby, whatever.

Deja vue

Oh not this again!!!!!!!!!!!

BB holders should park whereever it is most convenient for them be it normal space, BB space or P&B space.

The idea that we should expect BB users to consider if they are inconveniencing non BB users is ridiculous.

Picasso - For self-propelling wheelchair users, distance is often no object and they may well choose to use the BB bays, especially as they have the wider transfer part to the bay. But many many BB users are not wheelchair users. They may be 'the wobbly walking', have breathing or heart issues, be a severely autistic child or a myriad of other disabilities for which proximity or a specific location is more important than the wide bay.

BB users should use which ever available bays suit their needs best.

OK I was wrong. I hadn't thought it through before posting...a case of open mouth, insert foot and stir vigorously. My most profound apologies to one and all...please put it down to my hard life, lack of money, distorted sense of reality and baby brain. Well ok...maybe not baby brain as my babies are 35 and 38 years old.

Picasso....donning the sackcloth and ashes as she types.

kudos for backing down, not always easy. Classy lady.

Picasso

Blue badge holders should always use the disabled parking bays. If a blue badge holder uses an ordinary bay that means there is one less bay for other people, who cannot use the disabled ones under any circumstances.

Not always possible. Most of the time the blue bays are so thin on the ground that one has no choice but to park in a non blue bay because there are loads n loads of them!

My mum and I were having a similar discussion this morning, only on the whole badge holders using the p and c parking spaces. I was on the side of it didn't matter may I add! Anyway I pointed out that the 3 p and c paking spaces at this particular store were closer to the store than some of the disabled bays and that this is wrong. I suggested p and c spaces should be at the back of the car parks as the extra space is handy (handy, not a necessity) but we are capable of walking!

Picasso can eck off.
I had to use a parent and child space in Asda today because the blue badge bays were full. Mind you my daughter IS only three and she's the badge holder, so that's ok isn't it.

Picasso has already realised the error of her ways and is wearing sackcloth and ashes even now

I;d love them to be at teh back as long as there was a safe walkway; I would also like to see all P&C spaces labelled priority spaces as well though- and therfore open to:

people who already can use P&C spaces
people who have a temporary disability- eg post op, broken leg
people who like me have older kids but who just miss the BB criteria
elderly people
women in the later stages of pregnancy becuase frnakly with ds4 I needed and filled any extra space I could get!

It might promote (or force) tolerance if they were less narrowly defined, as well as minimise the abuse of disabled spaces.

Ia lso think MN should have a facillity where people can highlight an apology in flourescent yellow so everyone notices it!

Picasso adds hair shirt and barbed wire belt to sackcloth and ashes.

The ashes seem to be hiding the wrinkles.